For three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018, Southern came last on passenger satisfaction in surveys conducted by the consumer group Which?, scoring low for value for money, reliability, and punctuality in 2018.[3] In 2022, Southern was ranked second-worst on overall passenger satisfaction in a survey conducted by Transport Focus.[4]
In March 2000, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) announced its intention to relet the franchise from May 2003; both Connex and Govia were shortlisted.[5][6] In October 2000, the SSRA announced that Govia had been awarded the franchise and would operate it from May 2003.[7] Govia negotiated a deal with Connex to buy out the remainder of its franchise, this was completed in August 2001.[8][9][10] Govia trading as SouthCentral[11] took over operations on 26 August 2001. The franchise was originally to run for twenty years but, in 2002, the Strategic Rail Authority changed the way it handled financing agreements and therefore Govia was re-awarded with a seven-and-a-half-year franchise until December 2009.[7][12][13]
In May 2003, the franchise was rebranded as Southern in a recall of the pre-nationalisation Southern Railway, using a green roundel logo with Southern in yellow in a green bar.
During April 2007, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the Gatwick Express franchise was to be incorporated into the main South Central franchise.[14][15] This reorganisation was part of a wider plan to increase capacity on the Brighton Main Line, involving the extension of peak-hour services from Gatwick to Brighton and Eastbourne from December 2008. This change doubled the number of London to Brighton express trains during those periods.[16]
The South Central franchise end date was brought forward to September 2009 upon the integration of the Gatwick Express service, to allow the new operator to be in place during major changes to the timetable in and around South London in December 2009.[18] In the run-up to the bidding process for the 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.[19][20] However, such a transfer never took place and the DfT put out the entire franchise for tender.
In August 2008, the DfT shortlisted Govia, National Express, NedRail and Stagecoach for the new South Central franchise.[21][22][23] In June 2009, the DfT announced that Govia had retained the franchise, to start on 20 September 2009.[24][25]
In March 2012, the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, FirstGroup, Govia, MTR and Stagecoach had been shortlisted for the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.[26][27] The Invitation to Tender was to be issued in October 2012, with the successful bidder announced in spring 2013. However, in the wake of the collapse of the InterCity West Coast refranchising process, the government announced in October 2012 that the process would be put on hold pending the results of a review.[28]
At the conclusion of the Southern franchise in July 2015, the South Central franchise was merged into the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, which is run as a management contract rather than a traditional franchise.[29][30] However, the Southern brand was retained.[31]
2007 and 2008 timetables
Southern was criticised for major changes to its 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, as well as run the portion to Portsmouth or Southampton non-stop to Barnham. Some passengers criticised this change as it increased the journey time to and from London by up to 10 minutes from certain stations, while in the event of services running behind schedule, trains were sometimes not split at Horsham, and proceeded non-stop to Barnham, leaving Arun Valley commuters at Horsham with the prospect of no onward trains.[32]
During December 2008, further timetable changes 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.[33][34][35] On 22 January 2009, Southern responded to some of these criticisms. During 2009, these services have recorded improved timekeeping and criticisms have since subsided.[36]
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.[37][38]
December 2010 timetable
Further changes to the timetable were made in December 2010; the first timetable change to include many of the requirements of the new franchise. Additional services were included at evenings and weekends. In the London area a 'metro' frequency of service was introduced on most routes with the extension of the weekday daytime four-trains-per-hour norm to late evenings (up to around midnight), Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, new late-night services were introduced from London on Friday and Saturday nights with last trains leaving central London at around 00:30.[39]
Outside London, a new later-evening service was introduced to Uckfield from London Bridge, new late-night services from Brighton along the West Coastway line and direct services between Southampton and Brighton on Sundays.[39]
Punctuality and overcrowding
In January 2015, Southern hit controversy when it was revealed that the 7.29am Brighton to London Victoria train failed to get in on time on any occasion out of all 240 attempts in 2014.[40] Later in May 2015 it was revealed that Southern had fined passengers for standing in first class on an overcrowded train.[41] Only 20% of Southern trains arrived on time in the year from April 2015 to March 2016, and there was an ongoing industrial dispute over driver-only operated trains.[42][43] In late 2016, the Transport Select Committee told ministers to "get a grip" on railway franchises, with their report asking if the train operator was in breach of their contractual obligations due to the large number of cancelled trains, and went on to say, "in normal circumstances, this would be grounds for termination of the contract".[44][45]
2016 amended timetable
