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Central Trains

Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007.

Overview
Created out of the Central division of Regional Railways during the Privatisation of British Rail, Central Trains passed into the private sector on 2 March 1997. The franchise was awarded to National Express, who maintained control of the company until its eventual demise in 2007. Central Trains employed over 2,400 staff.

The company invested significantly in rolling stock, with significant orders for new trains placed and the fleet later further grown through the acquisition of trains made surplus by other companies. Despite a reduction in the area covered during the ten years of its existence, the company grew its core fleet from fewer than 300 passenger vehicles to a total of 379 – a capacity increase of over 28%. It also refurbished a number of its stations, introducing ticket gates, help points and live information boards.

Central Trains also clamped down on vandalism on its trains and fare evasion, including through a controversial poster campaign publicising the names and addresses of passengers who had been fined for not having valid tickets.

The franchise gained a reputation for poor timekeeping: its best performing period between 2000 and 2007 still saw one in six trains five minutes late or more, with punctuality dropping as low as 61% in 2003. The company also suffered from ongoing staff relations problems which led to extensive and long-lasting cancellations of Sunday services.

Following a government policy announced in 2004, Central Trains was eventually disbanded in November 2007 with its services dispersed amongst London Midland, East Midlands Trains and CrossCountry.

Network
At its greatest extent, Central Trains operated 253 stations and provided services covering 1,534 miles of the UK's railway network, covering most of central England and Mid Wales. In its last years, the company saw 43 million passenger journeys and a total of 930 million miles travelled every year.

Services ranged from rural and local services to flagship express services originally branded as Alphaline and later developed into Central Citylink. In the West Midlands, the company also operated the extensive urban rail services under contract to the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive.

Long distance services
Key longer distance and express routes included:
 * Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street
 * Birmingham New Street – Stansted Airport
 * Cardiff Central – Birmingham New Street – Nottingham
 * Liverpool Lime Street – Nottingham – Norwich

From 2003 onwards, the Central Citylink brand name was used by Central Trains to differentiate its long-distance and regional express routes from local services. The brand was used in timetables and publicity to highlight the enhanced service provided on such routes.

While there was no separate dedicated fleet, Citylink services were usually operated by Central Trains' more modern Class 170 and Class 158 diesel multiple units, featuring air-conditioning and reservable seating. At-seat catering was also provided on many services.

Central Trains' Guide 1 timetable was designated for all Citylink services, and highlight the special features of the brand.

Regional services

 * Birmingham New Street – Nottingham via Leicester (terminated at Leicester from 2004)
 * Birmingham New Street – Nottingham via Derby
 * Birmingham New Street – Shrewsbury
 * Birmingham New Street – Mid Wales and Chester (transferred away in 2001)
 * Northampton – Crewe
 * Coventry – Lincoln Central via Nuneaton (ceased in 2004)
 * Nuneaton – Coventry (from 2005)
 * Nottingham – Skegness
 * Doncaster / Lincoln Central – Peterborough via Spalding
 * Newark North Gate – Lincoln – Cleethorpes
 * Leicester – Lincoln Central (from 2004)
 * Derby – Crewe / Nottingham / Matlock
 * Nottingham – Mansfield Woodhouse / Worksop

Network West Midlands services

 * Coventry – Birmingham New Street – Wolverhampton (split at New Street in 2004)
 * Cross City Line: Redditch/Longbridge – Four Oaks/Lichfield Trent Valley
 * Snow Hill Lines: Great Malvern/Worcester/Kidderminster – Dorridge/Shirley/Stratford-upon-Avon
 * Chase Line: Birmingham – Walsall / Stafford (cut back to Rugeley in 2005)
 * Walsall – Wellington via Wolverhampton
 * Worcester – Birmingham New Street

1990s New long distance services
In the late 1990s, Central Trains began publicising additional long-distance through journeys, by amalgamating previously self-contained services in its timetables. For example, where a train had previously been timetabled to work a Shrewsbury to Birmingham service followed by a Birmingham to Leicester service, the workings were combined and shown as a single direct Shrewsbury – Birmingham – Leicester service in the public timetable. This resulted in some particularly lengthy services such as those from Aberystwyth in Mid Wales to Grimsby on the opposite coast of the UK.

Additionally, direct services from Birmingham to Stansted Airport were introduced during May 1998.

2001 Mid Wales service transfer
Services west of Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth, Pwllheli and Chester were transferred away as part of the formation of a new combined Wales & Borders franchise in late 2001. Eleven Class 158 units were transferred to the new operator at this time.

2004–2005 Service changes
Central Trains had a major shakeup between 2004–2005 to prepare them for the eventual break up of the franchise. In 2004, services from Leamington Spa to Birmingham Snow Hill & Stratford upon Avon were transferred into Chiltern Railways, but the company maintained a peak hour service to and from Leamington Spa. The service between Birmingham and Stourbridge was increased to every 10 minutes and this in turn increased the Kidderminster service, as a part of the new Stourbridge line timetable all remaining Birmingham New Street trains were diverted into Birmingham Snow Hill. Liverpool Lime Street to Stansted Airport split at New Street to form two services due to problems with delays. Previously Central Trains ran services from Birmingham New Street to Nottingham via Leicester as well as Derby, this service was split, the Leicester to Nottingham service was merged with the hourly Ivanhoe Line service to Loughbourgh and was extended past Nottingham all stations to Lincoln.

During 2004, Trent Valley local services that ran generally between Stafford and Nuneaton (some extended to / from Coventry or Rugby) were discontinued due to a Driver shortage and not restored until over year later, when they were replaced by an electric service from Northampton to Crewe. Another fatality of the 'lack of Drivers' was the service between Birmingham to Stafford via Walsall, services were cut back (as today) to run between Birmingham and Rugeley Trent Valley.

Central discontinued their single Northampton service a day which ran to Nottingham (and other locations) via Birmingham once they gained the Birmingham to Northampton route from sister company Silverlink Trains in 2004–2005. Two trains per hour from Birmingham New Street – London Euston via Northampton was replaced by one train per hour to Northampton which connected badly with onward services to London Euston (although a few trains a day did run straight through to / from London as an unofficial joint service). The Northampton service started off as an hourly express service until it was merged with the local service to Coventry adding more journey time.

Coventry to Nottingham via Leicester services were discontinued after engineering work at Nuneaton station made it impossible for trains from Coventry to join the line towards Leicester and no attempt was ever made to rectify this. This service was restored in 2005 as an hourly shuttle to Nuneaton, with passengers requiring changing at Nuneaton for Leicester (and change again at Leicester for Nottingham).

The local service to and from Coventry to Wolverhampton calling all stations was also changed in 2004. It was split at Birmingham New Street as Central Trains starting operating Class 321 EMUs. A later development was implemented that had trains running express from New Street to Birmingham International (with some stops at Marston Green) then all stations to Coventry and services to Walsall were extended to Birmingham International calling all stations, Adderley Park station was cut down to one train per hour shortly after this.

Central Trains operated train crew depots at:
 * Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Snow Hill, Boston, Cambridge, Coventry, Crewe, Leicester, Lincoln, Machynlleth (until 2001), Norwich, Nottingham, Pwllheli (until 2001), Shrewsbury, Stourbridge Junction, Leamington Spa, Wolverhampton and Worcester Shrub Hill

Central Trains maintained and stored trains at:
 * Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Tyseley, Boston, Cambridge, Coventry, Crewe, Leicester, Lincoln, Machynlleth (until 2001), Norwich, Nottingham, Pwllheli (until 2001), Shrewsbury, Smethwick Soho TMD, Leamington Spa, Wolverhampton and Worcester Shrub Hill

Performance
Considering the difficulties with which Central Trains contended, including sharing tracks with so many other operators, it did not perform too badly in its twilight months. The last figures released by the ORR (Office of Rail Regulation) rated Central Trains' performance at 84.8% for the PPM (Public Performance Measure) over the third quarter of the financial year 2007/8. This was an improvement over the same period the previous year, during which they achieved 82.7%. Their final MAA was 86.6%.

Rolling stock

Central Trains' fleet was primarily made up of diesel multiple unit trains, with an additional fleet of electric trains in use around Birmingham.

The awarding of the franchise was soon followed by multiple orders for a total of 33 new air-conditioned, 100 mph Turbostar trains, intended to boost the fleet and replace older rolling stock. Though a large number of 1980s and 1990s diesel multiple unit trains inherited from British Rail remained, the last 1960s and 70s 'slam door' trains had been retired by 2000.

Over the course of the franchise, a number of the older and  trains were transferred away to other operators including Wales & Borders and One. This was balanced by the acquisition of additional Turbostar trains no longer required by sister company Midland Mainline as well as additional Class 150 and Class 158 units made surplus by other operators. Over the years, both Class 150 and 158 trains were shuffled between two and three carriage formations to meet changing needs.

The Strategic Rail Authority decision to divert rolling stock originally intended for South West Trains also saw the company benefit from a fleet of 30 new 100 mph Class 350 Desiro units, which were shared with Silverlink for use on the West Coast Main Line between Euston and Northampton/Liverpool via Tamworth.

Rolling stock in 1997 consisted entirely of trains inherited from British Rail. Some, such as Class 310 and Class 312 trains were in the process of withdrawal at privatisation. By the final months of the franchise, Central Trains had a significantly more modern fleet. It was also supplementing its fleet with and new  electric trains shared with sister company Silverlink.

Fleet at start of franchise
Rolling stock in 1997 consisted entirely of trains inherited from British Rail. Some, such as Class 310 and Class 312 trains were in the process of withdrawal at privatisation.

Fleet at end of franchise
By the final months of the franchise, Central Trains had a significantly more modern fleet. It was also supplementing its fleet with Class 321 and new Class 350 electric trains shared with sister company Silverlink.

