Rail bosses on the Fenchurch Street-Southend line have been shortlisted for international awards in the inaugural European Rail Congress awards.

c2c, which runs services from Fenchurch Street across east London and south Essex, are up for two categories including ‘European Commuter Operator of the Year’, competing against train operators from France and Austria.

It already tops the poll on the league table of British operators for punctuality in the rail industry’s monthly and annual statistics, achieving 97 per cent trains arriving on time.

The operators are being judged by a panel of MEPs who expect to arrive on time to reveal the winners in November.