c2c

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Info
Franchise(s):	Essex Thameside[1] 26 May 1996 – 26 May 2013 [2]
Main Route(s):	Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon
Other Route(s):	to Grays via Rainham to Pitsea via Ockendon
Fleet size:	74 Class 357 Electrostar sets
Stations called at:	28
Stations operated:	24
Passenger km 2007/8:	916.8 million
Route km operated:	128.7
National Rail abbreviation:	CC
Parent company:	National Express Group
Web site:	www.c2c-online.co.uk
Route map

c2c is a British train operating company, part of the National Express Group. It provides passenger rail services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London to east London and along the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex, including Basildon, Chafford Hundred (for Lakeside Shopping Centre), Tilbury and Southend-on-Sea. This route was called the Thameside franchise, renamed the Essex Thameside franchise in 2009.^[1] The main route from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon is 39.5 miles (63.57 km), with a fastest timetabled journey time from of 58 minutes^[3] giving an average speed of 40.7 mph, although the route can be done in 47 minutes, an average speed of 50 mph.^[4] The line has a speed limit of 75 mph (121 km/h), although the Class 357 Electrostar electric multiple-unit trains that run on it are capable of 100 mph (160 km/h). Before July 2002, it traded under the name LTS Rail. The managing director is Julian Drury.

Following the expiry of the National Express East Anglia franchise, c2c is the last National Express train operator left.

Management and branding[link]

c2c's franchise was one of the first three in the UK to be awarded, from 26 May 1996 for 15 years to 31 May 2011 at an average annual subsidy of £18.4 million. The term was extended by the government till 26 May 2013 so that c2c could operate during the 2012 Olympics. It was awarded to Prism Rail in December 1995 and was marketed as LTS Rail. It was due to begin operation in February 1996 but "the LTS Rail franchise was not completed because of allegations of ticketing and settlement irregularities. It was re-tendered in March 1996 and awarded in May 1996 to Prism Rail."^[5] Prism Rail was purchased by National Express in September 2000 and the franchise was rebranded c2c. The name could be conceived to represent city to coast or "capital to coast", reflecting the nature of the route, or "commitment to customers".^[6]

The c2c website states:

The name c2c doesn't mean anything specific. In a sense it can mean anything you want it to. Its uniqueness reflects the young, vibrant character of the people we serve. c2c could stand for coast to capital, or capital to coast. From our point of view, one of the most important things it stands for is commitment to customers.

c2c used the slogan "way2go", but now uses the "Making travel simpler" slogan also used by other companies in the National Express Group. All stations on the route are managed by c2c except Fenchurch Street, which is managed by Network Rail, and West Ham, by London Underground: Liverpool Street and Stratford stations are non-c2c stations used in the late evening and during engineering diversions.

Services[link]

Most c2c services operate from Fenchurch Street railway station

[ v t e ] c2c route map
Legend Shoeburyness Thorpe Bay Southend East Southend Central Westcliff Chalkwell Leigh-on-Sea Benfleet Pitsea Stanford-le-Hope East Tilbury Tilbury Riverside(for ferry to Gravesend) Tilbury Town Basildon Laindon West Horndon Grays Chafford Hundred Ockendon Purfleet Rainham Dagenham Dock Upminster Barking East Ham Depot West Ham Stratford Limehouse Fenchurch Street( Tower Hill) Liverpool Street

The typical off-peak service per hour consists of eight trains arriving and departing Fenchurch Street:

• 4 to Shoeburyness via Basildon
  • of which 2 do not stop at Limehouse, West Horndon or Pitsea
• 2 to Grays via Rainham
• 2 to Southend Central via Ockendon

On Sundays, the non-stopping service does not run and the Grays via Rainham service is reduced to an hourly shuttle from Barking.

As c2c is mainly a London commuter railway and the average c2c journey is between 40 to 70 minutes, c2c does not offer first-class seating: its Class 357 units have standard high-density 3+2 Chapman seating to meet demand at peak times when the line is very busy.

The London Underground District Line also serves c2c-served stations at Upminster, Barking, West Ham and Tower Hill (for Fenchurch Street). Tickets are fully interchangeable between the two operators. The District Line runs alongside the c2c tracks from Bow to Upminster, with c2c services providing the fast service and the District Line providing the stopping service. Cross-platform interchange between the two is provided at Barking.

