Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)

Southern
A pair of Southern Class 377s at London Victoria Platforms 18 and 19 awaiting departure to Eastbourne and Reigate
Overview
Franchise(s)
  • Network SouthCentral
    26 August 2001 – 24 May 2003
  • South Central
    25 May 2003 – 19 September 2009
  • Gatwick Express
    22 June 2008 – 19 September 2009
  • South Central (incl Gatwick Express)
    20 September 2009 – 25 July 2015
  • Part of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern
    26 July 2015 – 1 April 2028[1]
Main Region(s)Greater London, South East England
Other Region(s)East of England
Fleet size
Stations called at213
Stations operated156
Parent companyGovia Thameslink Railway
Reporting markSN
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Length666.3 km (414.0 mi)[citation needed]
Other
Websitewww.southernrailway.com Edit this at Wikidata
Route map
Route map
A sign at Brighton station showing the name change from South Central to Southern in August 2004.

Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England.[2] It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.

Southern operates the majority of commuter services from its Central London terminals at London Bridge and London Victoria to South London, East and West Sussex, as well as regional services in parts of Hampshire, Kent and Surrey. It also provides services between Watford Junction and Croydon via the West London line.

For three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018, Southern came last on passenger satisfaction in surveys conducted by the consumer group Which?, scoring low for value for money, reliability, and punctuality in 2018.[3] In 2022, Southern was ranked second-worst on overall passenger satisfaction in a survey conducted by Transport Focus.[4]

  1. ^ "National Rail Contract Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern" (PDF). Department for Transport. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Southern Railway Limited: company no 6574965". Companies House. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Southern Rail voted UK's worst train service for third year in a row". The Independent. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Passengers rank 'worst' rail companies as Southern named among least punctual". ITV News. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.