Franchise cessation
In October 2004, the Department for Transport unveiled plans designed to streamline rail franchises which included the abolition of the Central Trains franchise and the transfer of its services to other operators. It was announced that the franchise would end in April 2007, although there was a later extension until November 2007 ).

On 11 November 2007, Central Trains ceased to exist and its services transferred to three new train operating companies:
 * Local and urban services around the West Midlands were merged with former Silverlink Country services to form London Midland
 * The Liverpool – Nottingham – Norwich service (which had been threatened with a split ) and local trains in the East Midlands were combined with Midland Mainline services to form East Midlands Trains
 * The Cardiff – Birmingham – Nottingham and Birmingham – Stansted Airport Citylink services, were merged with former Virgin CrossCountry services (minus Birmingham/Manchester to Scotland services) to form CrossCountry

title: Central Trains


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C2c

c2c (legal name Trenitalia c2c Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Trenitalia that operates the Essex Thameside railway contract. It manages 25 stations and its trains call at 28. c2c provides commuter services from its Fenchurch Street terminus to parts of East London and south Essex along the London, Tilbury and Southend line. At weekends it also operates from Liverpool Street.

The company began operating as LTS Rail in May 1996 under the ownership of Prism Rail, which had been awarded the London, Tilbury & Southend railway franchise as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In 1997, as a part of its original franchise commitments, LTS Rail ordered 44 Class 357 Electrostar electric multiple units (EMUs); in conjunction with an additional order placed two years later, the company completed the replacement of its slam-door rolling stock inherited from British Rail in 2003. During 2000, LTS Rail rebranded as c2c; that same year, parent company Prism Rail was acquired by National Express.

The original franchise was scheduled to conclude on 26 May 2011, but received multiple extensions before National Express was awarded a second franchise in 2014. Various service changes and amenities have been introduced over the course of the two franchise periods, including the fitting of regenerative braking to its rolling stock (the first UK train operator to do so) in March 2007, the launch of Quiet Zones onboard its trains in early 2008, the provision of Wi-Fi in April 2017, and the rolling out of pay-as-you-go and National Rail ITSO smartcard ticket options over multiple years.

In February 2017, National Express sold c2c to the Italian operator Trenitalia. During December of that year, c2c announced an order with Porterbrook for six ten-car Class 720/6 Aventra EMUs in response to growing demand; these were introduced in September 2023. Largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the franchise agreement was replaced by a rail contract on 19 July 2021 under which services have continued to be run. In February 2023, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the extension of c2c's contract through to 20 July 2025. c2c has been one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–present United Kingdom railway strikes.

LTS Rail
The London, Tilbury and Southend franchise was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail. In December 1995, the franchise was awarded to a management buyout; the handover was initially due to happen on 4 February 1996. However, on 1 February 1996, ticketing and settlement irregularities were discovered and the other shortlisted bidders were invited to tender again. In May 1996, the franchise was awarded to Prism Rail by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising for a period of 15 years. It began operating as LTS Rail on 26 May 1996. The franchise period could have been reduced to seven years if the operator did not fulfil commitments made during the bidding phase to replace its rolling stock with new-build trains.

Passenger numbers increased above forecasts which caused overcrowding as trains reached capacity at peak times. During 1998, the franchise was renegotiated to provide for the elimination of slam-door rolling stock and increased fleet by March 2002, increased staffing of stations, real-time passenger information system, improved security measures, improved station facilities for disabled people, increased cycle storage and pedestrian access from Chafford Hundred railway station to Lakeside Shopping Centre.

LTS Rail started serving West Ham station from 14 May 1999 to coincide with the opening of the Jubilee line extension. Peak services were restricted at West Ham, because of limitations of the signalling system. These were eliminated in time for the December 2011 timetable change ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

On 2 July 2000, the business was rebranded as c2c. To coincide with the rebranding, the company website was launched on 16 June 2000. The company name was also changed from LTS Rail Limited to c2c Rail Limited shortly thereafter.

National Express
During July 2000, c2c was included in the sale of Prism Rail to National Express. The merger of the companies was completed on 19 September 2000. National Express combined the management and support functions of c2c, Silverlink, WAGN and Stansted Express in a single organisation called London Lines in March 2001.

In March 2002, management of Fenchurch Street Station was transferred from c2c to Network Rail.

During January 2005, it was announced that an on-train television service would be tried out, and one unit had televisions installed. In June 2006, the 360 On-Board Television service ran into financial difficulties when c2c's partner in the project, TNCI (UK), ceased trading, and the service was withdrawn. c2c indicated it would restart the roll-out should a suitable partner be found.

In June 2006, it was announced that portable X-ray machines and metal detectors would be randomly placed at stations and carried by officers on trains during summer 2006 to catch people carrying weapons, in a joint operation with Essex Police and British Transport Police, following trials at London Underground stations.

A peak timetable introduced on 11 December 2006, with the aim of improving services for the Thurrock and London Riverside sections of the Thames Gateway, was withdrawn on 8 January 2007 after a campaign by passengers as a result of delays and cancellations that affected other lines on the network. During August 2006, c2c agreed to work with Passenger Focus to establish a passenger panel.

In October 2007, c2c announced that the first coach of each unit would be made a Quiet Zone, where passengers are asked not to use their mobile phones or play music out loud. The Quiet Zone was introduced during early 2008 and is indicated by magenta vinyl stickers on the doors of the coach.

In October 2007, c2c announced that it had switched to renewably-generated electricity in all its stations, maintenance facilities and offices in a contract with E.ON UK, said to be the largest of its kind in the transport sector.

The franchise was originally due to conclude on 26 May 2011. In December 2010, the Department for Transport granted National Express an extension until 26 May 2013 to allow DfT time to conduct a review of the franchising process. During March 2013, the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would again be extended until 13 September 2014. A further delay saw this extended until 8 November 2014.

Second franchise (2014–2021)
On 9 November 2014, National Express was awarded the new 15-year Essex Thameside franchise, having successfully tendered against Abellio, FirstGroup and MTR Corporation. The c2c brand was retained for the new operator, NXET Trains Limited, which replaced c2c Rail Limited. Management of Fenchurch Street station transferred from Network Rail to c2c.

During December 2015, c2c introduced a new timetable to reflect long-term changes in passenger numbers at stations on the line. Consultation responses to the draft timetable published in October 2014 indicated dissatisfaction with many of the proposed changes. c2c was criticised for putting the interests of "one-stop hoppers" (passengers travelling between Barking and West Ham) above those who travel further on the line.

Trenitalia
In February 2017, National Express sold c2c to Trenitalia. c2c was the only remaining National Express operated UK rail franchise, down from a peak of nine in 2003. The company name was subsequently changed to Trenitalia c2c Limited.

On 1 April 2017, c2c introduced a new on-board Wi-Fi service free to all customers. Also, it has an on-board entertainment service called Vista. c2c has partnered with Now TV to provide free television shows available to stream for c2c passengers.

During the summer of 2019, c2c ran an hourly weekend limited stop service between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyess. The new service coincided with the weekend extension of Fenchurch Street to Southend Central via Ockendon trains to Shoeburyness, providing a seven trains per hour service between Shoeburyness and Benfleet on Saturdays and a five trains per hour service on Sundays.

In September 2019, it was announced that c2c had invested more than £10million into a new self service ticketing system with a user-friendly self-service interface developed with Voodoo Park. The interface is completely web-based and can be remotely repaired. The ticket machines installed in 2019 are from the Italian company Sigma Spa.

On 23 September 2019, c2c announced that it would be removing the first-to-last staffing at some stations and reducing ticket-office opening hours.

On 31 March 2020, Trenitalia and the Department for Transport entered into an emergency measures agreement to vary the terms of the franchise agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic. This took effect on 1 April 2020 and lasted until 20 September 2020. On 19 September 2020, Trenitalia and the Department for Transport entered into an emergency recovery measures agreement. This was a precursor to the replacement of the franchise agreement with a rail contract.

Rail contract (2021–present)
On 19 July 2021, the franchise agreement was replaced with a rail contract, which was due to expire on 23 July 2023.

During May 2022, the timetable was amended to accommodate the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside, the extension having started running in July 2022 as a spur from the Tilbury loop line east of Barking, sharing infrastructure with c2c services.

c2c has been one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–present United Kingdom railway strikes, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who are participating in industrial action owing to a dispute over pay and working conditions.

In February 2023, the Department for Transport announced that c2c's contract had been extended to 20 July 2025.

Branding and marketing
The c2c name could be conceived to represent "city to coast" or "capital to coast", reflecting the nature of the route, or "commitment to customers".

The c2c website stated:"The name c2c doesn't mean anything specific. In a sense it can mean anything you want it to. Its uniqueness reflects the young, vibrant character of the people we serve. c2c could stand for coast to capital, or capital to coast. From our point of view, one of the most important things it stands for is commitment to customers."

National Express also referred to the c2c route as City to Coast. c2c used the slogan "way2go", but later used the "Making travel simpler" slogan also used by other National Express companies.

Routes
c2c operates passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line from Fenchurch Street in the City of London to Shoeburyness in Essex, a distance of 39 mi. The main line operates via Basildon with a loop line via Tilbury and a branch line via Ockendon. c2c trains connect Central London with East London and the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. As of the December 2023 timetable, the main route between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness has a fastest timetabled journey of 56 minutes. The line has a speed limit of 75 mph, although the Class 357 Electrostar trains are capable of 100 mph. To meet a 2014 franchise commitment, since the December 2015 timetable change most services between Fenchurch Street and Barking at peak times call at all stations, including Limehouse and West Ham.

London terminus
, c2c runs two London–Shoeburyness services an hour at weekends that instead of calling at West Ham, Limehouse and Fenchurch Street are diverted from Barking to Stratford and Liverpool Street. This enables c2c passengers to access Westfield Stratford City and the London Stadium directly. The alternative route is also used when engineering work or disruption blocks access to Fenchurch Street. This route runs over part of the London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking line and the Elizabeth line. c2c trains pass through Maryland, Forest Gate and Woodgrange Park stations without stopping.

