13 February 2026 •
On Thursday, 12 February, local rail operator c2c Railway teamed up with Southend YMCA to celebrate Valentine’s Day at Leigh-on-Sea station with an amazing set of musical performances and sweet treats for customers.
The ‘Love on the Line’ event saw the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Choir and local musician, Caiden Nott, perform for commuters during the evening peak ahead of Valentine’s Day this weekend – both of whom are from Southend YMCA’s ‘All in Music’ programme. The team at c2c were on hand to support the fundraising event, with heart chocolates and c2c treats also given out to customers travelling through the station.
The evening raised £318.80 for Southend YMCA, which will go towards helping the young people and families in the local communities.
c2c Managing Director, Rob Mullen, said:
“As a community railway, it is always a pleasure to host one of our amazing charity partners on our line, especially when they entertain our customers so amazingly with incredible live music from Caiden and the choir.
“Southend YMCA is one of our closest charity partners and the work they do in our local area is nothing short of fantastic, so I want to say a big thank-you to them for making such a big effort for our customers.”
Lisa Walton, Fundraising Lead, Southend YMCA, said:
“Our Love on the Line event at Leigh-on-Sea station was a wonderful reminder of how generous and community-spirited our local area truly is. Every donation makes a real and lasting difference to the young people and families we support at Southend YMCA.
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who stopped, gave and showed their support. A special thank you to Four & Twenty Blackbirds for their kindness and involvement, and to c2c for sponsoring the event – partnerships like these help us continue delivering vital services across Southend.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
About c2c
- 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
About DFTO
- 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 640 million customer journeys across its networks every year.
About Southend YMCA
- Southend YMCA is an outstanding registered charity and housing provider based in Southend On Sea and working throughout Essex.
- We work with children, young people, families and the wider community providing high-quality education, outstanding accommodation and positive activities and projects.
- These aid personal, social, cultural and moral development as well as improved health and wellbeing to the people of Southend and surrounding areas.
- https://www.southendymca.org.uk/
Images
Featured Image by Dean Bailey: Members of Southend YMCA and c2c at Leigh-on-Sea station
Second Image by Dean Bailey: Caiden Nott performs at Leigh-on-Sea
Third Image: Four & Twenty Blackbirds Choir perform at Leigh-on-Sea
Fourth Image: Southend YMCA