In 2016, the company introduced an "amended timetable [that] would be a temporary measure until staffing returned to normal" to be announced on 5 July. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) trade union said that 350 services would be cancelled every day (the company ran 2,242 weekday services in the previous timetable). The company said it had insufficient personnel, and too many were taking sick leave; the union denied that high levels of sickness were the cause of cancellations, while agreeing that there were an insufficient number of guards and drivers.[46]
The government Department for Transport said that the situation was unacceptable. While the company was obliged to notify the department in advance, this did not amount to giving the company permission for the changes. The RMT union general secretary Mick Cash said the government had permitted GTR to introduce the emergency timetable, but that it was "nothing to do with staff sickness and everything to do with gross mismanagement of this franchise and the failure to employ enough guards and drivers. ... a cynical and cowardly ploy".[46]
The London Evening Standard mentioned Southern in an article in June 2016 "Southern rail suggests commuter goes on 100 mile detour to Clapham instead of her normal six minute journey".[47] In June 2016, amongst criticism of the performance of its services, Go-Ahead warned of lower than anticipated profits on its Govia Thameslink Railway franchises, leading to an 18% drop in the Go-Ahead share price.[48]
From 31 October 2016, Southern restored the full weekday timetable.[49]
In 2016, Southern altered its method of door operation, with control of the doors moving from the conductor to the driver. Southern said this would allow the conductor to concentrate on the passengers, but the RMT and Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) unions said that it was an attempt to make conductors unnecessary and would be unsafe. The rail safety regulator, the Rail Standards and Safety Board has said that "We have 30 years of data which we have analysed. We have found that the driver performing the task does not increase the risk to passengers at all."[50] During 2016, the RMT and ASLEF unions went on strike over the changes, causing severe disruption to Southern services.[51] The strikes continued into 2017.[52]
The BBC suggested that the RMT union are particularly worried about the new method of operation because if drivers (rather than conductors) control the doors then trains could run without conductors and thus any strike by conductors would not have the power to cancel trains.[53]
In December 2016, it was announced that the government would pay £50million to Southern to cover the costs of the disruption caused by the strikes, due to a deal between the government and Southern. This deal means that the government pays £38million for lost revenue and £15million in compensation to passengers. This deal also means that Govia Thameslink Railway will save around £1.1million in pay for striking workers.[54] Commentators argued that the government gave a management contract rather than a normal franchise to GTR in order to push through DOO. The management contract meant that GTR did not have the incentive to resolve strikes as a normal franchisee would have, as the government lost money from strikes rather than GTR.[55][56]
On 2 February 2017, the TUC announced that talks between Southern and ASLEF had reached an agreement meaning that the dispute with ASLEF had been resolved. However, the RMT union said it was 'betrayed' by Southern and that strikes by the RMT would continue.[57] On 29 June 2017, ASLEF implemented an overtime ban with the aim of highlighting a claimed failure by Southern to recruit adequate staff.
Services
The standard off-peak service as of June 2024 is:[58]
This route splits/merges at Horsham with the route to Bognor Regis (see below). Fishbourne, Bosham, Nutbourne and Warblington are served by the same train
As of May2022[update], Southern services are almost entirely operated by 214 Class 377 electric multiple units, with the exception of services on the unelectrified Marshlink line and the Uckfield branch of the Oxted line, which use Class 171 diesel multiple units.
A franchise commitment was to replace all the Mark 1 slam-door stock, resulting in Southern ordering 28 three-car DC, 139 four-car DC and 15 four-car dual-voltage Class 377 Electrostars in September 2001 and March 2002 to replace the Class 421, Class 422 and Class 423s.[59]
In August 2002, Southern ordered nine two-car and six four-car Class 171 Turbostars to replace the Class 205s and Class 207s on the routes that are not fully electrified.[60] A tenth two-car Class 171 was transferred from South West Trains, entering traffic in July 2007.[61][62]
In 2007, Southern ordered 12 four-car, dual-voltage Class 377/5 Electrostars to replace the remaining twelve Class 319s for transfer to First Capital Connect. In March 2008 Go Ahead purchased a further 11 Class 377/5s. All 23 ended up being sublet to First Capital Connect to provide extra stock for the Thameslink Programme Key Output Zero changes from March 2009. However, due to delays in their production, Class 377/2s were also sublet. To cover for this, Class 350/1s were subleased from London Midland.[63]
To provide stock for the extended Gatwick Express services to Brighton, in 2008 Southern leased 17 Class 442 Wessex Electrics withdrawn by South West Trains in early 2007. After retaining the franchise in 2009, Southern leased the remaining seven Class 442s. The last of the Class 460 Junipers were withdrawn in September 2012.[64]
To release Class 377/3s for use on London suburban services, Southern introduced a fleet of ex-London OvergroundClass 313s on the Coastway lines from May 2010.[65][66][67] The Class 313s remained in service until May 2023, when they were withdrawn and replaced by Class 377s.[68]
During 2011, Southern announced that, because of delays in procuring new trains for the Thameslink Programme, the 23 Class 377/5s on sub-lease to First Capital Connect would not be returned in time to deliver the operator's planned capacity increases from the December 2013 timetable change. It therefore began a process to procure 130 new vehicles.[69] It was announced in December 2011 that Bombardier had been contracted to supply 26 five-car Class 377/6s.[70] In November 2012, it was announced that an option for a further 40 vehicles was being exercised.[71]