Stations
c2c serves a total of 28 stations. 25 of the stations are managed by c2c. West Ham and Stratford stations are managed by the London Underground and Liverpool Street station is managed by Network Rail. There are interchanges with the London Underground District line at Fenchurch Street (via out of station transfer with Tower Hill), West Ham, Barking and Upminster. The Circle line has interchanges at Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street (via Tower Hill). The Hammersmith and City line has interchanges at Liverpool Street, West Ham and Barking. The Jubilee line has interchanges at West Ham and Stratford. The Central line has interchanges at Liverpool Street and Stratford. The Docklands Light Railway has interchanges at Fenchurch Street (via Tower Gateway), Limehouse, Stratford and West Ham. The Elizabeth line has interchanges at Liverpool Street and Stratford. The London Overground has interchanges at Liverpool Street, Stratford, Barking and Upminster.

Timetable
the off-peak Monday–Friday service is as follows:

Future services
Beam Park Station, a new station, will eventually become part of the c2c Network, between Dagenham Dock and Rainham.

Ticketing
c2c has issued tickets for travel to National Rail ITSO smartcards branded 'c2c Smart' since 3 November 2014.

Through historic agreement there is interavailable ticketing with the London Underground between Fenchurch Street/Tower Hill and Upminster, with the fares set by Transport for London. Since January 2004 the pay-as-you-go product on Oyster card has been available at stations between Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Upminster. It was extended to Dagenham Dock and Rainham in 2008. During January 2010, it was extended to Chafford Hundred, Grays, Ockendon and Purfleet.

Pay-as-you-go payment by contactless bank card or smartphone is available at all stations between Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street and Grays. Contactless pay-as-you-go payment was due to be extended to all stations by December 2023. The expansion of contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing was delayed indefinitely because of technical problems.

During 2023, security teams employed by c2c and operating in partnership with the British Transport Police conducted a crackdown on fare evasion; the resulting fines generated in excess of £250,000 in under a year. Starting on 3 December 2023, fares were revised with a new weekday evening peak period introduced between 4pm and 7pm, during which off-peak tickets could no longer be used. Super off-peak tickets were withdrawn entirely.

From January 2024 c2c started to accept electronic tickets that can be purchased and stored on a mobile phone. This followed a trial during December 2023.

Slam-door replacement
LTS Rail inherited a fleet of slam-door electric multiple unit Class 302, Class 310 and Class 312 train sets from Network SouthEast. The original franchise agreement was for 25 sliding door trainsets (consisting of 100 carriages) to be transferred from West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) and for 44 new trains (consisting of 176 carriages) to be ordered by the company. LTS Rail ordered 44 Class 357 Electrostar units in 1997, to be leased from Porterbrook. The most elderly Class 302 units were removed from regular service on 4 July 1998, several sets were retained as spares in case of stock shortages. By mid-1997, WAGN had released 18 Class 317 units. However, both companies were experiencing an unexpected increase in passenger numbers and WAGN was unable to release more vehicles by December 1998.

The franchise agreement was renegotiated in November 1998 to replace the entire LTS Rail fleet with new vehicles, allowing for the return of the Class 317s to WAGN and the planned elimination of slam-door stock by March 2002. The first Class 357 train was delivered in 1999. A second batch of 28 Class 357 units was ordered in December 1999, to be leased from Angel Trains. This satisfied a franchise commitment to increase the fleet by three units. Reliability problems with the new trains led to their withdrawal from service at peak times in October 2000. By way of compensation, two additional units were added to the first order for free by the supplier Adtranz. During 2003, c2c became the first train operating company to have replaced its entire fleet with new accessible trains. The last slam-door Class 312 service ran on 29 March 2003.

Class 357
In March 2007, after extensive trials, c2c began fitting regenerative braking to its fleet, becoming the first UK train operator to do so. On 3 June 2007, the eve of World Environment Day, one train was given an all-over green vinyl sticker livery with the slogan "All c2c trains are greener now – find out more at – www.c2c-online.co.uk – c2c – the greener way to go" to highlight the completion of the scheme, which the company says has enabled energy savings of up to 20%.

With a few Class 357s being out of service at the same time, from late 2006 two Class 321s were hired from Silverlink for three months for weekday peak-hour use between Fenchurch Street and Laindon, and Pitsea via Rainham, to cover for the unavailable units.

In June 2009, Bombardier began repainting the Class 357 units. The vinyl wraps carrying the original purplish blue and magenta c2c livery were removed and the units reliveried in white with dark blue doors. The last blue liveried train ran on 5 March 2011.

Overcrowding relief

As part of the new 2014 franchise, c2c committed to leasing new trains to cope with rising passenger numbers, which were boosted especially by the opening of the Docklands Light Railway station at West Ham in 2011 and the rise of Canary Wharf as a financial centre.

The Class 357 trains had been introduced with high density 3+2 seating, consisting of 282 seats and space for 124 standing, giving a total capacity of 406 passengers per four carriage unit. In late 2015 c2c adapted 20% of its carriages into a "Metro" configuration with seats removed around doorways and in the aisle to provide a 2+2 layout. The Metro configuration consists of 222 seats, space for 334 standing, and a total passenger capacity of 556 per four carriage unit. This addressed the issue of the high volumes of passengers using c2c to travel to/from West Ham and Barking, which, with Upminster, are served by the parallel London Underground service. In the evening peak, these passengers can displace those eastbound passengers who use more easterly and less well-served stations.

During early 2016, c2c announced that it would lease additional trains to relieve overcrowding. Later that year, the company commenced a lease on six Class 387s for three years from Porterbrook to increase capacity on the busiest services. The first Class 387 set entered service in November 2016.

In December 2017, c2c announced an order with Porterbrook for six ten-car Class 720/6 Aventra electric multiple units. The new units are scheduled for delivery between mid and late 2021, which was roughly three years earlier than the initial planned phased introduction period. The first 720/6 was delivered to c2c on 19 April 2022, and the fleet was originally due to enter service in 2022.

The order was later changed to 12 five-car units. These new units were planned to replace the allocation of six four-car units, which c2c was operating on a short-term lease. By October 2022, the Class 720 had commenced testing. On 27 September 2023, c2c's Class 720 fleet entered service.

Current fleet
The c2c fleet is maintained at East Ham Depot and Shoeburyness Depot.

Former fleet
Below is a table of former units operated by c2c.

Performance
As of 31 March 2022, the statistical performance of c2c is as follows. Between April 2021 and March 2022, there were 28.1 million passenger journeys (up from 15 million in 2020/2021 and down from 47.3 million in 2019/2020). Passengers travelled 622 million kilometres in 2021/22 (up from 329 million kilometres in 2020/2021 and down from 1,201 million kilometres in 2019/2020). In 2021/2022, trains travelled in service for 6 million kilometres (unchanged from 2020/2021 and down from 7.2 million kilometres in 2019/2020). There were 104,283 trains planned to run in service in 2021/2022 (up from 101,145 in 2020/2021 and down from 123,355 in 2019/2020). The percentage of trains on time in 2021/2022 was 83.4% (down from 84.9% in 2020/2021 and up from 82.5% in 2019/2020). 1.3% of planned services were cancelled in 2021/2022 (up from 1.0% in 2020/2021 and down from 1.6% in 2019/2020). c2c has 633.4 full-time equivalent employees (lowest level over the last five years). c2c operates on 125.5 kilometres of route (unchanged). c2c manages 25 stations (unchanged).

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: C2c


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Veolia Transport

Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev, later renamed Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the brand names of Veolia Transportation in North America and Israel, Veolia Transport, Veolia Verkehr in Germany and with the former name Connex preserved in Lebanon, Melbourne (until it ceased operations in 2009) and Jersey (until it ceased operations on 31 December 2012).

Until 2011, Veolia had diverse road and rail operations across the globe, employing 72,000 workers worldwide and serving completely or partly about 40 metropolitan areas with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants.

CGEA Transport
The company was established on 1 January 1997 as CGEA Transport, created from the public transport business of Compagnie Générale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), which was a subsidiary of Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE).

CGEA was previously acquired by CGE in 1980, and its waste management and environmental services division was already rebranded Onyx Environnement in 1989, leaving CGEA with only the transport business. Compagnie générale française des transports et entreprises (CGFTE) was also acquired by CGE in the 1980s, was also absorbed into CGEA in 1988.

Vivendi, Connex and Veolia
CGE, the ultimate parent company, was later renamed to Vivendi in 1998, and created Vivendi Environnement in 1999 to consolidate its environmental divisions including the transport division. Vivendi Environnement was renamed Veolia Environnement in 2003.

As a result, the name of CGEA Transport was rebranded Connex in 1999, adopting the brand that its South Central and South Eastern rail franchises in South East England had traded under since 1996. In 2005, as a result of global rebranding of all Veolia Environnement subsidiaries, Connex was renamed Veolia Transport. Some operations such as Connex Melbourne retained the Connex name and logo.

In 2007, the group posted revenues of €5.6 billion, and sold Veolia Cargo, the rail freight branch of Veolia Transport in 2009 to SNCF and Eurotunnel.

A merger between Veolia Transport and the old Transdev was announced on 23 July 2009. Transdev was then a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts. The merger was completed in March 2011. Veolia Transdev became the world's private-sector leader in sustainable mobility with more than 110,000 employees in 28 countries. Veolia Transdev was renamed and simplified to Transdev in 2013.

In July 2011, amid disappointing financial results, Veolia Environnement announced the launch of new restructuring plans and redeployment of assets and businesses. In December 2011, Veolia announced a €5bn divestment program in 2012 and 2013. As part of this programme, Veolia would divest its participation in Transdev and exit the transport business altogether. In January 2019, Veolia sold the last of its Transdev shares to the Rethmann Group, the owner of Rhenus.

