 | |
 Greater Anglia Class 745 and Class 755 units side by side atIpswich | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Greater Anglia 5 February 2012 – 15 October 2016 East Anglia 16 October 2016 – September 2025 |
| Main region(s) | East of England |
| Other region(s) | Greater London |
| Fleet | |
| Stations called at | 150 |
| Stations operated | 134 |
| Parent company | Transport UK Group (60%) Mitsui & Co (40%) |
| Reporting mark | LE[1] |
| Predecessor | National Express East Anglia |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
Greater Anglia (legal nameTransport UK East Anglia Limited)[2] is a Britishtrain operating company owned as a joint venture byTransport UK Group andMitsui & Co. It operates theEast Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city services from its central London terminus atLondon Liverpool Street toEssex,Suffolk,Norfolk and parts ofHertfordshire andCambridgeshire, as well as many regional services throughout theEast of England.
Abellio began operating the franchise, then known as theGreater Anglia franchise, replacing theNational Express franchise on 4 February 2012. Initially, it traded under the same name until it rebranded asAbellio Greater Anglia in December 2013. Shortly after taking over operations, the company initiated a series of projects to improve service levels, including the procurement of new trains and the launch of theNorwich in 90 programme to reduce travel times between several major locations on its network. In May 2015, Greater Anglia's suburban rail services were transferred toLondon Overground and the precursor toCrossrail,TfL Rail.
The franchise was retendered as theEast Anglia franchise and was awarded to Abellio in August 2016. The company resumed trading asGreater Anglia on 16 October 2016 when the new franchise commenced. In January 2017, Abellio announced that subject to gainingDepartment for Transport approval, it had agreed to sell a 40% stake in the business to Mitsui. Since the completion of the sale in March 2017, Greater Anglia has incorporated several Japanese planning tools and practices.Trade unions have objected to some of the changes made by the company, leading toindustrial action in 2017 and 2018 as a result of the dispute.
In December 2024 it was announced that Greater Anglia, would be one of the first train operating companies to be brought into public ownership as part of the government’sre-nationalisation plan, followingSouth Western Railway andc2c. This is scheduled to take effect in autumn 2025 despite the existing franchise agreement not expiring until September 2026 with the DfT to action a break clause.[3]
In December 2003, theStrategic Rail Authority awarded theGreater Anglia franchise toNational Express, which began operations on 1 April 2004, initially under the brand-nameOne.[4][5] The franchise was to run until March 2011, with provision for a three-year extension if performance targets were met. In November 2009, theDepartment for Transport (DfT) announced that National Express would not be granted the three-year extension even though it had met the performance criteria, becauseNational Express East Coast had defaulted on theInterCity East Coast franchise.[6][7]
Following a change of government as a result of the2010 general election, the DfT announced in June 2010 that all refranchising would be put on hold while a process review was conducted.[8] As a result, National Express East Anglia was granted an initial extension until October 2011, followed by another until February 2012.[9]
In March 2011, the DfT announced thatAbellio,Go-Ahead, andStagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise.[10] In October 2011, the new franchise was awarded to Abellio; accordingly, the services previously operated byNational Express East Anglia were transferred to Greater Anglia on 5 February 2012.[11][12][13]
The Greater Anglia franchise was originally to run until July 2014; the reason for awarding a short franchise at a time when the government was speaking of its desire for longer franchises was to allow the government to digest the recommendations of theMcNulty Rail Value for Money study before letting a long-term franchise. In March 2013, theSecretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would again be extended until 15 October 2016.[14] Greater Anglia was rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2013.[15]
Prior to Greater Anglia, the last period of substantial investment in the region had been nearly 30 years earlier, specifically the electrification of the line north ofIpswich.[16] At the commencement of the franchise, railway commentator Philip Haigh observed that the region's services had changed little since the BR days, and that change was overdue. During the negotiations for the award of the franchise, Greater Anglia pledged to undertake numerous investments that would improve the various services and facilities offered.[16] On 4 November 2014, theGreat Eastern Main Line Taskforce released its investment analysis report, which included a detailed breakdown of several proposed investments in the region's rail network.[16]
