This page refers to Connex, a European public transport company. For the Romanian mobile telephony operator, see Connex GSM Romania.

Connex train in Melbourne, Australia

Connex is Europe's largest private public transport company. It is owned by Veolia, formerly known as Vivendi Enviromental which was former French water department.

In Britain, it ran passenger train services in South East London, Kent and parts of East Sussex, and many bus routes in London and the South East.

Once part of the old Southern Region and Network South East, this dense network of services runs into Victoria, and to Charing Cross and Cannon Street via London Bridge. The company became known for promising twelve-coach trains over a network with indequate electric power supplies, for gating and fencing stations to reduce freeloaders and vandalism, and for seeking to overcome capacity limitations by commissioning new trains with no on-board toilets.

Connex operated in the South Central and South Eastern regions.

The franchise to operate these routes was due to run until 2006, but Connex South Central lost its franchise in October 2000, and in June 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority decided to cut the South Eastern franchise short at the end of 2003 due to what it called "poor financial management". In the event Connex South Eastern lost its franchise at midnight on November 8, 2003, when train services were taken over by South Eastern Trains, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority.

Connex is free to bid for future franchises, including the trans-Pennine franchise curently held by Arriva, which is due for renewal in September 2004.

Contracts

• In the Netherlands Connex consists of:
  • BBA, buses in Noord-Brabant (except the east part), Tholen and northwest Utrecht (province)
  • Connex SBM (Stadsbus Maastricht, city buses)
  • Limex (formerly Arriva south-Limburg), buses
  • BBA Fast Ferries Zeeland (Westerschelde ferry).
• In Germany Connex offers some train services, several of a regional character and two long-distance services.
• In Finland Connex owns Helsinki Metropolitan Area's bus company Connex Finland, which was previously Linjebuss.
• In Stockholm, Sweden, Connex is leased by the Stockholm County Council to run the Stockholm Metro.
• In Denmark Connex runs many local and regional bus services.
• In Melbourne, Australia, Connex operates the suburban train network. It previously operated only half the system, but recently won the whole-system contract.
• In Ireland, Connex will run the Luas tram system in Dublin from the end of June 2004.

The company, which is owned by Veolia Environnement, also operates train and bus services in many parts of the United States, several countries in the Middle East and Colombia.

External links

• Connex International (http://www.connex.net/)
• Connex UK (http://www.connex.co.uk/)
• Connex Netherlands (http://www.connextransport.nl/netherlands)
• Connex Denmark A/S (http://www.connex.dk/)
• Connex Melbourne (http://www.connexmelbourne.com.au/) (Australia)

• BBC News story on loss of the South East franchise (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3024804.stm)
• BBC News - "Connex loses rail franchise" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/988016.stm)