In April 2016, Southern commenced a lease for nine three-carriage Class 170s last used by First ScotRail from Eversholt Rail Group. Four (170421–424) moved to Wolverton Works in 2015 and were reconfigured as two two-carriage and two four-carriage Class 171s. The other five (170416–420) remained in Scotland on sub-lease to Abellio ScotRail and were scheduled to move to Southern in 2018.[72][73][74]
In May 2022, Southern withdrew its Class 455s and received 2 Class 377s from Southeastern.[75][76]
On 7 September 2022, three Class 171s, having been reformed to three-car formations and renumbered to 170422–424, transferred to East Midlands Railway.[77]
Between December 2024 and December 2025, Southern is set to transfer 13 Class 377/1s (377121-133) to Southeastern to replace ageing Class 465 units. This will be made possible by the movement of 30 ex-Greater AngliaClass 379 sets to Great Northern route services from London Kings Cross, which will in turn allow Class 387/1 dual-voltage units currently in service with Great Northern to be released to work on Southern routes.[78]
Subleased from London Midland in 2008 to provide cover for Class 377 Electrostar units subleased to First Capital Connect. After newer Class 377 Electrostar trains were built, these units were returned to London Midland. Replaced by newer Class 377 Electrostar units.[63]
Light maintenance is also carried out at Littlehampton for the electric fleet, and St Leonards for the class 171 fleet when on Marshlink services.
Future
Southern, as part of its successful bid for the South Central franchise in 2009, made several commitments to improving services across the network.[25] 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
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
The franchise consultation paper released at the beginning of the 2009 franchising process stated that the ultimate franchise agreement would include a change mechanism to enable the DfT to incorporate additional routes into the South Central franchise, and it 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, closed in 1969.[83] During the 2010s, several interested parties have been examining the possibility of reopening the line.[84][85]
Future of the franchise
In January 2016, Transport for London announced a proposal to take over the London suburban parts of the franchise in 2021 through a partnership with the Department for Transport to form a new suburban metro service.[86] However, the plan was rejected by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling in December 2016.[87]
In January 2017, it was reported that the Department for Transport was considering temporarily renationalising the franchise if the service did not improve.[88]
On 17 June 2021, the DfT extended the current contract from 19 September 2021 to 31 March 2022.[89]
The contract for the delivery of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern services was extended by the DfT on 25 March 2022. The current contract will now expire on 1 April 2028.[1]
Rolling out of smartcards
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2016)
Southern was criticised in January 2007 for not wishing to introduce Oyster Pay As You Go on its London routes, stating that it was not financially viable. In 2007, Southern introduced Oyster on its Watford Junction to Clapham Junction route,[90] and the company later agreed in principle to the introduction of Oyster across its network,[91] but did not give any firm timescale, 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."[92]
In its successful franchise bid in 2009, Southern said it was committed to rolling out Oyster Pay As You Go in the London area, but also that such a move was subject to industry agreement.[25] Since 2 January 2010, Oyster Pay As You Go has been valid on all its London routes, along with most other train services in the London area. In addition, Oyster is valid on Southern services beyond the Greater London boundary as far as Epsom, Epsom Downs, Tattenham Corner, Upper Warlingham, Caterham and Gatwick Airport.[citation needed]
In 2012, Southern became the first rail company in England to use the ITSO card on its network. The Key is a smartcard similar to Transport for London's Oyster card. Tickets of various types can be purchased for the smartcard at ticket vending machines across the majority of the GTR network, except within Oyster-capable travel areas, as well as online (season tickets only).
Three forms of Key exist: child, adult, and staff. All child smartcards need a photograph, which is printed onto the card, as well as proof of age while registering. The Key can be de-activated and the tickets transferred to a new card sent out in the post if the smartcard is reported as lost, stolen or faulty.[93] Staff smartcards are only issued to employees of GTR, and offer unlimited travel across all of GTR's network.[citation needed]
The Key also has a pay-as-you-go feature called keyGo. With this, customers can tap in and out freely within the keyGo area, and the cheapest combination of tickets from the entire day's taps are automatically calculated at the end of the railway day and automatically charged to a linked payment card. keyGo is also valid on Brighton & Hove buses and Metrobus services within certain areas. Bus journeys are charged at the single, day zonal, day network or Plusbus rates as appropriate.[94]
The Key can be used on all National Rail services where tickets are available for purchase on smartcards.[93]
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from Bedford, Luton, St Albans City, Peterborough, Welwyn Garden City, London Blackfriars and Cambridge via central London to Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Three Bridges, Brighton and East Grinstead. The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. All the services are currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Parts of the network, from Bedford to Three Bridges, run 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods.