One major initiative that was commenced by Greater Anglia shortly after it took over operations was the 'Norwich in 90' campaign, aimed at introducing faster journey times, such as between London andColchester within 40 minutes, London and Ipswich in 60 minutes, and London andNorwich in 90 minutes.[16] Several organisations, includingNorfolk County Council, had been calling for such a scheme to be undertaken since as early as 2009. Abellio had acknowledged such calls in 2012, but could not justify making very substantial investments during the initial franchise period due to the short timescale involved.[16] The creation of the Great Eastern Rail Taskforce in 2013 was seen as a major step towards this. In 2015,Chloe Smith, Norwich North MP and co-chairman of the taskforce, noted that the scheme was as much a political effort as it was an engineering one.[16]
By the 2010s, the region's rail infrastructure was relatively worn-out and prone to unreliability. Modernisation efforts would therefore focus not only on improving absolute speeds but on reducing failure rates as well.[16] This work is being undertaken as a multiagency effort, involving not only infrastructure changes carried out byNetwork Rail and various civil engineering companies, but also the procurement of new rolling stock and other efforts. It was recognised early on that, for the intercity services to be meaningfully sped up, slower regional trains could not feasibly be overtaken or avoided on the mostly twin-track line, so that services overall would need to be accelerated.[16] There has also been an aspiration to increase the number of trains between Norwich and London to three per hour, although capacity constraints such as the single-track section in the vicinity of theTrowse Swing Bridge would need to be overcome to facilitate this.[16]
Some services have been transferred from Greater Anglia's management to other rail operators. On 31 May 2015, theLiverpool Street toEnfield Town,Cheshunt (viaSeven Sisters) andChingford services, as well as theRomford toUpminster service, were transferred toLondon Overground Rail Operations.[17] On the same day, theLiverpool Street toShenfield stopping services were also transferred to theTfL Rail concession managed byMTR.[18]
In June 2015, anAbellio (60%) /Stagecoach (40%) joint venture,FirstGroup andNational Express were shortlisted to bid for the franchise.[19] In December 2015, it was announced that Stagecoach had pulled out of the joint bid with Abellio, and that Abellio would continue the bid alone.[20] In August 2016, it was announced that Abellio had successfully retained the franchise until 2025. One commitment of the new franchise period is the purchase of 1,043 new carriages, 660 fromBombardier Transportation'sDerby Litchurch Lane Works with the remainder being built byStadler Rail.[21][22] In January 2017, Abellio announced that, subject to gaining DfT approval, it had agreed to sell a 40% stake in the business toMitsui.[23] The sale was completed in March 2017.[24] Reportedly, Greater Anglia has incorporated numerous planning and operational practices of the Japanese railways, such as the use ofdigital twin simulation software for analysing performance and developing its timetables, since the acquisition.[25]
In 2021, following the COVID-19 emergency measures, Greater Anglia was given a direct award contract, replacing its franchise agreement, expiring on 20 September 2026.[26]
In February 2023,Transport UK Group concluded amanagement buyout of Abellio's United Kingdom business, which included its share in Greater Anglia.[27][28]
In August 2017, amidst a background ofongoing rail strikes on a national level, Greater Anglia conductors voted in favour of going on strike in a dispute over planned ticket office closures and the planned introduction of more widespread driver-only operation on the Greater Anglia network.[29] On numerous occasions since October 2017,industrial action has been taken by portions of the company's employees, and the principal matter of dispute has seen no effective resolution. TheNational Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has accused Greater Anglia of conducting alleged strike-breaking tactics and claimed that its use of stand-in conductors led to passengers' safety being jeopardised.[30][31] The dispute between Greater Anglia and the RMT continued into 2018, with further strikes threatened during the summer that affected around 40 per cent of the operator's services.[32]
On 19 July 2018, the RMT announced members had voted 9 to 1 to accept a deal that would keep guards on trains,[33] and halted the expansion of driver only operation.[34]
Greater Anglia is one of several train operators impacted by the2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, which are the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades.[35] Its workers are amongst those who are participating inindustrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.[36]
