1. THE NAME C2C WAS INTRODUCED FOR THE LOCAL TRAIN COMPANY IN 2003, AND ITS ORIGINS ARE NOW DEBATED

Some people say it means “city 2 coast”, others suggest “commitment 2 customers”.

There’s even one theory that they were the initials of the thenmanaging director’s children.

Either way, everyone knows us as c2c, so it’s a name we’re keeping!

2. AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT WAS PASSED IN 1852 TO COMMISSION A NEW RAILWAY, WHICH ORIGINALLY RAN TO TILBURY, SERVED BY FENCHURCH STREET AND BISHOPSGATE STATIONS

The first services ran in April 1854. The line was extended later that year to “Horndon” station – now Stanford-le-Hope.

Within a year the line was extended to Leigh, and then to the station we now call Southend Central in March 1856.

3.THE C2C LINE WAS BUILT BY THE LONDON TILBURY AND SOUTHEND RAILWAY COMPANY IN 1854

At first the line only ran to Horndon, before it was extended to Southend in 1856 and then on to Shoeburyness in 1884.

Several current District Line stations were served by this original railway.

4. RAIL SERVICES TO SOUTHEND WERE SO POPULAR THAT A SHORTER, FASTER “PITSEA DIRECT” ROUTE WAS COMMISSIONED IN THE 1880S

The line opened in stages, running to Upminster in 1885, “East Horndon” (now West Horndon) in 1886, and connected through to Pitsea in 1888.

The line was also extended to Shoeburyness in 1884.

5. THE LOCAL RAILWAY LINE HAS CHANGED HANDS SEVERAL TIMES IN ITS HISTORY

It was built and managed by a private company, the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway.

In 1912, the company was bought out by the Midland Railway, which within a decade had merged into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway – one of the famous “Big Four”

railway companies. In 1948 the line was nationalised as part of British Rail, until reprivatisation in 1995.

6. WEST HAM IS THE MOST RECENT STATION TO BE ADDED TO THE ROUTE FOR C2C PASSENGERS

The platforms for c2c were added to the existing station in 1999, following the Jubilee Line extension.

Chafford Hundred is the youngest station on the c2c route, opened in 1995, and before that Basildon station was opened in 1974.

7. PEAK-TIME TICKETS ON C2C ARE CHEAPER NOW IN REAL TERMS THAN THEY WERE AT THE TIME OF THE PRIVATISATION OF BRITISH RAIL IN 1995

In that time, the cost of a standard single on c2c has increased by 30 per cent, compared to an increase in the retail prices index of 73 per cent, according to leading independent fares analyst Barry Doe.

8. C2C CARRIED MORE THAN 40M PASSENGERS LAST YEAR. THE MOST POPULAR DESTINATION STATION ON C2C IS FENCHURCH STREET

It is followed by West Ham (which is the fastest growing station on the line), then Barking.

The most popular destination stations in Essex are Southend Central, given its location in the town centre, and Chafford Hundred, for shoppers to Lakeside.

9. C2C HAS 74 TRAINS IN ITS FLEET, ALL OF WHICH ARE MADE BY BOMBARDIER

The trains are from the Electrostar 357 series, and each one has a unique identifying sixdigit number that begins “357”.

The trains were introduced in two waves between 2000 and 2003, when the last of the old slam-door trains were replaced from the local network.

10. C2C IS THE MOST PUNCTUAL TRAIN OPERATOR IN THE UK

The company has sat at the top of the long-term punctuality league table consistently since December 2011, and holds the UK record for four-weekly punctuality (98.8 per cent, set August 2010) and annual punctuality (97.5 per cent, first set in January 2013).