RAIL passengers on trains from Laindon, Basildon and Pitsea will be travelling on publicly-owned train services from this Sunday (20 July), as c2c's services become the next to be brought into public ownership.

From Sunday, c2c services operating from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness will be placed in public hands, marking the second operator's services to be brought into public ownership under new legislation, and the sixth operator run by the Department for Transport Operator (DFTO). c2c will be joining Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western Railway currently operated by DFTO.

c2c has been rated one of the best performing operators in the country, recently achieving high customer satisfaction ratings of 89%*, supporting thousands of jobs, and driving economic growth from London to Essex.

But it has been taken into public ownership, with the government saying it will continue to thrive as DFTO 'engages closely with local communities, sharing best practices across other operators and working towards a more efficient railway with passengers at its heart'.

Heidi Alexander with c2c's Rob Mullen.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "Whether you're shopping in Lakeside or walking along the beach in Southend-on-Sea, from this Sunday you will be able to get there on a train service run by the public, for the public.

"Public ownership is already tackling deep-rooted problems we see on the railway that's led to spiralling costs, fragmentation and waste. A unified network under Great British Railways will take this further with one railway under one brand with one mission – delivering excellent services for passengers wherever they travel."

This follows the passing of the Public Ownership Act in November which will enable passenger services operating under contracts with the department to be brought into public ownership.

Rob Mullen, Managing Director of c2c said: "At c2c, we are proud of the reliable and high level of service we offer our passengers, consistently being rated as one of the best performing operators in the country.

"We now have a golden opportunity to collaborate with the wider family of publicly owned operators, sharing our successes and best practice, but also learning from a wide range of different and diverse operators who have already benefited from public ownership, to drive even more improvements for the people and places we all serve.

"A unified and focused railway can deliver more for our communities, including better growth, jobs and houses. If we are thriving as a train operator it helps our communities to thrive. This is the positive feedback loop we are excited to deliver, supported by better and closer collaboration with our partners in the lead up to GBR."

Earlier in May, South Western Railway's services became the first to come into public ownership under new legislation, c2c's will follow as the second this Sunday, and Greater Anglia's services will be next to be brought in on 12 October.