An operational update from c2c Managing Director, Rob Mullen

31 August 2022

Dear Customer,

You may be aware that over the last couple of weeks we have been experiencing some issues with our on-train air conditioning and the maintenance of our toilets.

This is not acceptable for our customers so I would like to reassure you that c2c is dedicated to resolving these issues as soon as possible. We have put a number of measures in place already, including a specialised team to carry out a repair programme to deal with customer-facing train faults, with train toilet repair and faulty air conditioning being prioritised. 

Our trains are maintained on a daily basis by a third-party supplier, Alstom, at our East Ham depot. As is common industry practice, they maintain, check and fix our trains and recently localised industrial action by Alstom staff caused us to run more short forms – or trains with few carriages – for a number of our planned train services. 

We explained these challenges at the time and are pleased to say that this industrial action has now been resolved with unit availability returning to the required levels. However, the action has had a knock-on effect on the maintenance programme for our trains, causing the number of outstanding issues with air con and toilets to temporarily increase. 

Although we are working hard with Alstom, it will take some time for these faults – which we recognise adversely affect our customer’s experience of travelling with us – to be resolved and I wanted to apologise for the inconvenience this is causing.

Please be assured that this is a real priority for myself and my team and we are working hard to improve this situation.

Kind regards,

Rob Mullen

c2c Managing Director