France

 * The company was the third largest private sector operator of public transport and operated:
 * 7 tramway networks across the country: 5 in service (Bordeaux, Nice, Rouen, Nancy) ; 1 in construction in suburban Lyon, (Lesly) and two in project (Le Havre and Toulon)
 * 77 bus networks (January 1, 2009), especially in Bordeaux, Nice, Rouen, Saint-Étienne, Toulon, Le Havre and Nancy
 * More than 25 suburban networks in suburban Paris : (Seine-St-Denis "TRA", Melun "Tram", Sénart "Sénart Bus", etc.)
 * 4 tourist railways (Petit train de la Rhune, Vapeur du Trieux, Chemin de Fer de La Mure and Chemins de Fer de Provence)
 * Ferry services in Mediterranéa: Veolia recently bought 28% of the Société Nationale Maritime Corse Méditerranée, a previously state-owned ferry company.

Belgium

 * Autocars De Polder has been part of the Veolia Group since 1995.
 * Veolia operated some de Lijn routes under contract.

Veolia Transport Belgium (VTB) was passed on to Veolia Transdev until it was sold to a consortium consisting of Cube Infrastructure and Gimv in March 2014.

Denmark

 * Veolia ran half of the transport operations of the privatised Combus especially around Copenhagen.
 * Copenhagen: Suburban buses.

These operations were sold to Arriva in October 2007.

Finland

 * Helsinki: Veolia owns Helsinki Metropolitan Area's bus company Veolia Finland, which was previously Linjebuss and operated essentially in Vantaa, a northern suburb of Helsinki.
 * Tampere: Veolia owns the regional bus company previously known as Alhonen & Lastunen
 * Seinäjoki: Veolia owns yet another local bus company, now known as Veolia Transport West Oy, operating both local and long-distance routes.

Veolia Transport Finland Oy has since been passed on to Transdev and has been known as Transdev Finland Oy since 5 February 2015.

Germany

 * Veolia Verkehr, former Connex Verkehr, offers train services, several of a regional character such as the Bayerische Oberlandbahn from Munich, and two long-distance services. Veolia owns a number of bus companies, mostly in suburban areas. It also operated tram systems:
 * Aachen: Suburban buses,
 * Berlin: Suburban tram line linking to the S Bahn,
 * Frankfurt: Urban linepacks A&E, Suburban services,
 * Bad Homburg: Urban & Suburban buses,
 * Hagen: Urban network,
 * Pforzheim: Urban network won by Veolia in August 2006. Network included in "Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund GmbH" (KVV) and linked to it by Tram-Train line,
 * Schwäbisch Hall: Urban network,
 * Stuttgart: Suburban buses,
 * ...and also into rural areas.

Veolia Verkehr has since been passed on to Transdev and is now known as Transdev GmbH since March 2015.

Ireland

 * Dublin: Veolia operated the Luas tramway which started operations in June 2004. Operation of the Luas tramway has since been passed on to Veolia Transdev and renamed Transdev Ireland.
 * Galway: Veolia owned the Nestor Airlink bus company which operated between Galway and Dublin Airport. However Jim Burke & Sons own and run it as of March 2009.

Jersey

 * Connex Transport Jersey operated bus services in Jersey between 29 September 2002 and 31 December 2012 under the Mybus brand.

Netherlands

 * Veolia Transport Nederland consisted of:
 * Veolia Transport Veluwe, operating in De Veluwe region in Gelderland,
 * Veolia Transport Haaglanden, operating in South Holland,
 * Veolia Transport Brabant, operating in middle and western North Brabant with 4 urban networks in Breda, Tilburg, Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal,
 * Veolia Transport Limburg, operating in the whole province of Limburg, including city buses in Maastricht, Parkstad (Heerlen-Kerkrade-Landgraaf-Brunssum), Venlo, and Roermond and the Roermond–Nijmegen and Maastricht–Kerkrade train routes.
 * Veolia Transport Fast Ferries Zeeland (Western Scheldt ferry).
 * Veolia Transport Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen, in the southern part of Zeeland province.
 * formerly Veolia Cargo] Nederland freight trains, sold in 2009 to SNCF Geodis.

Veolia Transport Nederland became part of Transdev in March 2011 and was brought under common ownership with Connexxion to form Transdev Nederland. Both continued to operate independently until June 2015 when both were brought under common management. When the Limburg concession expired on 11 December 2016, the remaining Haaglanden operations were rebranded as Connexxion.

Norway

 * Veolia Transport Norge operated:
 * Trondheim Tramway,
 * Rogaland buses,
 * Nordland buses and ferries.
 * Finnmark buses and ferries.

On 6 May 2011, Veolia Transport Norge was sold in a management buyout and renamed Boreal Transport Norge AS. The new owners were Transport Management AS (1.4%) (the management) and Cube Norge AS (98.6%), a subsidiary of Cube Communications Infrastructure S.C.A. (Cube Infrastructure Fund) of Luxembourg.

Spain

 * Barcelona: Two unlinked tram networks Trambaix and Trambesòs and two networks in the suburbs: Terrassa and Mataró,
 * Bilbao: Bilbobus urban network, contract won in May 2008, sold in 2012
 * Jerez: Urban network,
 * Parla: Tramway in suburban Madrid.

Sweden

 * Veolia Transport Sverige AB was the umbrella company of Veolia Transport companies in Sweden:
 * Gothenburg: Veolia owns the ferry company Styrsöbolaget that operated the cross-river ferries (Älvsnabben) as well as the ferries to the south archipelago. Veolia also operate some local city bus networks or interurban lines on contract to the local authorities (Västtrafik).
 * Norrköping: Veolia operate the Norrköping tramway on behalf of Östgötatrafiken.
 * Stockholm: Until April 2012, Veolia Transport (now Transdev) was running three tram networks (Lidingöbanan, Nockebybanan and Tvärbanan) and a local railway (Saltsjöbanan) in the city on behalf of SL.
 * Metro contracted by the Stockholm County Council until 2009, after which the contract was taken over by Hong Kong's MTR.
 * Malmö: Veolia runs long-distance trains from Malmö to Stockholm, in the winter season going further on to Åre, and the long-distance train from Malmö to Berlin with train ferry via Trelleborg to Sassnitz in the summer season.

Veolia Transport Sverige AB has since been passed on to Transdev and is now known as Transdev Sverige AB since February 2015.

United Kingdom

 * Connex South Eastern - A train operator in south-east England that ran from 14 October 1996 to 9 November 2003. The contract was due to run until 2011; but their contract was revoked owing to poor financial management after repeated warnings from Government.
 * Connex South Central - A train operator in the south of England that ran from 26 May 1996 until 25 August 2001. Initially their contract was due to run until 2003. In October 2000 the new contract was awarded to Govia. Soon after they and Connex worked out a takeover of the remainder of Connex's contract; starting in August 2001.
 * Connex Bus UK - a bus operator formed in mid 1999 by Connex, operating bus services in greater London. Sold to National Express in 2004 after losing the rail franchises above.
 * Dunn-Line – A National Express contractor. Veolia sold its Nottingham bus and private hire coach operations to Premiere Travel from 31 January 2011; on 6 January 2011, its National Express coach work from the city passed to Yourbus.
 * Veolia Transport Cymru, which purchased the following (ceased by December 2012):
 * Pullman Coaches
 * Bebb Travel – A National Express contractor
 * Shamrock Coaches
 * Hawkes
 * Longs
 * Astons Coaches (Kempsey, Worcester)
 * Paul James Coaches (Taken over by Centrebus in October 2011)
 * Veolia Transport – Running a number of Nexus secured local bus services in Tyne & Wear. Veolia local and sightseeing services in York were taken over by Transdev York in August 2008.

As a result, Veolia Transport had no more operations in UK by the time of Veolia Transdev's rebranding in 2013. However, since the services in York were taken over by Transdev York (part of the old Transdev), they still eventually became part of Veolia Transdev and the current Transdev.

Central Europe
Veolia Transport Central Europe was a daughter company for Central Europe. It was later passed on to Veolia Transdev and then sold to Arriva in the spring of 2013.

Czech Republic
Veolia Transport was one of the largest bus operators, operated also one regional railway line and one trolleybus network. Main acquisitions carried out (as Connex) in 2002–2004 (ČSAD Ostrava, Třinec, Praha-Vršovice, Příbram, DP Teplice), smaller in 2005 (MAD Kolín), 2008 (Nerabus), 2010 (Spojbus) etc. In summer 2008, it changed its trademark from Connex to Veolia Transport. In 2004–2007, several times competed or offered for passenger railway transport, however have got no new job yet.
 * Veolia Transport Česká republika a. s. (since 2006 a daughter of German company Veolia Transport Central Europe) has 4 operator subcompanies:
 * Veolia Transport Morava a. s. (based on former companies ČSAD BUS Ostrava→Connex Morava and ČSAD Třinec→BUS Slezsko), operated regional bus transport in Moravian-Silesian Region and Olomouc Region, urban bus networks in 7 cities, e. g. Třinec, Český Těšín, Šumperk and Krnov, many long-distance bus lines, some skibus and cyclobus lines etc. Operated the local railway line 293 (Desná Railway).
 * Veolia Transport Východní Čechy a. s. (based on the former companies ČSAD AUTOBUSY CZ Chrudim→Connex Východní Čechy and Městská autobusová doprava Kolín, s. r. o.), operated regional bus transport in the east Bohemia (east part of Central Bohemian Region, Pardubice Region, Hradec Králové Region etc.), urban bus networks in Chrudim, Kutná Hora and Kolín and some long-distance bus, skibus and cyclobus lines.
 * Veolia Transport Praha s. r. o. (based on the former companies ČSAD Praha-Vršovice→Connex Praha, ČSAD Příbram→Connex Příbram, NERABUS s. r. o. and SPOJBUS s. r. o.), operated regional bus transport mostly south and south-east of Prague, including several bus lines of Prague city transport and urban bus networks in Příbram, Neratovice, Roudnice nad Labem, Říčany etc.
 * Veolia Transport Teplice s. r. o. (based on the former city enterprise DP Teplice), operated urban network of bus and trolleybus lines in Teplice.

