Alstom has strengthened its long-standing partnership with Greater Anglia after signing a 15-year extension to its Train Services Agreement (TSA) covering the operator's fleet of Class 720 Aventra trains.
The contract, worth approximately £800 million, will see Alstom continue maintaining Greater Anglia's 133 five-car Class 720 electric multiple units (EMUs) at the operator's Seven Kings Depot, securing long-term support for one of the UK's most modern commuter fleets.
The agreement provides a framework for continued collaboration between Alstom, Greater Anglia and the future Great British Railways (GBR), with a focus on improving reliability, performance and passenger experience across the East of England rail network.
Built at Alstom's Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the Class 720 fleet is owned and financed by Angel Trains and forms the backbone of Greater Anglia's commuter and regional services. The fleet entered service progressively over a five-year period following its initial order in 2016 and is now fully operational.
Under the new TSA, Alstom will deliver all planned and unplanned maintenance activities, including major overhauls, fault rectification, material supply and a series of reliability growth initiatives designed to maximise fleet availability.
The contract also supports around 100 jobs within Alstom's UK operations.
Steve Harvey, Services Director UK and Ireland at Alstom, said:
"We are delighted to extend our partnership with Greater Anglia through this long-term maintenance agreement for the Alstom-built Class 720 fleet. These trains represent one of the most modern commuter fleets in the country, which are already delivering excellent levels of reliability and performance.
"This contract reflects the trust that Greater Anglia places in Alstom and demonstrates how the best whole-life outcomes are secured for passengers and taxpayers when owners, operators and manufacturers work in partnership for the long term. We look forward to continuing our collaborative approach to deliver outstanding service for passengers across the region for many years to come."
The Class 720 fleet has developed a strong reputation for reliability since entering service, recently achieving more than 40,000 miles per technical incident (MTIN), significantly outperforming contractual targets.
Its performance was further recognised in 2024 when the fleet received a Silver Spanner Award at the Modern Railways Fourth Friday Club Golden Spanners Awards. The accolade recognised the Class 720 as the most improved train in its category, following a remarkable 98.4% year-on-year improvement in reliability.
The agreement further underlines the success of Alstom's Aventra platform, which has become one of the UK's largest and most successful train manufacturing programmes in recent decades.
Since 2015, Alstom has produced 2,660 Aventra vehicles at its Derby factory for operators including c2c, Greater Anglia, South Western Railway, Transport for London and West Midlands Trains. Collectively, Aventra fleets have carried passengers for more than 18 billion miles across the UK network.
The new deal also strengthens Alstom's position as a leading provider of rolling stock services, supporting customers throughout the entire asset lifecycle through its FlexCare Perform maintenance solutions and wider rail services portfolio.
Image credit: Alstom
