Network SouthEast Railway Society

What Was Network SouthEast?

Network SouthEast was the jazzed-up public image of the formerly termed London & South East sector of British Rail, one of the five financially autonomous business sectors into which BR was divided in 1982. With Chris Green (who has been described as "Probably the most dynamic British railway manager of recent times") at the helm as sector director, the idea of Network SouthEast was born - not only a more catchy title, but an entity invested with an energetic determination and drive to deliver improvements in service, punctuality, cleanliness and information. Additionally a whole new image was created; the red, blue and grey flash, blue lettering, red lampposts, litter bins, fencing and station fittings together with the bold and bright livery of the trains themselves.

Launched in a fanfare of publicity on 10 June 1986, the NSE image spread rapidly thereafter. Amid criticism of its brash colour scheme and garish 'toothpaste' livery there is no doubt that it had the desired effect - everyone noticed. Deliberately designed to be eye-catching, not even the most oblivious of travelers could have failed to notice this sudden rush of colour. New management brought new ideals and, if the driving force behind the entire reorganisation was government demands to reduce subsidies, it was obvious that fresh impetus had to be injected into a neglected network.

The area inherited by Network SouthEast was vast indeed. It absorbed the entire London network as well as Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and beyond to Weymouth, Salisbury and Exeter, plus the Isle of Wight; north to Bedford, Northampton and Banbury; west to Bedwyn; east to Kings Lynn, Harwich, Clacton and Shoeburyness - a truly substantial chunk of England! In terms of BR regions, it encompassed the entire Southern (rebranded as Southeast, Central and Southwest), plus parts of the Western, Midland and Eastern (rebranded West, North and East - West subsequently became Thames & Chiltern and East became Anglia). This truly enormous and unwieldy assortment of routes and services is now covered by a multitude of operators following privatisation.

Lines and Logos

NSE was divided into six sub sectors according to former regions and divisions, thus perpetuating the traditional geographical arrangement inherited from Grouping and Pre-Grouping days. Each had its own Network Manager, but from 1989 was further divided into individual routes to lend local identity to services in each area, all possessing their own distinctive logo and name. These too had their own managers, consequently divesting responsibility for each route to a more local level and thus engendering a better awareness of and more responsive attitude to local requirements.

Rolling stock received vinyls denoting its area of operation, both logo and 'brand' name being applied. Very few routes and services were in fact self contained, so some overlap was inevitable. This could occur on both longer distance trips and where mainline stock was used on suburban services in the peaks. Routes with dedicated stock obviated this problem, but were relatively rare. It was however a nice touch and lent a local flavour as well as suggesting a less rigid centralised operating authority.

It also accorded individual areas the opportunity to produce publicity, timetables and even staff ties featuring the local identity. From the little-known rural backwater that was Marsh Link, to the mainline elite of West of England, all could boast their own particular place in the scheme of NSE, with a pictorial logo to denote their allegiances and character. It was a far cry from the all enveloping blandness of the corporate image blue and grey era.