Fenchurch Street’s c2c east London train services in £72m take-over by Trenitalia Italian rail group

A £72 million deal to take over train services on the Fenchurch Street network through East London and Essex has been completed, the operators announced this-morning.

The c2c London-to-Tilbury and Southend services have been acquired from Network Express by the Italian-owned Trenitalia transport group which is buying into the British rail market.

Tenitalia takes over the franchise of one of Britain’s most punctual operators which consistently tops the industry’s league table for running on time, month-by-month, year-by-year.

Managing director Julian Drury, who brought in new trains last year with more carriages to increase capacity and seats for off-peak service, is to continue as boss of the c2c subsidiary company.

“There won’t be many changes overnight,” he revealed. “We’ll start to work on new services in the coming months.”

The take-over marks the first step in Trenitalia’s plan to establish a major stake in the UK transport market after Brexit, following revelations last month that it was taking part in a bid that includes the HS2 high-speed project due to be awarded next year.

Trenitalia’s chief executive, Barbara Morgante, said: “We have been able to conclude this c2c acquisition rapidly and can start on the day-to-day business, in line with British passenger demands.”

The c2c take-over formally approved by the Department for Transport hands Trenitalia a successful franchise serving east London and south Essex running until 2029.