c2c New Franchise Starts (09/11)

[Simon11]

Surprised that nothing has been mentioned so far, with the new c2c franchise starting from 2am this morning.

I've seen that they have a new website with a few exciting things to come.

 

[387star]

The C2C brand will live on but I wonder if the livery will be altered at all especially with the new trains?

 

[chris11256]

So far their website has been redesigned and a 'C2C Live' app has beeb launched. Also from what I've been told the free wifi on stations is switched on tomorrow, with trains happening over the next 2/3 years.

 

[306024]

The C2C brand will live on but I wonder if the livery will be altered at all especially with the new trains?

Because of course the most important thing to all their passengers is the colour of the train

With apologies to The Who, it is a case of 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'. It will be interesting to see how the 'exciting things' pan out in practice. Certainly gives them even further advantage over the AGA Southend line for those that have a choice though.

As someone who cut their teeth on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway I wish them all the best.

 

[Searle]

Because of course the most important thing to all their passengers is the colour of the train

Yep, some people are interested in that :roll:

 

[samuelmorris]

Free chocolate being handed out at Fenchurch Street today in celebration of this - who am I to say no?

 

[Orange Box]

I've seen that they have a new website with a few exciting things to come.

-deleted-

 

[westv]

Free chocolate being handed out at Fenchurch Street today in celebration of this - who am I to say no?

Damn. My office is right next to the station. If I'd known this I would have done several choc tours!

 

[jon0844]

Surprised that nothing has been mentioned so far, with the new c2c franchise starting from 2am this morning.

I've seen that they have a new website with a few exciting things to come.

It seems hard to get excited about a new franchise when it's still run by the same company. Surely 'business as usual' is all that needed to be said?

 

[samuelmorris]

Agreed, but c2c's customer satisfaction seemed to dip quite dramatically in recent months so I think a 'not resting on our laurels' attitude publicly advertised is worthwhile.

As for the chocolate, haha, reminds me of an incident back in the 2012/13 winter where they had a long period of delays (c. 1h15 as I recall) caused by a coupler icing up. They were handing them out then as well by way of apology and I didn't realise what it was at first, given my usual disinterested attitude to handouts on my commute I ignored them, it's only when I saw what the other passengers were holding at Limehouse DLR that I realised my mistake. Oh well :P

 

[racyrich]

Yep, chocolate coins this Wednesday too. Nets of 5 sovereign-size ones

The Annual Customer Report was on all the trains this week. Highlights of future plans are:

New timetable from December 2015
Smartcard ticketing
£33m worth of station upgrades
All stations manned for all opening hours
All current trains refurbed with new interiors within next 2 years.
17 new units starting from 2019
Funding of a dedicated BTP team for c2c

How long does it take to refurb a 357? With 74 units now that sounds like at least one per week lost.
The new timetable replaces Laindon starters with Leigh starters. I can't see how this is possible - 30 mins extra journey time per train - without 4 extra units, let alone 1 down. Unless some serious efficiencies have been found. Or all the current 12 coachers are down to 8. The train lengths aren't mentioned on the proposed new timetable.

 

[chris11256]

Here's the exact wording.

'We will refurbish all of our trains by December 2016 with new interiors, enhanced CCTV and smart-train capability'.

Not quote sure what they mean by 'smart-train. I assume they'll be rolling out the wifi at the same time as the interior refurb.

 

[Nym]

It could also include new PIS systems that look nice and shiny with unreadable LCD screens, showing lots of not required information.

This could also imply more intelligent fault reporting to depots (not something I believe is fitted to the 357s)

 

[racyrich]

Yeah, I only typed in the edited highlights. I have the booklet.

And I see it is online


http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/media/65329/3003_annual_customer_report_2014_high.pdf

 

[Stats]

Here's the exact wording.

'We will refurbish all of our trains by December 2016 with new interiors, enhanced CCTV and smart-train capability'.

Not quote sure what they mean by 'smart-train. I assume they'll be rolling out the wifi at the same time as the interior refurb.

Perhaps by smart train they mean something similar to the train tracking and performance system that Southern have introduced to its 377 fleet which provides live reporting on a range of metrics.