Slovakia

 * Nitra: Urban network and bus station.

Poland

 * Veolia owned a number of bus companies and operated an urban network:
 * Tczew: Urban city network.

Serbia

 * Veolia owned a number of bus companies and operated 2 urban networks:
 * Belgrade: Urban city network
 * Požarevac: Urban, suburban and intercity network

East Asia (excluding Philippines)
Veolia Transport's more recent operations in East Asia were operated as a joint venture with RATP Group, known as Veolia Transport RATP Asia (VTRA). It was created in July 2009 and absorbed all existing Veolia Transport operating companies and contracts. Veolia Transport's share has since been passed on to Veolia Transdev, with the joint venture renamed RATP Dev Transdev Asia (RDTA).

China
Veolia Transport Chinese Limited (VTCL) started a joint venture with Nanjing Zhongbei to operate bus networks in China in 2008. It operates in: It was passed to VTRA upon the latter's creation in 2009.
 * Anqing: Anhui province
 * Huaibei : Bus network operated as a joint venture into a city of 2 040 000 inhabitants (932 185 hab. urban in 2006) in Anhui province
 * Huainan : Bus network operated as a joint venture into a city of 1 076 000 inhabitants (1 075 754 hab. urban in 2006) in Anhui province
 * Ma'anshan: Anhui province
 * Nanjing: Suburbs of Luhe and Pukou

Hong Kong

 * Hong Kong Island : Veolia Transport Chinese Limited also acquired 50% of Hong Kong Tramways and took over the daily operations from The Wharf on April 7, 2009, wholly owned on February 17, 2010. The tramways is now a fully owned subsidiary of RATP Dev Transdev Asia.

India

 * Mumbai: Veolia Transport is part of a consortium which is led by Reliance Infrastructure, together with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA); a joint venture known as Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd. The share by Veolia would later be passed on to VTRA (now RATP Dev Transdev Asia). They would build the first corridor of the Mumbai Metro on the 11.4 km stretch between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar on the east–west corridor. The project started construction in 2008 and was completed and opened in 2014. RATP Dev Transdev Asia also holds 70% share of the operating company, Metro One Operation Pvt Ltd.

Macau

 * Macau: Veolia Transport RATP Dev created Reolian Public Transport Co. to operate buses in Macau. Services began August 1, 2011 and is operating two of five groupings of routes, also to be the more important arterial routes of the city. The joint venture announced filing for bankruptcy on 1 October 2013. The operation was finally terminated in July 2014 and passed on to another operator.

South Korea

 * Seoul: Metro 9 was a joint venture of Veolia Transport Korea (80%) and Hyundai Rotem (20%). Metro 9 operates Line 9 of Seoul's Metro. The line opened in 2009. RATP Dev Transdev Asia now holds the share held by Veolia Transport Korea.

Philippines
Connex operated the Bonifacio Transport Corporation in the Philippines in the early 2000s. It is unknown when exactly did Connex stop operating the bus services.

Light Rail

 * Jerusalem: Veolia won a $500 million contract in 2003 to build and maintain the Jerusalem Light Rail system, which will comprise eight lines running across the city. It is expected to be completed by 2020. The first line, from Pisgat Ze'ev to Beit HaKerem, began operation in 2011. Due to the controversial nature of the project, Veolia became a target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. In September 2009, the company considering selling its share in the project to the Dan Bus Company for $15–20 million. In October 2010, it agreed to sell its stake to Egged instead. As a result, Dan sued Veolia. After the operation was passed on to Veolia Transdev, the sale to Egged was finally approved in August 2015.

Buses
Veolia operates buses in Israel under Veolia Transportation brand. It used to operate with both the Veolia Transportation brand and the Connex brand together in the late 2000s. They operate:
 * Modi'in: Intercity and urban buses in a city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Formerly run by Margalit.
 * Ashdod: Intercity buses to Tel Aviv and Gush Dan, and to Ashkelon. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
 * Tiberias: Urban and regional buses. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
 * Yavne: Urban buses. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
 * Lod: Urban buses and intercity buses to Tel Aviv. Formerly run by Egged Bus Cooperative.
 * Bnei Brak: Intercity buses to Jerusalem. Formerly run by Dan Bus Company.

In 2012, Denis Gasquet, Veolia's senior executive vice president, visited Israel, where the company has reached a turnover of 1.5 billion shekels a year. After 20 years of investment in the country, Gasquet said the company had never lost a tender due to its commitment to Israel. Despite operational hitches, Veolia stated that there were no political problems with the Arabs or the Jews, and the company was "not ashamed to say that we make money in Israel."

After these operations was passed on to Veolia Transdev, the buses in Modi'in were sold to Kavim in July 2013, while the rest were sold to Afikim in September 2013.

Lebanon

 * Around a 40 km radius from Beirut : Connex operates school bus services for the Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais in Achrafieh, Beirut using a fleet of TEMSA Prestij buses, Nissan Civilian buses and Nissan Urvan vans. The operation was part of Veolia Transportation from 1998 till 2008. After 2008, it retained the Connex branding and logo.

Australia
Connex changed its name to the same as its French parent company's, Veolia, in January 2006. Branding on buses and trains was changed to reflect this position, with the exception of Connex Melbourne. Turnover for Australia was over A$635 million.
 * Brisbane, Queensland: Veolia operated as Veolia Transport Brisbane after purchasing National Bus Company's business in September 2004.
 * Melbourne, Victoria: Connex Melbourne operated the franchise for operating half of Melbourne's suburban rail system, later extending to the entire network in 2004. The contract expired on 30 November 2009.
 * Perth, Western Australia: Veolia purchased Southern Coast Transit from National Bus Company in 2004.
 * Sydney, New South Wales:
 * Veolia operated a commuter bus services in south and south-western Sydney as Veolia Transport NSW, formerly Connex Southtrans and Connex NSW, after purchasing Southtrans in September 1999.
 * Veolia also operated the Sydney Monorail and light rail network as Veolia Transport Sydney, on behalf of Metro Transport Sydney since August 1998. It was CGEA Transport's first venture into Australia and first operated as CGEA Transport Sydney. It also owned 51% of the monorail between 1998 and 2001.

With the exception of Connex Melbourne, the other Veolia Transport operations have since been passed on to Veolia Transdev and grouped to form its Australasian subsidiary Transdev Australasia (together with Veolia Auckland and old Transdev).

Between August 2001 and 2003, Connex also briefly owned 50% of West Coast Railway which operated services between Melbourne and Warrnambool.

New Caledonia

 * Nouméa: Veolia created and ran the Nouméa suburban bus network since February 2002, under the Carsud brand.

New Zealand

 * Auckland: Veolia Transport Auckland operated the commuter rail services in partnership with Auckland Transport. It changed its name from Connex to Veolia on 1 March 2006.

Veolia Transport Auckland has since been passed on to Veolia Transdev and grouped with Veolia Transport and old Transdev's Australian operations to form Transdev Australasia.

North America
Veolia Transportation was the North American business unit of Veolia Transport It has since been passed on to Transdev and renamed Transdev North America in 2014.

Canada
In April 2005 Veolia were awarded the contract in York Region in suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada running the bus rapid transit (BRT) naming the routes VIVA and joining with York Region Transit (YRT) as a one fare transit system.

Veolia also operated transit services in the Greater Montreal Area.

 * CIT Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan
 * Ville de Sainte-Julie Transit
 * Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Transit

United States
Connex arrived in the United States in 2001, with the acquisition of Yellow Transportation in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 1, 2005, Connex acquired ATC from National Express, making Connex-ATC the largest privately owned public transportation company in North America. ATC was formed in 1951 and originally owned bus companies before becoming a contractor. In 2006, Connex-ATC changed its name to Veolia Transportation, acquired ShuttlePort, and won several contracts in the US, including:
 * Antelope Valley Transit Authority in Los Angeles County, California,
 * Atlanta: In suburban Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County Transit operated bus routes within as well as Xpress Bus routes to Atlanta.
 * Austin: Capital MetroRail and bus routes throughout Austin and surrounding communities. In March 2009, employees of Veolia Transportation were said to have tested trains on rail sections without prior approval and hence the Capital MetroRail was delayed.
 * Boston: Veolia operated the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's regional commuter rail operations from 1 July 2003 until 30 June 2014 in conjunction with Bombardier Transportation and Alternate Concepts. < as the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad.
 * Charleston: Veolia operated buses for CARTA
 * Charm City Circulator operated service throughout Downtown Baltimore. It began service in 2010.
 * Denver, CO: Regional Transportation District (RTD) routes throughout the metro-wide District.
 * Greensboro, NC: operated buses for Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA)
 * Las Vegas: RTC Transit in Las Vegas including The Deuce & MAX (Contract expired July 7, 2013)
 * Los Angeles: Metrolink, 2005–2010. A Connex/Veolia engineer texting on-duty was responsible for a head-on collision causing 26 deaths and 135 injuries, the deadliest incident in Metrolink history, leading the Metrolink board to return to the previous contractor, Amtrak.
 * Miami: Tri-Rail, a train system won in 2007 in the Miami metropolitan area of Florida.
 * Napa County, California: Operated Vine Transit system.
 * Nassau County, New York: Veolia won a contract to operate Long Island Bus (renamed Nassau Inter-County Express) in place of the MTA effective January 1, 2012.
 * New Jersey: Certain bus routes in Monmouth County as part of New Jersey Transit Bus Operations.
 * New Orleans: New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, won in 2008
 * Phoenix: the Valley Metro bus system serving the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona with contracts in Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe,
 * Redding: Redding Area Bus Authority
 * Sacramento: In suburban Yolo County, California, Yolobus provides public transportation.
 * San Diego: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus routes and the SPRINTER DMU rail system in San Diego County, California,
 * Victor Valley: Victor Valley Transit Authority serving the Victorville, California area.

