Southern (train operating company)

Southern (New Southern Railway Ltd.) is the latest name of the train operating company that took over from Connex South Central on the routes to South London, Surrey, and Sussex from Victoria and London Bridge.

The company was originally known as South Central, but on 30 May 2004, the franchise was rebranded as Southern, in a deliberate recollection of pre-nationalisation Southern Railway, with a green roundel logo with ‘Southern’ written in yellow in a green bar.

Southern also operates the cross-London Watford Junction to Gatwick Airport / Brighton route via Kensington (Olympia) and Clapham Junction (the West London Line).

The franchise is owned by Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis.

In early 2006, Southern became the focus of attention from cyclists' groups, as a result of their enforcement of their policy regarding carriage of cycles.

Routes

Details of each route (including maps and timetables) are available from Southern’s web site (see External links, below). The routes, shown in the order listed on the Southern website, are:

Brighton Main Line: Brighton–London (various destinations)
East Coastway (Brighton–Eastbourne/Hastings)
- including Marsh Link Line (Hastings–Ashford international)
West Coastway (Brighton–Portsmouth/Southampton)
Arun Valley Line (London–Littlehampton/Bognor Regis/Portsmouth/Southampton)
Redhill, Tonbridge, and Oxted Lines from London
Caterham and Tattenham Corner Lines from London
Sutton & Mole Valley Line London Victoria to Horsham and Epsom Downs
Gatwick Main Line London Victoria to Gatwick Airport
London Bridge–Croydon via Sydenham (see South London Line)
London Victoria and London Bridge–Croydon via Norbury
London Victoria and London Bridge to Peckham Rye, Tulse Hill, and Crystal Palace (See South London Line)
West London Line (Clapham Junction–Watford Junction)

Rolling Stock

Current fleet

- bgcolor=#f9f9f9	Class	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built	- bgcolor=#f9f9f9	mph	km/h
Diesel locomotive	Class	Type	27	43	Number	Routes operated	Built	2	Shunters	1959
Diesel multiple unit	100	160	15	Oxted–Uckfield and Ashford–Brighton	2003–2004
Electric multiple unit	100	160	20	London–Guildford via West Croydon and London–Horsham via Three Bridges	1987
Electric multiple unit	100	160	182	Entire Southern network	2002–2004
Electric multiple unit	75	120	46	Services from London Victoria and London Bridge	1982
Electric multiple unit	72	120	24	South London lines	1990

Past fleet

Diesel multiple units
- Class 205 ‘Thumpers’ - withdrawn 2004
- Class 207 ‘Thumpers’ - withdrawn 2004
Electrical multiple units
- Class 421 4Cig - withdrawn late 2005
- Class 423 4Vep - withdrawn late 2005

Preserved Southern trains

Several former Southern locomotives and multiple units have been preserved.

Two Class 09 shunters, nos. 09004 and 09025, have been preserved.
Many of the Class 205 and 207 units have been preserved.
One complete Class 421 unit (no. 1753) and one complete Class 423 unit (no. 3822) have been preserved. In addition several loose vehicles have also been saved.

External links

Southern website