20 May 2026 •
Anglia’s railway came together for a joint operation to ensure that many thousands of Southend United fans enjoyed a seamless and hassle-free journey to and from Wembley Stadium for the club’s FA Trophy final match with Wealdstone on Sunday 17 May.
On Sunday 17 May, c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia worked in partnership to deliver a coordinated schedule of services, helping many thousands of Southend United supporters travel from south Essex to London in a timely and efficient manner. Services were overseen by Network Rail’s signalling and control teams to keep trains running smoothly and on time.
A strengthened service, including longer trains, operated throughout the day from Southend Central and Southend Victoria stations to London Liverpool Street, helping fans connect quickly and easily with onward Underground and Overground services to Wembley.
The operation also reflected the closer collaboration now in place across Anglia’s railway. As announced last week, a new unified leadership team has been established bringing together c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia, aligning track and train more closely to deliver a more joined-up and reliable railway for passengers.
c2c’s recent “Take the Train to the Game” campaign also provided customers with full matchday timetable and ticketing information, including details of pay as you go with contactless – available across the entire c2c network and on Greater Anglia services between Southend Victoria and Liverpool Street – giving supporters a quick and convenient “tap and go” journey from Southend to Wembley.
Across the day, c2c and Greater Anglia operated over 300 services direct into London from Southend, with over 91% arriving at stations within three minutes of their scheduled time.
After a goalless 90 minutes, the c2c-sponsored Shrimpers secured a historic 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Wealdstone, winning the FA Trophy for the first time in the club’s 120-year history.
Commenting, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer for Anglia’s railway, Rob Mullen, said:
“After weeks of planning and coordination between c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia colleagues, I was delighted that our operation ran so smoothly and the many thousands of Southend United fans from across south Essex were able to make a safe and straightforward trip into central London on our services.
“Our collaborative approach to the day, which saw increased levels of demand, clearly demonstrates what we can deliver when working jointly in partnership towards the same shared goal.”
“I would also like to congratulate both the ladies’ and men’s teams on what was an incredible weekend for football, Southend United and the City.
“We are proud to be the club’s Platinum Partner, and Sunday’s win at Wembley in the FA Trophy is just reward for the hard work and dedication of Kevin Maher and the whole team at Southend United over a long season.
“I hope both teams enjoy a relaxing summer break and come back ready to do it all over again in August.”
ENDS
- c2c is the award-winning train operator running services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving 26 stations in East London and South Essex.
- c2c is one of the UK’s most punctual and popular train operators and nearly 37.3 million journeys are made on its services every year.
- The operation of all c2c services transferred into public ownership on Sunday 20 July 2025 and is managed by DFTO (DfT Operator Ltd).
- For more information email mediaenquiries@c2crail.net
- DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027.
- The group’s current train operating companies are: c2c, Greater Anglia, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and WM Trains (London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway).
- DFTO runs more than 8,500 services each weekday and delivers more than 660 million customer journeys across its networks every year.
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