southern

Southern

Franchise(s):	South Central October 2000 - 20 September 2009 Gatwick Express 22 June 2008 - 20 September 2009 South Central (inc. Gatwick Express) 20 September 2009 - July 2015
Main Region(s):	London, West Sussex, East Sussex,Surrey
Other Region(s):	Hampshire,Kent, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Fleet size:	TBC
Stations called at:	213
Stations operated:	161
National Rail abbreviation:	SN
Parent company:	Govia (Go-Ahead Group / Keolis)
Web site:	www.southernrailway.com

A sign at Brighton station showing the name change from South Central to Southern

Southern exterior signage at Norwood Junction station in Croydon

Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd.,^[1] it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service since 22 June 2008.

The company operates train services to South London, Surrey and Sussex from London Victoria and London Bridge, alongside regional services on the East and West Coastway lines.

History

Govia, who also operates the neighbouring Southeastern franchise and London Midland services in the West Midlands, were first awarded the South Central rail franchise in 2000 after the then incumbent operator, Connex South Central, were stripped of the franchise for poor management and performance.^[2]

Upon assuming control, the company operated the service under the branding SouthCentral until 30 May 2004, when, in a deliberate recall of the pre-nationalisation Southern Railway, the service was rebranded as Southern, with a green roundel logo with ‘Southern’ written in yellow in a green bar.

On 22 June 2008, Southern assumed responsibility for the non-stop Gatwick Express between Victoria and Gatwick Airport from National Express Group, and from December 2008 extended the service to Brighton during peak times.^[3] The company then, in December 2008, took over the running of services between Redhill and Tonbridge from Southeastern.

Despite originally being awarded a 20 year franchise for the service,^[2] the South Central franchise end date was brought forward to December 2009, a date which was further cut to September 2009 upon the integration of the Gatwick Express service, in order to allow the new operator to be in place during "major changes" to the timetable in and around South London in December 2009.^[4] In the run up to the bidding process for the South Central/Gatwick Express combinded franchise, reports emerged suggesting that Transport for London, the operator of the London Overground service, wished to take control of all overground services in South London, including the 'Metro' area of the South Central franchise,^[5][6] however such a transfer never took place and the entire franchise was put forward for tender by the Department for Transport.

The bidding process for the new franchise began in May 2008, when expressions of interest were sought, with the process formally beginning on 20 August 2008 when the DfT announced^[7] that Govia were one of the four shortlisted bidders for the franchise and would face competition from NedRailways Limited, the National Express Group, and the Stagecoach Group.^[8]

The Department for Transport announced on 9 June 2009 that Govia had retained the franchise, and would operate the service until 2015, with the possibility of extending the franchise until 2017.^[9]

Routes

Details of each route, including maps and timetables, are on Southern’s website (see External links, below). Its routes off peak Monday to Saturday, with frequencies in off-peak trains per hour, include:

• from London Victoria to:
  • Gatwick Express non-stop to Gatwick Airport - 4tph
  • Bognor Regis/Portsmouth Harbour or Southampton, via Horsham - 2tph
  • Dorking via Sutton and Epsom - 2tph, 1tph extended to Horsham
  • Sutton via Norbury - 2tph
  • Brighton - 2tph
  • West Croydon via Crystal Palace - 2tph
  • London Bridge via Denmark Hill - 2tph
  • Caterham via Norbury - 2tph
  • Littlehampton/Eastbourne or Ore via Gatwick - 2tph
  • Epsom via Mitcham Jct - 2tph
  • London Bridge via Crystal Palace - 2tph
  • East Grinstead - 2tph
  • Epsom via Norbury - 1tph
  • Epsom Downs via Norbury - 1tph

• from London Bridge to:
  • Victoria via Crystal Palace - 2tph
  • Beckenham Jct (via Birbeck) - 2tph
  • Caterham - 2tph
  • Smitham via Crystal Palace - 2tph
  • Uckfield - 1tph
  • Victoria via Denmark Hill - 2tph
  • Sutton via Sydenham and West Croydon - 2tph
  • Tattenham Corner - 2tph
  • West Croydon via Norbury - 2tph
  • Horsham via Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges - 2tph

