The LTS railway line is changing its name to c2c - but a new name is not the only thing the Essex train operator is promising.

Rail bosses claim the line - which runs from Shoebury to Fenchurch Street - will become the country's premier railway.

The new image and promises for the future were laid out today by managing director Ken Bird.

A special London briefing was held to mark the transformation of the former Misery Line into what bosses believe will be the country's top railway.

The relaunch came as train bosses admitted only three per cent of the population living in LTS Rail's catchment area actually use its train services.

Only 15 per cent of those passengers travel outside of the morning and evening rush hours.

LTSbosses say 44 new trains - at a cost of £220 million - are due in service by the end of the year and £16 million has already been earmarked for improvements to stations and facilities.

From September the c2c logo will start filtering through to LTS stations.

Ken Bird said: "Yes, we will have a new logo - a simple but very effective design - and we will have new corporate colours. But the logo and colours are only a tiny part of re-branding.

"To ensure the new brand delivers a brand new railway, it will be underpinned by radical changes.

"The brand will be the key to communicating our promise and demonstrating our commitment to customers."

The company is negotiating a financial package with industry partners to transform station facilities from Shoebury to Fenchurch Street.

Shops and cafes should become a feature on platforms - and not just at premier locations like the new West Ham station.

A new navy blue and pink colour scheme will be applied to station motifs and staff uniforms.

Passenger information will also be brought into the 21st century with plans for real time train information being posted on the internet.

The new brand name is the final act in a three-stage plan aimed at boosting the number of people using the line.

Mr Bird added: "Our core values will shape everything we do and they will be reflected in our products, our communication with customers, our stations and trains, and in the way we act.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, this railway is now destined to set the standards which others will strive to follow."

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