The number of peak services calling at West Ham is restricted by signalling system constraints.^[7] A peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the aim of improving services for the Thurrock and London Riverside sections of the Thames Gateway,^[7] was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a campaign by passengers as a result of delays and cancellations that affected other lines on the network.^[8][9]

In January 2005, it was announced that an on-train television service would be tried out and one unit had television installed. In June 2006 the 360 On-Board Television service ran into financial difficulties when c2c's partner in the project, TNCI (UK), ceased trading, and the service was withdrawn. c2c has indicated it will recommence the roll-out should a suitable partner be found.^[10] Wi-Fi has been installed and tested and will soon be available for public use.

In June 2006, it was announced that portable X-ray machines and metal detectors would be randomly placed at stations and carried by officers on trains during summer 2006 to catch people carrying weapons, in a joint operation with Essex Police and British Transport Police, following trials at London Underground stations.^[11]

In October 2007, c2c announced that the first coach of each unit would be made a "Quiet Zone", where loud talking and use of mobile phones and personal audio players is prohibited.^[12] The "Quiet Zone" was introduced in early 2008 and is indicated by magenta vinyl stickers on the doors of the coach.^[13]

London terminus[link]

Liverpool Street station is used as an alternative London terminus by a limited number of weekday services between Grays, Barking and Liverpool Street in the early morning and late evening, calling at Stratford.^[14], and when necessary engineering work restricts access to Fenchurch Street.

"Last Blue Train" railtour[link]

A railtour left Fenchurch Street at 0922 on 5 March 2011 formed of units 357028 (white) and 357227 (blue), which took in the whole c2c network. It enabled enthusiasts and trainspotters to travel on the final units in the blue c2c livery before being repainted, and also included sidings not normally available to the public.

Performance[link]

For August 2005, c2c was named the most punctual rail service in Britain, with 95.3% punctuality for that month.^[15] At the end of the 2008-09 financial year, c2c was again named the most punctual railway service, with 95.3% annual average of services running on time.^[16] In the four weeks ended 21 August 2010, 98.8% of all c2c services arrived within 4 minutes 59 seconds. The previous UK record was 98.0%, also set by c2c.

In 2005, c2c was awarded the Golden Spanner Award at the Annual National Rail Awards. This was presented to its East Ham Depot team for its work in maintaining the fleet. In 2006, c2c held on to this award.

c2c was criticised by Transport for London over an incident on 2 April 2007. A power failure caused by a piece of rubbish wrapped around the overhead power lines caused trains in the West Ham area to become stranded. Some passengers forced open the doors on a and walked along the line. As a safety precaution, London Underground cut the power to the adjacent District Line, causing serious delays to its services.^[17]

Performance at c2c has remained exceptionally high: the official ORR statistics for the final quarter of the 2010/2011 financial year rate show a PPM of 95.8% for the quarter, and MAA of 94.8% for the 12 months to the end of March 2011.^[18]

2011 refranchising[link]

Following problems with the East Coast franchise,^[19] the Department for Transport indicated that it would be "unacceptable" for National Express to continue to operate the c2c franchise.^[20] Instead of terminating the contract immediately, it would be allowed to run until 31 May 2011 and would be put out to tender,^[21][22] with National Express not allowed to rebid.^[23] National Express Group indicated it would like to continue operating the franchise.^[24] In 2010, after a change in government the policy was reversed, and an extension to the current franchise was put under consideration.^[25]

On 23 December 2010 it was announced that the franchise would be extended until 26 May 2013.^[2]

Ticketing[link]

A c2c train entering Southend Central, in the original purple livery.

Tickets for trains between Fenchurch Street and Upminster are inter-available with London Underground services between Tower Hill and Upminster, at Transport for London fares. All other journeys are priced by c2c. Oyster card pay-as-you-go has been available since 2004 between Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Upminster. It was extended to Rainham in 2008^[26] and beyond Travelcard Zone 6 to Grays in January 2010.^[27] Oyster cards may be purchased or topped up at some c2c stations that are not also London Underground stations, including Chafford Hundred, Grays, and Purfleet. c2c ticket machines in the Oyster PAYG area have been upgraded so they can read Oyster cards.