• from London Charing Cross to:
  • Tonbridge via Redhill - 1tph
  • Reigate via Redhill - 1tph

• Off peak services not originating from London include:
  • Brighton to Seaford - 2tph
  • Brighton to Hove - 2tph
  • Brighton to Lewes 2tph, 1tph extended to Ore
  • Brighton to West Worthing - 2tph
  • Brighton to Ashford Intl - 1tph
  • Brighton to Southampton/Portsmouth Hbr - 1 each
  • East Croydon to Milton Keynes Central via Kensington (Olympia) and Watford Jct - 1tph
  • Portsmouth & Southsea to Littlehampton - 1tph
  • Littlehampton to Bognor Regis - 1tph
  • Barnham to Bognor Regis - 1tph

Performance

Punctuality figures released by the ORR for the first quarter of the 2009/10 financial year were PPM of 93.8% and MAA of 89.9%.^[10]

On-train announcements

Southern use on-train announcements on all services operated by Classes: 171, 377, 456 and 455. These announcements are automated and are voiced by Julie Berry (who also announces on Heathrow Connect, National Express, Merseyrail, First Capital Connect and the Piccadilly line). There are several announcements usually displayed in this format on class 377 and 171:

• • 'Welcome aboard the Southern service to D, calling at A, B, C and D.'
  • 'The next station is A.' (then if necessary) 'Would customers please note that this train will divide en-route at C. Coaches 1 to 4 will continue to D, Coaches 5 to 8 will continue to E. Please ensure you're travelling in the correct part of the train' (then if necessary) 'Would customers please note that you can only alight from n, as this station has a short platform. Please ensure you're travelling in the correct part of the train.'

On Class 455 and 456, announcements are displayed in this format:

• • This train is the Southern Service to X calling at Y and X. After. We are now approaching Y. When terminating - Thank You for travelling with Southern, Please ensure you take your belongings with you.

On train staff can also play and display certain other announcements including 'Would customers please note, a ticket check is about to take place. Please have your tickets ready for inspection', and 'A catering service will be provided at your seat during the journey'.

Rolling stock

Current fleet

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Cars per set	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 73		electro-diesel locomotive	90	145	1	1	Thunderbird locomotive	1965-67
Class 171 Turbostar		diesel multiple unit	100	160	16	2/4	Oxted Line Marshlink Line	2003-2004
Class 377 Electrostar		electric multiple unit	100	160	182	3/4	Entire Southern network	2002–2009
Class 442 (5Wes) Wessex		electric multiple unit	100	160	17	5	London Victoria - Gatwick Airport/Brighton (Gatwick Express)	1988-1989
Class 455		electric multiple unit	75	120	46	4	Suburban services from London Victoria and London Bridge on London Metro	1982
Class 456		electric multiple unit	75	120	24	2	Suburban services from London Victoria and London Bridge on London Metro	1989-90
Class 460 (8Gat) Juniper		electrical multiple units	100	160	8	8	London Victoria - Gatwick Airport (and also now to Brighton in peak hours) (Gatwick Express)	2000 - 2001

Past fleet

Class	Image	Type	Built	Withdrawn	Preservation
Class 205 (3H)		diesel multiple unit	1955-60	2004	See here for preservation details.
Class 207 (3D)		diesel multiple unit	1957-59	2004	See here for preservation details.
Class 319		electric multiple unit	1987	2008	Transferred to First Capital Connect.
Class 421 (4Cig)		electric multiple unit	1962-66	2005	See here for preservation details.
Class 423 (4Vep)		electric multiple unit	1967-71	2005	See here for preservation details.

