History of South Central Trains
The train line was originally owned and operated by Connex South Central Trains, a Connex Group division. The Connex South Central Trains group operated the railway from October 1996 until the middle of 2001 and ran passenger trains from Surrey, Sussex, parts of Hampshire and parts of Kent. The network has respectively once been part of the Southern Region of British Railways and later Network South East.
The Connex South Central Trains operated a variety of trains, with 30-year-old Southern region Slam Door EMU trains, BREL Electic Multiple trains and DeMu non electrified Uckfield and Marshlik routes. 1997 saw the introduction of a new must-beloved service from Gatwick Airport to Rugby, going by the West Coast Main Line. This service used a class 319 dual-voltage rolling stock later shortened to Watford Junction, then extended to Brighton. Originally due to run until 2006, the Connex South Central Trains franchise was lost in October 2000.
Govia first came upon the South Central rail franchise when they were awarded it in the year 2000 from Connex South Central, who were removed from the franchise due to poor management and performance. Once in control Govia operated the service under the name South Central Trains up until the 30 th May 2004. The company assumed the brand Southern in a recall considered by most to be deliberate of the pre-nationalisation Southern Railway.
Southern were granted responsibility for the non-stop Gatwick Express between Victoria and Gatwick Airport from the National Express Group in 2008. 2009 saw an extension of the service to Brighton, predominantly during peak times such as the summer. It was around this time that the company also took over the running of the services between Redhill and Tonbridge, once operated by the Southeastern train company.
Govia were originally awarded a 20-year franchise for the Southern rail service however the end date was brought forward to the end of 2009, and was then further cut to September 2009. This was largely due to the integration of the Gatwick Express service, a move made to allow the new operator to be in place during changes to the timetable in South London. May 2008 saw interest from Govia, NedRailways Limited, National Express and Stagecoach Group and these were indeed the four short-listed bidders to take control of the railway. It emerged in June 2009 that Govia had retained the franchise with views to operate the service until 2015.
South Central Trains run from some of the major railway stations in London and are an over ground service that runs to some of the popular travel hotspots within the southern part of the country. The train company provides city-dwellers with the opportunity to travel to parts of the country that are popular with holiday-makers and is a much-used service. Indeed the company also allows people living in other locations and suburban areas around London the access to the city and airports with relative ease.