In the lead up to the2024 United Kingdom general election, theLabour Party ofKeir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back understate ownership.[37][38] Following itselection in 2024, the government passed thePassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024.[39][40]
In December 2024, it was announced that Greater Anglia's National Rail Contract would be terminated in late-2025 after theDepartment for Transport activates abreak clause, with theDfT Operator operatedGreater Anglia to take over.[41][42][43]
A number of improvements were planned during the first franchise period (2012–2016) which included:[11]
The following improvements have been planned as part of the Abellio bid for the East Anglia franchise (2016–2025):[44]
As of June 2024[update], the following services operate during the off-peak period, Monday to Friday:[47]
| Route | tph | Calling at |
|---|---|---|
| London Liverpool Street –Norwich | 2 |
|
| Great Eastern Main Line | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Ipswich | 1 |
|
| Shenfield–Southend andCrouch Valley lines | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Southend Victoria | 3 |
|
| Wickford –Southminster | 3⁄2 | |
| Braintree branch line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Braintree | 1 |
|
| Gainsborough line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Marks Tey –Sudbury | 1 | |
| Sunshine Coast Line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Colchester Town | 1 |
|
| London Liverpool Street –Clacton-on-Sea | 1 |
|
| Colchester – Colchester Town | 1 | Shuttle service |
| Colchester –Walton-on-the-Naze | 1 |
|
| Mayflower line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Manningtree –Harwich Town | 1 |
|
| West Anglia Main Line | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Stratford –Meridian Water | 2 | |
| Stratford –Bishop's Stortford | 2 |
|
| Hertford East branch line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Hertford East | 2 |
|
| London to Cambridge and Ely | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| London Liverpool Street –Cambridge North | 2 |
|
| London Liverpool Street -Ely | 4tpd | Tottenham Hale, Cheshunt (1tpd), Broxbourne, Roydon (1tpd), Harlow Town (1tpd), Harlow Mill (1tpd), Sawbridgeworth (1tpd), Bishop's Stortford, Stansted Mountfitchet (1tpd), Elsenham (2tpd), Newport (2tpd), Audley End, Great Chesterford (2tpd), Whittlesford Parkway, Shelford (2tpd), Cambridge, Cambridge North (2tpd),Waterbeach
|
| Felixstowe branch line | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Ipswich –Felixstowe | 1 | |
| East Suffolk line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Ipswich –Lowestoft | 1 | |
| Ipswich–Ely line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Ipswich – Cambridge | 1 |
|
| Ipswich –Peterborough | 1⁄2 |
|
| Bittern Line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Norwich –Sheringham | 1 |
|
| Wherry Lines | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Norwich –Great Yarmouth | 1 |
|
| 2tpd |
| |
| Norwich – Lowestoft | 1 |
|
| Breckland line | ||
| Route | tph | Calling at |
| Norwich –Stansted Airport | 1 | |
Greater Anglia operates theStansted Express sub-brandedairport rail link betweenStansted Airport andLondon Liverpool Street.[48] As of June 2024[update], Stansted Express' off-peak services Monday to Friday are:[47]
| Route | tph | Calling at |
|---|---|---|
| London Liverpool Street -Stansted Airport | 4 |
|
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2022) |
Punctuality statistics released by Network Rail for service report period 7 of 2013–2014 (15 September – 13 October 2013) were 94.0% PPM (Public Performance Measure), down 1.0 percentage point on the same period ine the previous year, and the MAA (Moving Annual Average) up to 12 October 2013 also fell slightly to 92.3%.[49] In 2013, Abellio Greater Anglia was named train operator of the year.[50]However, a survey in February 2014 by the consumer groupWhich? found that customer satisfaction with Abellio Greater Anglia was at last place (out of 20 train operators) with a satisfaction percentage of 40%,[51] and in 2016 Abellio Greater Anglia was rated the fourth worst UK train operator with a commuter rail services satisfaction rating of 35%.[52]
Forecasts issued during the mid-2010s predicted that demand on theGEML intoLondon fromSuffolk andNorfolk was expected to grow by 32 per cent, while demand fromEssex was to go up by 52 per cent.[16] This prediction was in spite of the relatively low levels ofsubsidies provided for Greater Anglia's operations, and the general lack of improvements in prior years; according to industry periodicalRail, it was the second least subsidised passenger operator by 2015.[16]
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2021) |
Greater Anglia inherited a fleet ofClass 90,Mark 3 carriages andDriving Van Trailers;Class 153,Class 156 andClass 170diesel multiple units; andClass 315,Class 317,Class 321,Class 360 andClass 379electric multiple units fromNational Express East Anglia. Due to its short initial franchise term, Greater Anglia was not planning to introduce any new trains,[53] although this policy changed substantially following the start of its second franchise term in October 2016.
