Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.
The British RailClass 411 (4CEP) electric multiple units were built at Eastleigh works from 1956–63 for the newly electrified main lines in Kent. These units, which used a British Railways Mark 1 bodyshell, were based on the earlier Southern Railway 4 COR design, built in 1937. Variants of the class 411 design included the class 410 and class 412 4 BEP units, which contained a buffet car in place of a standard trailer. They were later used on services in Sussex and Hampshire; following the privatisation of British Rail in 1995, the units were used by the Connex South Central, Connex South Eastern and South West Trains franchises. They were replaced by Juniper, Desiro, and Electrostar units. The fleet's lifespan was 49 years. These units are the longest-lived BR Mark 1 EMUs.
The British Rail Class 170 Turbostar is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.
The British Rail Class 205 (3H) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh from 1957 to 1962, and in service for 47 years from BR Southern Region to Connex South Central and finally to the Southern franchise. They were eventually replaced by Class 171 Turbostar units.
The British Rail Class 207 (3D) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh in 1962. The fleet had a lifespan of 42 years. The Southern Region class 201 to 207 DEMUs are nicknamed 'Thumpers' due to the noise their engine units make.
The British Rail Class 423, electric multiple unit passenger trains were mostly built by British Rail (BR) at York Works from 1967 to 1974, although the MBSOs and TSOs of the first 20, 7701-7720, were built at Derby Works. They have manually opening doors next to every seating row and were the last coaching stock built in this pattern for BR. They were mostly found working outer-suburban services in South London and rural services in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, up to 2005 when they were finally replaced by Electrostar and Desiro units. The fleet had a working life of 38 years.
The British Rail Class 377 Electrostar is a British dual-voltage electric multiple unit passenger train (EMU) built by Bombardier Transportation on its Electrostar platform at Derby Litchurch Lane Works from 2001 to 2014.
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2-BIL to the DC third rail electric multiple units built during the 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London to Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Reading. This type of unit survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 401.
The Bombardier Turbostar is a family of diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger trains that was built by ADtranz and later Bombardier Transportation at Derby Litchurch Lane Works in the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2011. The Turbostar was the first new train type to be introduced after the privatisation of British Rail. The first units were ordered by Chiltern Railways in 1996 and were designated Class 168. Since then the family has grown with the addition of the Class 170, Class 171, and the Class 172.
The Oxted line is a railway in southern England and part of the Southern franchise. The railway splits into two branches towards the south and has direct trains throughout to London termini.
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of 125 mph (200 km/h). Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium.
Ham Street railway station is a Grade II listed stop on the Marshlink line in the village of Hamstreet, Kent, between Ashford International and Hastings. Services are provided by Southern.
Uckfield railway station is the southern terminus of a branch of the Oxted Line in England, serving the town of Uckfield, East Sussex. It is 46 miles 8 chains (74.2 km) from London Bridge.
Eridge railway station is on the Uckfield branch of the Oxted line in southern England and serves a rural district around Eridge in East Sussex. It is 35 miles 53 chains from London Bridge. The station is managed by Southern.
Oxted railway station is on the Oxted line in southern England, serving the commuter town of Oxted, Surrey. It is 20 miles 25 chains from London Bridge. The station is managed by Southern who operate the majority of train services with a few peak services operated by Thameslink.
The Class 168 Clubman is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train used on Chiltern Line services between London Marylebone and the West Midlands. The trains were built by Adtranz at the Derby Litchurch Lane Works in several batches from 1998.
The Cowden rail crash occurred on 15 October 1994, near Cowden Station in Kent (UK), when two trains collided head-on, killing five and injuring thirteen, after one of them had passed a signal at danger and entered a single-line section. The cause was driver error, possibly involving a guard who was in the cabin against regulations.
CrossCountry is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise.
The British Rail Class 172 is a British diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train from the Turbostar family, built by Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works for use on inner-suburban passenger services. The class is currently operated by West Midlands Railway.
East Midlands Railway is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise.