Veolia employed over 16,000 employees with 6,500 vehicles and a revenue of over $1 billion. in 2005 in North America. Its executive team included Mark Joseph (CEO of VTNA). It was headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Veolia also owns the Supershuttle shared-ride airport shuttle service, as well as the ExecuCar black car/sedan service. Veolia also operated taxicab services across the country under various brands.

Chile

 * Santiago: Veolia owned Redbus Urbano, which operated feeder services to the Metro and "Troncales" in northern suburban Santiago. This operation has since been passed on to Transdev.

Colombia

 * Bogotá: Veolia, in conjunction with three other operators, ran a 90 km right-of-way bus line called the TransMilenio system, used by more than 1,400,000 persons a day. This has since been passed on to Transdev.

title: Veolia Transport


text:
Gatwick Express

Gatwick Express is an express rail passenger service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, and Brighton in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.

Trains have regularly served Gatwick Airport since the opening of its rebuilt railway station in May 1958. Prior to the 1980s, these services were relatively slow and without any particular priority; this led to the Gatwick Liaison Group advocating for a non-stop service to London during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Accordingly, during May 1984, the Gatwick Express service was launched using air-conditioned InterCity carriages. British Rail operated Gatwick Express through to its privatisation in April 1996, after which National Express took over operations under a franchising arrangement. One of the franchise commitments made by National Express was the replacement of the inherited rolling stock with new-build trains for Gatwick Express; this led to the introduction of the Class 460 Junipers during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In June 2008, Gatwick Express ceased to exist as a separate franchise; it was merged into the Southern train operating company, although it continues to be maintained as a separate identity. Additional rolling stock in the form of the 442 (5WES) Wessex Electrics were introduced. However, figures such as the Chairman of Gatwick Airport, Roy McNulty, publicly criticised Gatwick Express, claiming its services to be overcrowded and the rolling stock outdated. In July 2015, Southern including the Gatwick Express service was merged into Govia Thameslink Railway. Since January 2016, both Oyster cards and contactless payment cards have been accepted for travel between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport. The introduction of s during the 2010s was objected to by the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) trade union, but the dispute was later resolved.

All Gatwick Express services were suspended on 30 March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited services resumed briefly during December 2021, but were suspended again only weeks later due to redevelopment works at Gatwick Airport station as well as COVID-related factors. A reduced service of two trains per hour resumed on 3 April 2022; full service cannot resume until work at the airport station is complete.

Background
During the early 1950s, Gatwick Airport expanded substantially, leading to Gatwick railway station being rebuilt and integrated into the airport's terminal via an upper level concourse designed by British Rail Southern Region. On 27 May 1958, the rebuilt station, Gatwick Airport, opened with a regular train service. Initially, the rail service was provided entirely by standard London to Brighton stopping services; however, more trains began to call with the introduction of the summer timetable in June 1958. One of the key elements of this expanded service was the extension of Three Bridges to Bognor Regis stopping services to start and terminate at London Victoria. These trains would run through a reversible platform at Gatwick where a portion would detach and wait in the platform for passengers until the next up train from Bognor Regis was attached and the train would depart for Victoria. For this service British Rail used a small batch of seven Class 402 2HALs in order to work with the trains used on the Bognor Regis services, suitable for airport link use because of their larger luggage space.

This situation lasted until the early 1970s when increased passenger and luggage travel to the station was rendering the old system obsolete. British Rail therefore decided to adapt a number of Class 423 4VEPs with increased luggage capacity (at the expense of fewer second class seats) and were redesignated as Class 427 4VEGs. The service however remained much the same, with the units attaching and detaching from Bognor Regis bound services running via Redhill. This led to somewhat extended journey times which meant the service lacked any real purpose, as the faster services began calling at Gatwick Airport from the early 1970s, and made the option of travelling to Gatwick from London on the service lack appeal to those who knew better. At first the service from Bognor Regis, which by this stage only stopped at East Croydon, was branded Rapid City Link.

During 1975, British Airports Authority airport director John Mulkern, British Caledonian Airways chairman Adam Thomson and British Rail's Southern Region regional manager Bob Reid, formed the Gatwick Liaison Group to discuss matters of mutual interest. A subsidiary of this entity, the Gatwick Promotion Group, under the chairmanship of the airport's public relations manager David Hurst, was formed to market the airport. It was a long-term aim of the group to have a non-stop service between the airport and central London in order to counter the perceived distance from the capital, for both domestic and overseas passengers. One of the first successes of the group was to persuade the British Rail board to redevelop Gatwick station by building a raft over the platforms, and this was opened by British Rail chairman Peter Parker in 1980.

Express service
In May 1984, the non-stop Gatwick Express service began, using Class 73s with Mark 2 carriages. Later, the duties were taken over by Class 488 and Class 489. A 30-minute journey time was advertised, although some journeys would take nearer 35 minutes, especially during peak hours.

Privatisation
Gatwick Express was the first portion of British Rail's InterCity sector to be converted into a separate train operating unit, ready for franchising as a private business with the assets transferred to Gatwick Express Limited in March 1994. The Gatwick Express franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to National Express with the franchise starting on 28 April 1996.

Operated by Southern
In April 2007, the Department for Transport announced that the Gatwick Express franchise was to be incorporated into the South Central franchise and the services transferred to Southern on 22 June 2008. This reorganisation was part of a plan to use Gatwick Express services to provide extra capacity on the Brighton Main Line south of Gatwick Airport.

On 20 August 2008, the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, Govia, National Express and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the new South Central franchise. On 9 June 2009, the Department for Transport announced that Govia had retained the franchise, beginning on 20 September 2009.

Operated by Govia Thameslink Railway
The Department for Transport confirmed prior to the awarding of the new franchise that the Southern franchise would be merged at its conclusion in July 2015 into the proposed Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.

In March 2012, the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, FirstGroup, Govia, MTR and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise. The Invitation to Tender was to have been issued in October 2012, and the successful bidder announced in spring 2013. However, in the wake of the InterCity West Coast refranchising process collapsing, the Secretary of State for Transport announced in October 2012 that the process would be put on hold pending the results of a review.

With the last franchise expiring on 25 July 2015, the South Central franchise merged with the Thameslink Great Northern franchise to create Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern. This is operated by Govia Thameslink Railway, which is also owned by Southern's parent company, Govia. The Gatwick Express brand identity has been retained. Oyster cards and contactless payment cards have been accepted for travel between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport since January 2016.

Suspension
On 30 March 2020, all Gatwick Express services were suspended until further notice under a reduced timetable rapidly adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of Gatwick Express's Class 387/2 trains have been used by Southern on its East Coastway services between Brighton and Eastbourne, Hastings and Ore, on some Brighton Main Line services between Brighton and London Victoria, and on some West Coastway services between Brighton and West Worthing. During May 2021, nine Class 387/2s were transferred to Great Northern as replacements for Class 365s on services between London King's Cross and Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough and Stevenage; six of these trains were then leased to Great Western Railway to cover for Class 800s on services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway.

During December 2021, the Gatwick Express briefly resumed on weekdays only, but was suspended after only two weeks due to engineering works and COVID-related developments. On 3 April 2022, Gatwick Express services restarted under a seven-day timetable; however, only two services per hour were initially ran between London and Gatwick instead of four per hour as they were prior to the pandemic. Govia Thameslink Railway attributed the work to redevelop Gatwick Airport station for this cutback.

Services

Gatwick Express operates an express commuter and airport transfer service between London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, Haywards Heath and Brighton. Between 6:00am and 9:00am on weekdays, northbound services call additionally at Preston Park, Hassocks and Burgess Hill. Services stop additionally at the same stations in the southbound direction between 5:00pm and 8:00pm.

As of May 2023, the off-peak Monday-Saturday, with frequencies in 'trains per hour' (tph), consists of: On Sundays, Gatwick Express operates a half-hourly shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport only.

Past services
From privatisation until December 2008, the service pattern was one train every 15 minutes non-stop between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.

In April 2007, the Department for Transport announced that the Gatwick Express franchise was to be incorporated into the South Central franchise. as part of a plan to increase capacity on the Brighton Main Line. As a result, peak-time services were extended beyond Gatwick to/from Brighton from December 2008, with northbound trains running every 15 minutes in the morning peak and southbound trains to Brighton every 15 minutes in the evening peak. This change doubled the number of London-to-Brighton express trains during peak periods. Additional calls were made at Haywards Heath, Wivelsfield, Burgess Hill, Hassocks and/or Preston Park; the stopping pattern for northbound services was not regular but all stations received at least one train a day, while all services called at Haywards Heath; the southbound services were more structured, with all services calling at Haywards Heath and half-hourly services for Burgess Hill, Hassocks and Preston Park (no southbound trains served Wivelsfield).

As part of the December 2015 timetable, Gatwick Express began serving Brighton all day (except on Sundays), with half-hourly services in the off-peak and evenings (while the remaining services continue to terminate at Gatwick Airport). Unlike peak-time services, these call at no intermediate stations between Brighton and the airport. These services replaced the half-hourly "express" services operated by Southern (which did not call at Gatwick Airport).

In May 2018, the stopping pattern for peak-time services was changed: all calls at Wivelsfield and Preston Park stations were withdrawn, Hassocks is now served by all peak Gatwick Express services every 15 minutes, while Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath are served half-hourly (by alternate services) in both directions. Services to and from Preston Park were restored in May 2019, though, with half-hourly calls made by the same trains that stop at Burgess Hill.

