Connex South Eastern
 | |
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Network SouthEast 13 October 1996 – 8 November 2003 |
| Main region(s) | Greater London, Kent |
| Other region(s) | East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey |
| Fleet size | approximately 350 |
| Stations called at | 178 |
| Parent company | Connex |
| Reporting mark | CX |
| Other | |
| Website | www.connexsoutheastern.co.uk |
Connex South Eastern[1] was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Eastern franchise from October 1996 until November 2003.
Services
Connex South Eastern ran passenger services from London Blackfriars, London Bridge, London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross and London Victoria to Hayes, Bromley North, Ramsgate, Dover Priory, Folkestone Harbour and Ore and various destinations within including Orpington, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Canterbury West.
It also ran services between Sittingbourne & Sheerness-on-Sea, Maidstone West & Strood and Maidstone West & Three Bridges.
Rolling stock
Connex South Eastern inherited a large fleet of slam door EMUs (Class 411, Class 421, Class 423), as well as Class 365, Class 465 and Class 466 EMUs from Network SouthEast.
In 1998 Connex South Eastern leased twelve Class 508s from Angel Trains that were surplus to Merseyrail Electrics to replace some Class 411s.[2][3]
Connex South Eastern ordered 10 three-carriage and 102 four-carriage Class 375s, and 36 five-carriage Class 376s in a couple of batches with the first being delivered in April 1999.[4]
Depots
Connex South Eastern's fleet was maintained at Ashford, Ramsgate, Slade Green and Gillingham depots.
Demise
The franchise was originally due to run until 2011, but on 27 June 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority decided to strip Connex of the franchise citing poor financial management and run the franchise itself.[5][6] Connex South Eastern continued to operate the franchise until 8 November 2003 with the services transferring to the Strategic Rail Authority's South Eastern Trains subsidiary the following day.[7][8]
Connex also had operated the Network SouthCentral franchise under Connex South Central, until it was stripped of the franchise 2 years previously. With the end of the SouthEastern franchise came the total failure of Connex as a train operator in the UK, having no remaining rail operations in the country. While the SouthCentral franchise was transferred to new ownership, the SouthEastern was the first franchise to return to state control, less than a decade after privatisation.
See also
- The Navigators, a film by Ken Loach about railway privatisation.
- South Eastern franchise
References
- ^ Companies House extract company no 3006571 Connex South Eastern Limited
- ^ Class 508 Kent Rail
- ^ Class 508 - The Final Months Southern Electric Group
- ^ Class 375 Electrostar Kent Rail
- ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - England - Train firm loses franchise". BBC News. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
- ^ Basher Bowker pulls the plug on Connex The Telegraph 29 June 2003
- ^ SRA Confirms Transfer from Connex to South Eastern Trains Strategic Rail Authority Press Release 8 November 2003
- ^ Rail authority takes on franchise BBC News 8 November 2003
External Links
