The key objectives of the Great Eastern Rail Campaign and the thousands of businesses and commuters who support it, will today (Wed Aug 26) be highlighted to all three companies bidding to run the Great Eastern Main Line.
Chloe Smith MP and Mark Pendlington, chairman of New Anglia LEP, joint chairs of the GEML Taskforce, will meet senior representatives of National Express and FirstGroup, as well as Abellio East Anglia Ltd, a joint venture between Abellio, the current franchise holder and Stage Coach, in Ipswich today (Wed).
Top of the list will be the requirement for new faster trains, more reliable services and better timetabling, which are all vital to delivering Norwich in 90 minutes, Ipswich in 60 and Colchester in 40, along with infrastructure improvements which are expected to be delivered by Network Rail.
Mark Pendlington, Joint Chair of the GEML Taskforce, said he wanted to see new ideas and original thinking to transform the rail line, often described as the “golden thread” running through the economies of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, that has the potential to deliver £4.5billion economic benefit and over 50,000 new jobs to the region.
He said: “We will be driving home to each of the bidders the importance of achieving our goals and delivering on the key recommendations from our campaign. This is so much more than business as usual, it’s about fresh ideas and innovative thinking and about transforming the Great Eastern Main Line into the 21st Century service that passengers need and deserve, and which is so essential for our growing successful economy.”
Chloe Smith MP for Norwich North and Joint Chair of the Taskforce said: “Thousands of passengers joined our campaign for better rail, which has won commitment to all the investment we asked for. We’ve arranged these meetings with franchise bidders to make sure they are in no doubt what passengers want in East Anglia. We are setting out high standards and we expect them to make sure their bids are good enough. The best bidder will be the one to bring in new trains, which is one of the central demands we have secured. We aim to achieve all the improvements we need in the next ten years.”
The three companies passed the pre-qualification stage in June. They are now working with Government to develop their proposals before receiving an official invitation to tender, expected in September.
Bidders have already been asked to show how they will improve the region’s railways including reduced journey times to London and how they could achieve the recommendations of the Great Eastern Main Line Taskforce.
The new operator is due to take over the franchise in October 2016.