Ticketing
London – Gatwick is one of the few journeys on the UK National Rail network for which tickets restricting travel to certain brands of service are available in addition to the option of standard inter-available fares for immediate travel as on all flows shared by different National Rail operators (although some restrictions may apply on cheaper tickets). Through tickets for which the Brighton Main Line is part of a permitted route are valid on the Gatwick Express service as with all other Govia Thameslink Railway services, the only exclusion being some tickets from London to stations south of Gatwick routed Not Gatwick Express.

Historically, standard Gatwick Express services did not charge penalty fares and permitted tickets to be purchased on board at no extra charge. Journeys to or from stations south of Gatwick were subject to penalty fares as normal. This rule applied to the six weekday services each way that start or end at Brighton. However, in December 2011 electronic ticket gates were installed at Gatwick Airport and London Victoria platforms 13 and 14 (where the Gatwick Express arrives and departs), meaning that tickets can no longer be bought on the train and must be purchased either in advance or at the station before boarding.

London Oyster Cards and contactless cards have been accepted for travel since January 2016 between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport. The fare is charged differently at the Gatwick Express gateline at London Victoria station compared to other platforms which Southern services use.

Performance
In May 2013, the Chairman of Gatwick Airport, Roy McNulty, criticised the Gatwick Express service for its overcrowding and old rolling stock. He said that the train service sometimes "at times veers towards Third World conditions" and that it gives air passengers arriving in the United Kingdom a bad first impression of the UK, and called for major improvements. Southern responded by stating that it had provided some 20,000 extra peak-hour seats every week on the London-Brighton line.

In August 2018, Govia Thameslink Railway was directed by the Advertising Standards Authority (an independent advertising regulator) to remove claims of a 30-minute journey time between London and Gatwick due to poor performance on the line.

Rolling stock
Govia Thameslink Railway operates a fleet of Gatwick Express branded s which it received in 2016. GTR placed a £145.2million order with Bombardier for 27 sets of the type in November 2014 to replace the existing Class 442 Wessex Electrics.

The type underwent testing in July 2015, and began to enter passenger service in February 2016. The new trains have 12 carriages compared with 10 for the Class 442, and also feature additional luggage space, wireless internet connectivity and passenger service updates.

In April 2016, drivers belonging to the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) trade union refused to pick up passengers on the new Class 387 trains. The trains are fitted with "Driver-Only Operation" (DOO) capability, meaning that the driver closes the doors using CCTV and decides that it is safe to move off, rather than a guard. DOO had been used on the previous 10-car Class 442, but the union claimed that extending this to 12-car trains put too much pressure on the driver and was unsafe. In response, GTR took legal action, and the union ultimately dropped the claim.

The Gatwick Express branded fleet is maintained at Lovers Walk Depot with stabling facilities provided at Stewarts Lane depot. Some classified overhaul work has also been undertaken at Hornsey EMU Depot taking advantage of the unit's dual voltage capability.

Past fleet
Until 1984 the service was operated by Class 423 slam-door stock, coded 4-VEG (G for Gatwick).

From May 1984 Mark 2F stock released from Midland Main Line duties coupled to a Class 489 Gatwick Luggage Van took over the services, hauled by locomotives.

A franchise commitment by National Express was the replacement of these with new stock, and eight Class 460 Junipers started to be delivered from January 1999. Because of reliability problems, some of the old stock remained in service until 2005.

To replace the last of the old stock, a pair of Class 458 Junipers were transferred from South West Trains for use as spares. They remained in their existing livery but with Gatwick Express branding and their seating was modified from high density 3+2 seating configuration to 2+2 configuration, some seating being replaced with luggage racks. However, these units never entered service and returned to South West Trains. The Class 460s were withdrawn from service in September 2012 to be merged with the mechanically similar Class 458 units used by South West Trains in order to provide more stock at peak times.

The Gatwick Express service received 17 refurbished Class 442 Wessex Electrics from South West Trains from December 2008, followed by a further seven through leases in 2009, after Southern retained the South Central franchise. The additional rolling stock allowed Southern to provide extra capacity on the Gatwick Express services extended to Brighton. The stock were replaced during 2016 by newly built Class 387/2s.

title: Gatwick Express


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Joseph Wheeler

Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in the United States Army during both the Spanish-American and Philippine–American Wars near the turn of the twentieth century. For much of the Civil War, he was the senior cavalry general in the Army of Tennessee and fought in most of its battles in the Western Theater.

Between the Civil War and the Spanish–American War, Wheeler served multiple terms as a U.S. Representative from the state of Alabama as a Democrat.

Early life
Although of old New England ancestry (descended from the English Puritans who came to New England during the Puritan migration to New England), Joseph Wheeler was born near Augusta, Georgia, and spent some of his early childhood growing up with relatives in Derby, Connecticut while also spending about half of each year in Georgia. Joseph Wheeler and Julia Knox Hull Wheeler were his parents. He was the grandson of Brigadier General William Hull, a veteran of the American Revolution.

Despite his being partially brought up in the northern United States, and being appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point from the state of New York, Wheeler always considered himself a Georgian and Southerner.

Wheeler entered West Point in July 1854, barely meeting the height requirement at the time for entry. He graduated on July 1, 1859, placing 19th out of 22 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons. He attended the U.S. Army Cavalry School located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and upon completion was transferred on June 26, 1860, to the Regiment of Mounted Rifles stationed in the New Mexico Territory.

It was while stationed in New Mexico and fighting in a skirmish with Indians that Joseph Wheeler picked up the nickname "Fighting Joe." On September 1, 1860, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.

Early service
At the start of the Civil War, Wheeler entered the Confederate States Army on March 16 as a first lieutenant in the Georgia state militia artillery and then was assigned to Fort Barrancas off of Pensacola, Florida, reporting to Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg. His resignation from the U.S. Army was accepted on April 22, 1861. He was ordered to Huntsville, Alabama, to take command of the newly formed 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was promoted to colonel on September 4.

Wheeler and the 19th Alabama fought well under Bragg at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. During the Siege of Corinth in April and May, Wheeler's men on picket duty repeatedly clashed with U.S. patrols. Serving as acting brigade commander, Wheeler burned the bridges over the Tuscumbia River to cover the Confederate retreat to Tupelo, Mississippi.

Middle Tennessee
From September to October, Wheeler transferred to the cavalry branch and commanded the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the Left Wing in the Army of Mississippi. During the Confederate Heartland Offensive, Wheeler aggressively maintained contact with the U.S. Army. He began to suffer from poor relations with Nathan Bedford Forrest, when Bragg reassigned most of Forrest's men to Wheeler, sending Forrest to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to recruit a new brigade. Wheeler fought at the Battle of Perryville in October and, after the fight, performed an excellent rearguard action protecting the army's retreat. He was promoted to brigadier general on October 30 and led the cavalry belonging to the Second Corps, Army of Tennessee, from November to December. During the action at La Vergne, Tennessee, on November 27, Wheeler was wounded by an artillery shell that exploded near him.

In December 1862, the U.S. Army of the Cumberland began to advance from Nashville against Bragg's army. Now commanding all of the Army of Tennessee's cavalry, Wheeler skirmished aggressively to delay their advance. He drove into the rear of the U.S. army, destroying hundreds of wagons and capturing more than 700 prisoners. After the Battle of Stones River, as Bragg's army withdrew to the Duck River line, Wheeler struck the U.S. supply lines at Harpeth Shoals on January 12–13, burning three steamboats and capturing more than 400 prisoners. Bragg recommended that Wheeler be promoted as a "just reward", and he became a major general on January 20, 1863.

Wheeler led the army's Cavalry Corps from January to November 24, then from December to November 15, 1864. For his actions on January 12–13, 1863, Wheeler and his troopers received the Thanks of the Confederate Congress on May 1, 1863.

In February 1863, Wheeler and Forrest attacked Fort Donelson at Dover, Tennessee, but the small U.S. garrison repulsed them. Forrest angrily told Wheeler, "Tell [General Bragg] that I will be in my coffin before I will fight again under your command." Bragg dealt with this rivalry in the Tullahoma Campaign by assigning Wheeler to guard the army's right flank while Forrest guarded the left. A Union cavalry advance on Shelbyville on June 27 trapped Wheeler and 50 of his men on the north side of the Duck River, forcing Wheeler to plunge his horse over a 15-foot embankment and escape through the rain-swollen river.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga
Wheeler and his troopers guarded the army's left flank at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. After the routed U.S. army collected in Chattanooga, Gen. Bragg sent Wheeler's men into central Tennessee to destroy railroads and Federal supply lines in a major raid. On October 2, his attack at Anderson's Cross Roads (also known as Powell's Crossroads) destroyed more than 700 U.S. supply wagons, tightening the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. Pursued by U.S. soldiers, Wheeler advanced to McMinnville and captured its 600-man garrison. There were more actions at Murfreesboro and Farmington. Still, by October 9, Wheeler safely crossed the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The extensive raid and a subsequent northern movement to assist Longstreet in his siege of Knoxville would cause the mounted arm of the army to miss the Chattanooga Campaign (November 23–25). Wheeler covered Bragg's retreat from Chattanooga following the Union breakthrough at Missionary Ridge on November 25 and received a wound in his foot as his cavalry and Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's infantry fought at the Battle of Ringgold Gap on November 27.