Diagrams

Southern

Gatwick Express

Future

Southern, as part of their successful bid for the South Central franchise in 2009, made several commitments to improving services across the network.^[9] These included:

• Increasing the length of suburban services in South London to 10 cars between 2011 and 2013
• Increasing the service level on all routes in South London to 4 trains per hour (tph) until 23:00 each day, and the introduction of late night services on Fridays and Saturdays
• The introduction of an hourly service on Sundays between Brighton and Southampton Central, and an increase in the number of late night services between Brighton and Worthing
• The introduction of late night services on the London to Uckfield route
• A new service to Southampton Airport and an increase in the number of Gatwick Express services extended to Brighton in peak times
• Introduction of CCTV in all Southern operated trains and stations by June 2011
• Installation of new ticket gates at 22 stations across the network
• Increasing the number of car parking spaces at stations by 1,000 and the number of cycle spaces by 1,500
• Cleaning and refreshing of all stations and trains on the network
• Major refurbishments to seven stations, specifically Brighton, Haywards Heath, Hove, Lewes, Redhill, Three Bridges and Worthing
• Introduction of ITSO smartcards by January 2012
• Southern will be running some class 313s^{[citation needed]}, and depending on the number available, Southern will be operating 3-6 class 508s^{[citation needed][when?]}. These trains will run along the coast.^{[citation needed]}
• The Department for Transport has requested the company look into a better name for Smitham station as it is no longer used as the name of the local area.^[11]

There is also a plan to replace the Class 460s with the remaining seven Class 442s.^{[citation needed]} The Class 460s will then transfer to South West Trains for use on Waterloo to Reading services, etc.^{[citation needed]} It has now been confirmed^[when?] that half of the Class 456 fleet will be transferred to South West Trains.^{[citation needed]}

Uckfield-Lewes line

The franchise consultation paper that was released at the beginning of the 2009 franchising process stated that the ultimate franchise agreement would include a change mechanism that would enable the DfT to incorporate supplemental routes into the South Central franchise and invited bidders to submit priced options for schemes put forward by stakeholders. One such scheme could, as indicated in the South Central Franchise Consultation Paper, be the reopening of the Uckfield - Lewes line, which closed in 1969.^[12] In recent years, several interested parties have been examining the possibility of reopening the line.^[13][14][14]

Criticism

In early 2006, Southern became the focus of attention from cyclists' groups as a result of their policy prohibiting the carriage of ordinary cycles during peak hours on trains destined for London and Brighton.^[15]

Southern and sister company Southeastern were criticised in January 2007 for not wishing to introduce Oyster Pay As You Go on their London routes, stating that it was not financially viable. In 2007 Southern introduced Oyster on its Watford Junction to Clapham Junction route,^[16] and the company later agreed in principle to the introduction of Oyster across their network,^[17] but did not give any firm timescale for any roll out, with Southern's managing director Chris Burchell saying

"There are still a number of outstanding issues that need to be discussed with TfL, but we do not believe these will prevent us making PAYG a reality on our network. We look forward to discussions with TfL on how we can make this happen as soon as possible for our passengers."^[18]

In their successful franchise bid in 2009, Southern said they were committed to rolling out Oyster Pay As You Go in the London area, but also that such a move was subject to industry agreement.^[9]

Timetables

Much of the criticism that Southern have faced surrounded major changes that were made to their timetables in December 2007 and December 2008.

In December 2007, Southern changed the arrangement for the splitting of services to and from London Victoria on the Arun Valley Line, opting to split trains at Horsham rather than Barnham. Some passengers criticised this change as it increased the journey time to and from London by up to 10 minutes from certain stations, whilst in the event of services running behind schedule, trains were sometimes not split at Horsham, and proceeded non-stop to Barnham, leaving commuters from the Arun Valley left at Horsham with the prospect of no onward trains.^[19]

In December 2008 further timetable changes were made, which included the introduction of the extended Gatwick Express services. However, reliability and timekeeping on some of the new services were considered poor, leading to several public meetings being held relating the problem.^[20][21][22] On 22 January 2009, Southern responded to some of these criticisms. During 2009 these services have recorded improved timekeeping and criticisms have since subsided.^[23]

The new timetable also led to unhappiness due to the difference in speed and frequency of service between East Coastway services and those on the Brighton Main Line.^[24][25]

See also

• Rail transport in the United Kingdom
• Commuter rail in the United Kingdom

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southern (train operating company)

• Southern website
• Information about Southern on National Rail Enquiries
• A Map of Southern's Routes

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