Rolling stock[link]

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 357 Electrostar		electric multiple unit	100	160	74	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway	1999–2002

In 2003, c2c became the first train operating company to replace its entire fleet with new trains. In March 2007, after extensive trials, c2c began fitting regenerative braking to its fleet, becoming the first UK train operator to do so.^[28] On 3 June 2007, the eve of World Environment Day, unit 357 010 was given an all-over green vinyl sticker livery with the slogan "All c2c trains are greener now - find out more at - www.c2c-online.co.uk - c2c - the greener way to go" to highlight the completion of the scheme, which has enabled energy savings of up to 20%.^[29] On 2 October 2007, c2c announced that it had switched to renewably-generated electricity in all its stations, maintenance facilities and offices in a contract with E.ON UK, the largest of its kind in the transport sector.^[30] 357 010 lost its green livery in March 2011 as part of the relivery project.

Units 357 002, 357 028, 357 043, and 357 045 being out of service at the same time from late 2006 led to two spare Class 321/4 units, 321 408 and 321 428, being loaned from sister National Express Group train operator Silverlink for three months for Monday-Friday peak-hour use on between Fenchurch Street and Laindon, and Pitsea via Rainham, to cover for the unavailable units. The Class 321 units were used with guards as they are incompatible with the positioning of c2c's Driver Only Operation (D.O.O.) mirrors. [1] [2]

In June 2009, c2c and Bombardier began repainting the Class 357 units.^[31] The vinyl wraps carrying the original purplish blue and magenta c2c livery were removed and the units reliveried into their original white colour, but with dark blue doors, and branded with both "national express" and "c2c" logos in lower-case lettering.^[31][32] The "Quiet Zone" stickers are now white with sky-blue lettering instead of magenta with white lettering.^[33] c2c ran a special "Farewell to the Blue Train" railtour service to commemorate the last day of running in passenger service of the blue livery on Saturday 5 March 2011.[3]

London Transport portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: c2c

• Official Web site
• Unofficial c2c user site
• Thurrock Rail Users Group - Campaign group for Thurrock c2c rail users

Derek Martin
Martin in 2009 at Wendy Richard's funeral service
Born	Derek William Rapp (1933-04-11) 11 April 1933 (age 79) Bow, East London, England
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	White British
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1962–present
Television	Eldorado EastEnders
Website
http://www.derekmartin.net

Derek Martin (born Derek William Rapp on 11 April 1933) is a British actor who is best known for his role as Charlie Slater in the British soap opera EastEnders which he played from 2000 to 2011.

Personal life[link]

Born Derek William Rapp to Christina (née Jarvis) and William George Rapp, Martin lives in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, a small town just outside London. He has two sons.^{[citation needed]} He is also a big darts fan and usually attends the Lakeside World Professional Championships each year.^{[citation needed]} In February 2010 it was revealed that Martin was due to undergo an operation on his knee, expected to be around May 2010. He said his complaint was due to old age, playing football and carrying meat in an old job at Smithfield Meat Market.^[1]

Career[link]

Martin started his entertainment career as a stuntman but after breaking his collar bone filming the drama Elizabeth R he switched to acting. He featured in the BBC television series Paul Temple.

In 1978 he appeared as Detective Inspector Fred Pyle in The Detective's Tale, the first play in the BBC television series Law and Order. From 1981 - 82, he played Det. Insp. Berwick in two series of the BBC drama The Chinese Detective. In 1982 he became the second actor to take on the role of R. D. Wingfield's fictional Detective Inspector Jack Frost, starring in a BBC radio adaptation of A Touch of Frost. He then starred in Eldorado as Alex Morris. He has also made guest appearances in many television programmes including Doctor Who appearing in The Ambassadors of Death as an uncredited heavy, The Claws of Axos as an uncredited UNIT soldier and Image of the Fendahl as policeman David Mitchell, The Sweeney episode 'Messenger of the Gods' as the villain Spooner, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Bill, Only Fools and Horses and Little Britain.

In September 2000 he started playing Charlie Slater in EastEnders. In April 2010 it was announced that Martin had been cut from the show along with five other actors.^[2] In early 2011 he filmed a guest stint with EastEnders with Charlie due to return for two episodes around April 2011.^[3]

He also starred in a short film called Piggy Bank in 2004.

In January 2012, he appeared as one of the first five couples in the third series of Celebrity Coach Trip partnering fellow actor John Altman.

External links[link]

• Derek Martin at the Internet Movie Database
• Official site

References[link]

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