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 Rail Class 170 Turbostar is a British diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.
The British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train. It is a member of the Sprinter series of regional trains, produced as a replacement for British Rail's first generation of DMUs; of the other members, the Class 159 is almost identical to the Class 158, having been converted from Class 158 to Class 159 in two batches to operate express services from London Waterloo to the West of England.
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 distinctive sound of their engines.
The British Rail Class 375 Electrostar is an electric multiple unit train that was built by Bombardier Transportation at Derby Litchurch Lane Works, from 1999 to 2005. The class form part of the Electrostar family of units, which also includes classes 357, 376, 377, 378, 379 and 387, the most numerous type of EMU introduced since the privatisation of British Rail.
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 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 line in southern England. It runs from the Brighton Main Line at South Croydon in Greater London to Hurst Green Junction in Surrey, where its two branches diverge. The western branch continues via Lingfield to East Grinstead in West Sussex, whereas the eastern branch runs via Edenbridge in Kent and Crowborough in East Sussex to Uckfield. The line is named after the town of Oxted in Surrey and also serves parts of the London Borough of Croydon. The 18-mile-26-chain (29.5 km) South Croydon–East Grinstead section is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system and is double track throughout. The unelectrified Hurst Green Junction–Uckfield section is 24 mi 53 ch (39.7 km) in length and, south of Hever, is mostly single track.
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a group of 5- or 7- car 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-hydraulic multiple unit 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 Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The region was largely based upon the former Southern Railway area.
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 13, after one of them had passed a signal at danger and entered a single-line section. The cause was due to a collective of issues; the AWS being inoperative, the signal was dirty and the light intensity was low, and there were no trap points to prevent a train wrongly entering a section against the signal.
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.