Georgia and the Carolinas
During U.S. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, Wheeler's cavalry corps screened the flanks of the Army of Tennessee as Gen. Joseph E. Johnston drew back from several positions toward Atlanta. In July, Sherman sent two large cavalry columns to destroy the railroads supplying the defenders of Atlanta. With fewer than 5,000 cavalrymen, Wheeler defeated the enemy raids, capturing one of the two commanding generals, Maj. Gen. George Stoneman (the highest-ranking U.S. prisoner of war). In August, Wheeler's corps crossed the Chattahoochee River in an attempt to destroy the railroad Sherman was using to supply his force from Chattanooga. Wheeler's men captured the town of Dalton, but he failed to defeat the U.S. garrison protected in a nearby fort. Wheeler then took his men into East Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee River above Knoxville. His raid continued to the west, causing minor interruptions in the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and then continued south through Franklin, Tennessee, until he recrossed the Tennessee at Tuscumbia, Alabama. The raid Wheeler was ordered to undertake was described by historian Ed Bearss as a "Confederate disaster" because it caused minimal damage to the United States while denying Gen. John Bell Hood, now in command of the Army of Tennessee, the direct support of his cavalry arm. Without accurate intelligence of Sherman's dispositions, Hood lost the Battle of Jonesborough and was forced to evacuate Atlanta. Wheeler rendezvoused with Hood's army in early October after destroying the railroad bridge at Resaca. That said, the blame for this defeat cannot be laid at Wheeler's feet.

In late 1864, Wheeler's cavalry did not accompany Hood on his Franklin–Nashville Campaign back into Tennessee and was virtually the only effective Confederate force to oppose Sherman's March to the Sea to Savannah. However, his resistance to Sherman did little to comfort Georgia civilians, and lax discipline within his command caused great dissatisfaction. Robert Toombs said, "I hope to God he will never get back to Georgia." Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill wrote that "the whole of Georgia is full of bitter complaints of Wheeler's cavalry." A telling encounter between Wheeler and Sherman is documented in one of Sherman's reports. This incident occurred after Gen. Jeff C Davis decided to dismantle a pontoon bridge to distance his army from a group of escaped slaves who sought refuge and safety with the Union forces. According to Sherman's account, Wheeler ordered his cavalry to charge the refugees. This action forced the men, women, and children into the water, where it is presumed many drowned.

Wheeler and his men continued to attempt to stop Sherman in the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. He defeated a U.S. cavalry force under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick in South Carolina at the Battle of Aiken on February 11. He was replaced as cavalry chief by Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton III and fought under him at the Battle of Bentonville on March 19–20. While attempting to cover Confederate President Jefferson Davis's flight south and west in May, Wheeler was captured at Conyer's Station just east of Atlanta. He had intended to reach the Trans-Mississippi and Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, still resisting out west, and had with him three officers from his staff and 11 privates when he was taken. Wheeler was imprisoned for two months, first at Fort Monroe and then in solitary confinement at Fort Delaware, where he was paroled on June 8.

During his career in the Confederate States Army, Wheeler was wounded three times, lost 36 staff officers to combat, and a total of 16 horses were shot from under him. Military historian Ezra J. Warner believed that Wheeler's actions leading cavalry in the conflict "were second only to those of Bedford Forrest".

U.S. House of Representatives
After the war, Wheeler became a planter and a lawyer near Courtland, Alabama, where he married and raised a family. His home, Pond Spring, in an area now known as Wheeler, Alabama, is a historical site owned by the Alabama Historical Commission.

In 1880, Wheeler was elected from Alabama as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives. Wheeler's opponent, Greenback incumbent William M. Lowe, contested the election. After a contentious legal battle that lasted over a year, Lowe was declared the winner and assumed the seat on June 3, 1882. Lowe served only four months before dying of tuberculosis. Wheeler won a special election to return and serve the remaining weeks of the term.

Wheeler supported the election of Luke Pryor in 1882 and did not run for reelection, but was elected again in 1884 and re-elected to seven subsequent terms before resigning in 1900. While in Congress, Wheeler strove to heal the breach between the slave states and the United States and championed policies to help rebuild the southern U.S. economy. At the 1884 Democratic National Convention, Wheeler supported Grover Cleveland to be the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States.

In foreign policy, Wheeler was outspokenly Anglophile; he sought a closer relationship between the United States and the British Empire and is regarded as one of the earliest advocates of what would later be called the "Special Relationship" between the United States of America and the United Kingdom. When he was asked during the 1888 United States presidential election if he believed that President Grover Cleveland was "as pro-British as people say", Wheeler replied by saying, "No, but he ought to be." While in Washington DC between 1886 and 1887, he formed a friendship with Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville, the British Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. He described Sackville West as "an absolute gentleman" and "very forward" as well as "manful" and "impeccably honest." By contrast, he described French President Jules Grévy as "a dumb sumbitch" in a statement which he later refused to retract, despite pressure from allies in Washington DC to do so.

In January 1890, when House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed began the process of eliminating the disappearing quorum by calling the names of House members who refused to answer, Wheeler climbed onto one of the desks and then proceeded to leap from desk to desk in an attempt to reach the center and stop the Speaker.

Spanish–American War
In 1898, Wheeler, now aged 61, volunteered for the Spanish–American War, receiving an appointment to major general of volunteers from President William McKinley. He assumed command of the cavalry division, which included Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and was nominally second-in-command of the Fifth Army Corps. He sailed for Cuba and was charged with scouting for the U.S. advance by General William Rufus Shafter, overall commander of V Corps. He was ordered not to engage the enemy on his own until the American troop disembarkation had been completed.

Approaching Las Guasimas de Sevilla on June 24, American reports suggested the Spaniards were digging in with a field gun; however, Cuban scouts contradicted these, revealing the Spaniards were preparing to abandon their position. In fact, the Spanish troops at the position had received orders to fall back on Santiago. Wheeler requested the assistance of the attached Cuban forces in an immediate attack, but their commander, Col. Gonzales Clavel, refused. Wheeler attacked anyway, rushing his men forward with two guns to the front. Colonel Young's brigade led the advance against the Spanish columns in what came to be called the Battle of Las Guasimas, the first major engagement of the war.

During the excitement of the battle, Wheeler is said to have called out, "Let's go, boys! We've got the damn Yankees on the run again!" Wheeler's forces moved to encircle the Spaniards' first battle line, assaulting its front and right flank, but were repelled. During a pause in the fighting, both sides reinforced their positions. The Spaniards sent forward two companies of the San Fernando Battalion, along with the artillery. After midday, the U.S. attack was renewed, but Spanish Comandante Andrés Alcañiz, leading the Provisional de Puerto Rico Battalion, once again checked the American assault.

After halting the American advance, the Spanish resumed their ongoing withdrawal toward Santiago's outer defenses according to their original plans. The battle had cost U.S. forces 17 dead and 52 wounded, while Spanish forces suffered seven dead and seven wounded.

Wheeler fell seriously ill during the campaign and turned over command of the division to Brig. Gen. Samuel S. Sumner. Wheeler was still incapacitated in July when the Battle of San Juan Hill began, but once he heard the sound of guns, the "War Child" returned to the front despite his illness. Being the senior officer at the front, he first issued orders to the 1st Division, under Jacob F. Kent, before returning to his own command. Upon taking the heights, Wheeler assured General William R. Shafter that the position could be held against a counterattack. He led the division through the Siege of Santiago and was a senior member of the peace commission.

Wheeler's youngest son died shortly after his return from serving in Cuba; he drowned while swimming in the ocean. When back in the United States, Wheeler commanded the convalescent camp of the army at Montauk Point, now a state park in New York.

Philippine–American War
Wheeler sailed for the Philippines to fight in the Philippine–American War, arriving in August 1899. He commanded the First Brigade in Arthur MacArthur's Second Division during the Philippine–American War until January 1900. During this period, Wheeler was mustered out of the volunteer service and commissioned a brigadier general in the regular army, reentering the organization he had resigned from over 39 years before, both on June 16, 1900. After hostilities, he commanded the Department of the Lakes until his retirement on September 10, 1900, and moved to New York City.

Later life
Wheeler wrote several books on military history and strategy and civil subjects. His first was A Revised System of Cavalry Tactics, for the Use of the Cavalry and Mounted Infantry, C.S.A. in 1863, a manual that saw use by the Confederacy. His other works include: Fitz-John Porter in 1883, The Santiago Campaign in 1898, Confederate Military History: Alabama in 1899, and Report on the Island of Guam in 1900. Wheeler also co-wrote several more books throughout the rest of his life, the last of which, The New America and the Far East: A Picturesque and Historic Description of These Lands and Peoples, was published in 1907, after his death.

Wheeler also appeared in an early film called Surrender of General Toral (1898) with William Rufus Shafter.

While attending the hundredth-anniversary celebration of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point, New York) in 1902, Wheeler approached the old West Point hotel, where his Confederate comrades James Longstreet and Edward Porter Alexander were seated on the porch. At the festivities, Wheeler wore the dress uniform of his most recent rank, that of a general in the U.S. Army. Longstreet recognized him coming near and reportedly said, "Joe, I hope that Almighty God takes me before he does you, for I want to be within the gates of hell to hear Jubal Early cuss you in the blue uniform." (Longstreet did predecease Wheeler, dying in January 1904.)

General Wheeler was a member of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (joined in 1898) and the Society of Colonial Wars.

After a prolonged illness, Wheeler died in Brooklyn on January 25, 1906, at the age of 69. He is one of the few former Confederate officers buried within Arlington National Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1925, the state of Alabama donated a bronze statue of Joseph Wheeler to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol. Additionally, several locations in Alabama are named after Wheeler, including Joe Wheeler State Park, Wheeler Lake and Dam, and the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. Also, Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, and Wheeler County, Georgia are named after him. During World War II, the United States Navy named a Liberty Ship in honor of Wheeler. Wheeler Road, a main thoroughfare through west Augusta is named after him as well. Furthermore, Joe Wheeler Electric Cooperative in northwest Alabama also honors him. Also Camp Wheeler, near Macon, Georgia (which served as an army base during both World Wars), was named for Wheeler.

The City of Derby, Connecticut, where Wheeler grew up, named him as one of the first members of its Hall of Fame in 2007.

Wheeler was portrayed by Gary Busey in the 1997 TV movie Rough Riders.

title: Joseph Wheeler