Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)

Southern

A pair of Southern Class 377s at London Victoria Platforms 18 and 19 awaiting departure to Eastbourne and Reigate
Overview
Franchise(s)	Network SouthCentral 26 August 2001 – 24 May 2003 South Central 25 May 2003 – 19 September 2009 Gatwick Express 22 June 2008 – 19 September 2009 South Central (incl Gatwick Express) 20 September 2009 – 25 July 2015 Part of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 26 July 2015 – 1 April 2028[1]
Main Region(s)	Greater London, South East England
Other Region(s)	East of England
Fleet size	17 Class 171 Turbostar sets 214 Class 377 Electrostar sets
Stations called at	213
Stations operated	156
Parent company	Govia Thameslink Railway
Reporting mark	SN
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail 25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Length	666.3 km (414.0 mi)[citation needed]
Other
Website	www.southernrailway.com
Route map

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

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

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