Connex South Central was a

train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Central franchise from 26 May 1996 until 25 August 2001.

History

On 26 May 1996, Connex commenced operating the Network SouthCentral franchise. Later on 13 October 1996 Connex rebranded the franchise Connex South Central and introduced a white, yellow and blue livery. The operator was criticised for poor customer service (on average one in five Connex trains was delayed)"Connex loses rail franchise"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' 24 October 2000 and for using old slam-door trains, rather than spend any money on buying modern sliding-door rolling stock built to higher safety standards (though Connex ordered new trains for Connex South Eastern). This widespread disgust at filthy trains and widespread delays caused criticism of Connex, but it was poor financial management that ultimately caused Connex to lose the franchise. In March 2000 the Strategic Rail Authority announced its intention to relet the franchise, with Connex and Govia the shortlisted bidders. On 24 October 2000 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced that Govia had been awarded the franchise and would operate it from 2003. Govia negotiated a deal with Connex to buy out the remainder of its franchise with the transaction completed in August 2001.

Services

Connex South Central ran passenger services from

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

and London Victoria to Beckenham Junction, Epsom Downs,

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

, Uckfield,

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valle ...

, Tattenham Corner,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...

, Bognor Regis,

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

and Ore. It also ran services between Hastings and Ashford, Brighton and Hastings, Brighton, Newhaven Marine and Seaford and Brighton and Southampton as well as

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

suburban services serving Crystal Palace,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

and West Croydon. Services between West Croydon and Wimbledon, which were operated by Connex South Central following privatisation, ceased in 1997. The line was subsequently converted for Tramlink operation. On 2 June 1997 Connex South Central introduced a new service from

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

to Rugby via the West London and West Coast lines using Class 319s. In December 2000 it was curtailed to Watford Junction but extended southwards to

.Class 319
Kent Rail

Rolling stock

Connex South Central inherited a wide fleet of 'slam' and sliding door diesel electric and electric multiple units. The slam-door units were not replaced under Connex, but were all later withdrawn after South Central (later rebranded ''Southern'') took over. Connex South Central's fleet was maintained at Brighton Lovers Walk and Selhurst depots.

References

External links

*
Connex website
{{UK TOCs, defunct, state=collapsed Defunct train operating companies in the United Kingdom Railway companies established in 1996 Railway companies disestablished in 2001 Railway operators in London Veolia 1996 establishments in England 2001 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1996 British companies disestablished in 2001