Gatwick Express is an express rail passenger service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, Haywards Heath and Brighton in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.
City Thameslink is a central London railway station within the City of London, with entrances on Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct. The station is on the Thameslink route between Blackfriars to the south and Farringdon to the north.
The Go-Ahead Group Limited is a multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapore, and Norway. Go-Ahead was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange prior to being purchased by Kinetic Group and Globalvia by 2022.
Gatwick Airport railway station is on the Brighton Main Line in West Sussex, England. It serves Gatwick Airport, 26 miles 47 chains (42.8 km) down the line from London Bridge via Redhill. The platforms are about 70 metres (230 ft) to the east of the airport's South Terminal, with the ticket office above the platforms and station entrances and exits directly connected to the terminal. The station is also connected to the airport's North Terminal by the Airport Shuttle people-mover. Gatwick Airport was the busiest station in South East England region from 2017 to 2018. There have been two stations at Gatwick, sited about 0.85 miles (1.37 km) from each other. It is the busiest station in both West Sussex and South East England, and the sixth busiest station in the UK outside of London.
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 Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, London Victoria and London Bridge, and the branches from each meet at East Croydon, from where the route continues southwards via Gatwick Airport to the coast. The line serves the suburbs of South London, as well as the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.
Coulsdon Town railway station serves the northern part of Coulsdon, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is on the Tattenham Corner line 16 miles 46 chains (26.7 km) from Charing Cross and opened on 1 January 1904. Until 22 May 2011 it was called Smitham.
Stevenage railway station serves the town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England. The station is around 44.4 kilometres north of London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line. Stevenage is served and managed by Great Northern, who operate Thameslink stopping services southbound to King’s Cross via stations such as Welwyn Garden City and Potters Bar, to Brighton and Horsham via central London and Gatwick Airport and to Moorgate via Watton-at-Stone, Hertford North and Enfield Chase and services northbound to Cambridge and Peterborough. It is also frequently served by London North Eastern Railway, who operate fast non-stopping services southbound towards London and northbound towards cities including York, Leeds and Edinburgh. Hull Trains and Lumo operate very limited services from the station.
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.
Govia is a transport company based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in November 1996 as a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%) to bid for rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail.
First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors from April 2006 to September 2014 which later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise.
Thameslink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Govia that operated the Thameslink franchise between March 1997 and March 2006.
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern, was a British train operating company owned by Govia that operated passenger rail services in South East England. It was the key operator of commuter and regional services in South East London and Kent, and also served parts of East Sussex.
The Great Northern route, formerly known as Great Northern Electrics, is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from London King's Cross and London Moorgate. Destinations include Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, and Cambridge, and in peak hours, additional services run to Peterborough and King's Lynn. Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk.
The British Rail Class 700 is an electric multiple unit passenger train from the Desiro City family built by Siemens Mobility. It is capable of operating on 25 kV 50 Hz AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from third rail. 115 trainsets were built between 2014 and 2018, for use on the Thameslink network, as part of the Thameslink Programme in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, they are operated by Govia Thameslink Railway.
Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) is a management contract for the provision of passenger services on the Thameslink and Great Northern routes to Bedford, Luton, Peterborough, King's Lynn, Cambridge, London King's Cross, London Moorgate, Sutton, Wimbledon and Brighton, as well as the whole Southern network and the jointly operated First Capital Connect Southeastern services, which were added to the franchise on 25 July 2015, with the Southern and Gatwick Express brands retained.
The British Rail Class 387 Electrostar is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation. They are part of the Electrostar family of trains. A total of 107 units were built, with the first train entering service with Thameslink in December 2014. The trains are currently in service with Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express and Southern. The Class 387 is a variation of the Class 379 with dual-voltage capability which allows units to run on 750VDC third rail, as well as use 25kVAC OLE. The class were the final rolling stock orders from the Bombardier Electrostar family with 2,805 vehicles built over 18 years between 1999 and 2017.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a British train operating company that operates the TSGN rail franchise. Within the franchise, GTR runs trains under the sub-brands: Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern, and Gatwick Express. GTR is a subsidiary of Govia, which is itself a joint venture between the British Go-Ahead Group (65%) and French company Keolis (35%).
The British Rail Class 717 Desiro City is an electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Mobility, currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway on its Great Northern Hertford Loop and Welwyn stopping routes. Built to replace Class 313 trains on services into Moorgate, a total of 25 six-car units began entering regular service from March 2019. The units are similar to the Class 700s and the Class 707s.
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