In November 2013, an online petition was launched, aimed at stopping Greater Anglia's trains from dumpingraw sewage from the train toilets directly onto the tracks.[54] There were also concerns with the 'sewage mist' from passing trains makingNetwork Rail staff ill; Greater Anglia announced it was "working closely" with the government to introduce a fleet upgrade.[55] By October 2016, all the franchise's Mark 3 carriages and Class 156 multiple units had been refitted with controlled emission toilets.[56]
On 31 May 2015, the company's fleet of Class 315 trains were cascaded toLondon Overground andTfL Rail; in addition, some Class 317 trains were cascaded to London Overground, which took over local services in North and East London from the Greater Anglia franchise.[17]
In August 2016, it was announced that 1,043 new carriages would be purchased, which would allow for all of the ageing stock to be replaced. This was especially necessary given that a number of coaches were not compliant with accessibility requirements beyond 2020 and they would not be able to meet Abellio's new targets for lower journey times without extensive modification.[57][58] One part of the contract went to Bombardier with nearly £1 billion to build 111Bombardier Aventra electric multiple units and the other part of the purchase went toStadler to build 58FLIRT electric multiple units, all of which would enter service between August 2019 and September 2020.[22][44][59]
Bombardier's order included all 111Class 720 units for taking over local and commuter services out ofLiverpool Street.[60] Stadler's order included 20 twelve-carriageClass 745 units to operate inter-city services on theGreat Eastern Main Line and theStansted Express[61] as well as 38 three- and four-carriageClass 755 units for taking over all local diesel services from the previous outdated rolling stock.[62] By July 2020, all Class 755 trains had entered passenger service.[citation needed]
The first unit of the new order to enter service was from the Class 755 fleet, of which the first entered service on 29 July 2019 on theNorwich toGreat Yarmouth andLowestoft route.[63] The next of the order was the Class 745/0 fleet, of which the first entered service on 8 January 2020 on the Great Eastern Main Line operating services between Norwich and Liverpool Street.[64] Following the introduction of these units, the Class 90 hauled sets were all withdrawn from service, with the last set running its last journeys on 24 March 2020.[65]
In March 2020, testing of the new Class 720 fleet finally began and continued despite the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, in order to allow the first unit to enter service within the next few months.[66][67] In June 2020, the units were authorised to enter passenger service and, after further testing and crew training, the first two units finally entered service on 26 November 2020 as a pairing on theShenfield to Southend Line.[68][69]
Class 360s began moving toKings Heath TMD inNorthampton in June 2020 for modifications bySiemens to make them capable of 110 mph speeds, in preparation for their transfer toEast Midlands Railway (EMR).[70] Due to delays in commissioning the Class 720s and to allow the Class 360s to be released, three Class 321/9s and fiveClass 322s, last used byNorthern Trains, were leased from July 2020.[71][72] The first unit bound for EMR, 360120, moved toCricklewood depot on 10 November 2020, with all having transferred by February 2021.[73]
Due to high leasing costs, the fleet of 30 Class 379Electrostar EMUs was withdrawn and sent to storage in February 2022.[74]
On 1 August 2022, Greater Anglia confirmed that all West Anglia services were now operated by Class 720Aventra units.[75]
