Greater Anglia (GA) will continue to operate train services in East Anglia for the next five years after their owning group, Abellio, signed a new contract with the Department for Transport (DfT) to run rail services across the region. The new National Rail Contract (NRC), begins on Sunday 19 September 2021, when the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (‘ERMA’) with the DfT ends, and will run to 20 September 2026. It replaces the previous franchise agreement, which was set aside at the start of the pandemic when train operators were underwritten by the DfT, as passenger numbers fell markedly when travel restrictions were put in place. The new contract will see the continuation of Greater Anglia’s major investment programme to deliver better rail services for the region including :
- Completion of their transformational project to introduce new trains across the entire Greater Anglia network
- The continuation of their extensive upgrade programme for stations and maintenance depots in the region
- Further initiatives to maintain the record-breaking high levels of punctuality they have delivered over the last 18 months
- Ongoing improvements to customer service standards, ticketing, accessibility, timetables and energy efficiency
Greater Anglia will also be fully focused on maximising the return of passengers to the rail network and supporting the sustainable economic development of the region, as the UK recovers from the pandemic. They have already introduced new electric trains on their intercity and Stansted Express services and new bi-mode trains on their regional services in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Marks Tey to Sudbury line, with all 58 trains from Swiss manufacturer Stadler already in service. Meanwhile the first 29 of their 133-strong fleet of 5-carriage electric commuter trains for services on the Great Eastern and West Anglia routes (built by Alstom, formerly Bombardier, in Derby) are now available for passenger service, with more and more services in these areas progressively benefitting from the state-of-the-art trains. Greater Anglia have also improved service frequency on a number of routes in recent years; introduced other timetable enhancements, such as the Norwich in 90/Ipswich in 60 services and the Norwich to Stansted Airport direct service; carried out many improvements at stations – with Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich all winning “Best Station” awards in recent years; introduced smart ticketing; worked closely with communities – including Community Rail Partnerships and station adopters – to enhance stations and services in line with local needs; improved accessibility for disabled customers; improved integrated transport links and achieved better environmental performance – with reduced energy usage and increased biodiversity at stations. In addition, the GA teams have delivered a very reliable service for rail travellers throughout the challenging pandemic period. Jamie Burles, Managing Director of Greater Anglia, commented : “We’re pleased to have agreed our new National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport. We’re looking forward to continuing the positive transformation of train services in our region, completing the roll out of our new train fleet, maintaining recent excellent performance and further raising customer service standards. Our team is fully committed to keeping up the ongoing cycle of improvements in East Anglia and delivering the best possible service for customers and communities on a consistent basis.”
