Greater Anglia

The highlight of 2020 at Greater Anglia (GA) has been the continued roll out of high quality, new trains across our network. Operation of all our regional routes in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, plus the Marks Tey to Sudbury line in Essex, switched over to our new Stadler bi-mode trains from 1 February 2020, with new electric intercity trains taking over Norwich to London intercity services from the end of March 2020. The transition for Stansted Express services followed from late July 2020 onwards. Meanwhile testing and commissioning of our new suburban trains continued apace before the first ones entered service towards the end of the year. Customer feedback has been very positive.

It was also a good year for performance, with consistent punctuality of between 91% and 97% for most of the time from March 2020 onwards, reflecting the reduced time tables and lower passenger numbers caused by the corona virus, as well as the impact of both new trains and continued focus on effective maintenance with the rest of the fleet.  The ongoing station investment programme saw the completion of the installation of new customer information systems across the network, major projects developed for key locations such as Witham and Wickford and ‘Access for All’ government funding secured for schemes to improve the accessibility at Bury St Edmunds, Colchester and Needham Market. 

Our environmental performance improved with figures for 2019 showing carbon emissions reduced by 11%, waste to landfill down by 67% and hazardous waste down by 50%. Work with community rail partnerships (CRPs) further cemented local links and improvements, with a new CRP up and running on the Hertford East line and all CRPs gaining accreditation under the DfT’s community rail strategy.

Finally, our continuous service enhancements saw independent, external recognition with Greater Anglia named ‘Train Operator of the Year’ at the Rail Business Awards and Norwich named ‘Large Station of the Year’ at the National Rail Awards (the third time in four years GA has won that award after Cambridge in 2017 and Ipswich in 2018).

GA has delivered an excellent service throughout the pandemic period, with enhanced cleaning regimes, clear and timely customer information and guidance, consistently high punctuality, timetables adjusted to suit the prevailing situation, effective collaboration with partners, and positive support for employees and proactive stakeholder updates. This effective approach has been recognised by DfT and other stakeholders.

The loss of passenger revenue from March 2020 has been compensated by income from UK government under EMA/ERMA contract variations, which is reflected in the table below.

• * Intercompany financial result consists of interest on shareholder loans and guarantee fees to the shareholders NS and Mitsui.