Greater Anglia withdrew its Class 321 fleet at the end of April 2023.[76]
| Family | Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Carriages | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||||
| Shunting locomotive | |||||||||
| 08[77] | N/A | Shunter | 15 | 24 | 3 | N/A | Stock movements | 1952–1962 | |
| Electric multiple units | |||||||||
| Bombardier Aventra | 720/1 |  | EMU | 100 | 161 | 44 | 5 |
| 2018–2021 |
| 720/5 | 89 | ||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Stadler FLIRT | 745/0 |  | 10 | 12 | 2018-2020 | ||||
 | |||||||||
| 745/1 | 10 | 12 | 2018-2020 | ||||||
 | |||||||||
| Bi-mode multiple units | |||||||||
| Stadler FLIRT | 755/3 755/4 |   | BMU | 100 | 161 | 14[78] | 3[78] | 2018–2020 | |
| 24 | 4 | ||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
Former train types operated by Greater Anglia include:
| Family | Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Cars | Number | Built | Routes operated | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||||||
| Locomotive hauled stock | |||||||||||
| 37 |  | Diesel locomotive | 80 | 130 | N/A | 4 | 1960–1965 | Wherry Lines | |||
| Stadler UKLight | 68 | .JPG) | 100 | 161 | 3 | 2013–2017 | |||||
| Mark 2 |  | Carriage | 13 | 1963–1975 | |||||||
| 90 | .jpg) | Electric locomotive | 110 | 177 | 9 | 15 | 1987–1990 | Great Eastern Main Line | |||
| Mark 3 |  | Carriage | 125 | 201 | 130 | 1975–1988 | |||||
| Driving Van Trailer |  | Control car | 15 | 1988–1990 | |||||||
| Diesel multiple units | |||||||||||
| Super Sprinter | 153 |  | DMU | 75 | 121 | 1 | 5 | 1991–1992 | Wherry Lines Breckland line Bittern Line East Suffolk line Felixstowe branch line Ipswich–Ely line Gainsborough line | ||
| 156 |  | 2 | 9 | 1987–1988 | |||||||
| Bombardier Turbostar | 170/2 |  | 100 | 161 | 2 | 4 | 2002 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | 1999 | |||||||||
 | 
| ||||||||||
| Electric multiple units | |||||||||||
| BREL 1972 | 315 |  | EMU | 75 | 121 | 4 | 61 | 1980–1981 | Shenfield Metro Lea Valley lines Romford–Upminster line | ||
 | |||||||||||
| BR Second Generation (Mark 3) | 317/1 |  | 100 | 161 | 4 | 10 | 1981–1982 | London to Cambridge North and Ely Hertford East branch line West Anglia Main Line | |||
| 317/5 |  | 7 | 1981–1982 | London to Cambridge North and Ely Hertford East branch line West Anglia Main Line | |||||||
| 317/6 |  | 24 | 1985–1987 | London to Cambridge North and Ely Hertford East branch line West Anglia Main Line | |||||||
| 317/7 |  | 9 | 1981–1982 | Lea Valley lines | |||||||
| 317/8 |  | 9 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| 321 |  | 100 | 161 | 4 | 89 | 1988–1991 | Braintree branch line Crouch Valley line Dutchflyer Great Eastern Main Line Mayflower line Shenfield–Southend line Sunshine Coast Line | ||||
 | |||||||||||
| 322 |  | 100 | 161 | 4 | 5 | 1990 | |||||
 | |||||||||||
| Siemens Desiro | 360/1 |  | 110 | 177 | 4 | 21 | 2002–2003 | Braintree branch line Dutchflyer Great Eastern Main Line Mayflower line Sunshine Coast Line | |||
 | |||||||||||
| Bombardier Electrostar | 379 | .jpg) | 100 | 160 | 4 | 30 | 2010–2011 | London to Cambridge North and Ely Stansted Express West Anglia Main Line | |||
 | |||||||||||
Greater Anglia's fleet is maintained atClacton-on-Sea,Ilford andCrown Point depots.[79]
Media related toAbellio Greater Anglia at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by | Operator of Greater Anglia franchise 2012–2016 | Succeeded by Greater Anglia East Anglia franchise |
| Preceded by Abellio Greater Anglia Greater Anglia franchise | Operator ofEast Anglia franchise 2016 – 2026 | Incumbent |
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