page_title: Southern Railway (UK)
section_title: Commuter services
hierarchical_section_title: Southern Railway (UK) / Operations / Passenger operations / Commuter services
caption_attribution_description: English: Charing Cross station, before it was built over. Compare this 1986 view with 24510 from eight years later. Two differences stand out: a large office block has been built over the station since this earlier photo was taken, and in the later view there is a new 'networker' train whereas the two electric trains here are both of 1960s vintage. The train to the right of the photo is no. 5220 on the 11.58 service to Dartford. As from December 2009 the vast majority of Dartford trains were rerouted into Cannon Street instead of Charing Cross.
context_page_description: The Southern Railway, sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London & South Western Railway, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London & South Western Railway.
  The railway was noted for its astute use of public relations and a coherent management structure headed by Sir Herbert Walker. At 2,186 miles, the Southern Railway was the smallest of the Big Four railway companies and, unlike the others, the majority of its revenue came from passenger traffic rather than freight. It created what was at that time the world's largest electrified main line railway system and the first electrified inter-city route.
context_section_description: Inner London suburban services were fully electrified by 1929 and worked by electric multiple units of varying lengths according to demand, which had the advantage of rapid acceleration and braking. The railway then began a successful programme to electrify its most heavily used main lines, building up a substantial commuter traffic from towns such as Guildford, Brighton and Eastbourne.
caption: Charing Cross before it was built over with offices with the Southern Railway (SR) initials retained.
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