C2c

c2c Railway Limited, trading as c2c, is a government-owned train operating company that took over the services from the Trenitalia-owned operator of the same name on 20 July 2025.

This article is about the current publicly owned operator. For the former private operator, see c2c (1996–2025). For other uses, see C2C.

c2c

Class 357 Electrostar at Dagenham Dock
Overview
Main region(s)	Essex Greater London
Fleet	Class 357 Electrostar Class 720 Aventra
Stations called at	28
Stations operated	25
Parent company	DfT Operator
Headquarters	Lower Thames Street, London
Reporting mark	CC
Dates of operation	20 July 2025 (2025-07-20)–present
Predecessor	Trenitalia c2c Limited
Technical
Length	125.5 km (78.0 miles)
Other
Website	www.c2c-online.co.uk
Route map Legend Limited services London Fenchurch Street London Liverpool Street Limehouse Stratford West Ham East Ham Depot Barking Dagenham Dock Upminster Rainham Ockendon Purfleet Chafford Hundred Lakeside Grays West Horndon Tilbury Town East Tilbury Laindon Stanford-le-Hope Basildon Pitsea Benfleet Leigh-on-Sea Chalkwell Westcliff Southend Central Southend East Thorpe Bay Shoeburyness

History

In the lead up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership.^[1][2] Following the election of the Starmer government, it introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received royal assent in November 2024.^[3][4]

In December 2024, it was announced that the National Rail Contract with Trenitalia-owned operator c2c would not be renewed when it expired. On 20 July 2025, c2c services were taken over by the government-owned company DfT Operator.^[5][6][4][7]

Services

c2c operates passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line from Fenchurch Street in the City of London to Shoeburyness in Essex, a distance of 39 miles 40 chains (63.57 km).^[8] The main line operates via Basildon with a loop line via Tilbury and a branch line via Ockendon. c2c trains connect Central London with East London and the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. The main route between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness has a fastest timetabled journey of 56 minutes.^[9]

Although the Class 357 Electrostar and Class 720 Aventra trains are capable of running at 100 mph (160 km/h), the line's speed limit restricts them to only 75 mph (121 km/h).^[10]

As of the May 2025 timetable, the off-peak Monday–Friday service is as follows:^[9]

London, Tilbury and Southend line

Route	tph	Calling at
Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Basildon	4	Limehouse, West Ham, Barking, Upminster, West Horndon (2 tph), Laindon, Basildon, Pitsea (2 tph), Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell, Westcliff, Southend Central, Southend East, Thorpe Bay
Fenchurch Street to Southend Central via Ockendon	2	Limehouse, West Ham, Barking, Upminster, Ockendon, Chafford Hundred Lakeside, Grays, Tilbury Town, East Tilbury, Stanford-le-Hope, Pitsea, Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell, Westcliff
Fenchurch Street to Grays via Rainham	2	Limehouse, West Ham, Barking, Dagenham Dock, Rainham, Purfleet

Future services

Beam Park, a new station between Dagenham Dock and Rainham, will eventually become part of c2c's Fenchurch Street to Grays via Rainham route when it opens.^[11]

Fleet

The c2c fleet, all which was inherited from its predecessor, is maintained at East Ham Depot and Shoeburyness Depot.

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built
				mph	km/h
Bombardier Electrostar	357[citation needed]		EMU	100	161	74	4	London, Tilbury and Southend line	1999–2002
Alstom Aventra	720/6[12]					12	5	London, Tilbury and Southend line	2022[13]

See also

• List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom