Greater Anglia (GA) has once again underlined its position as one of the UK’s most reliable train operators, after publishing annual punctuality figures showing consistently high performance across its East Anglia network.
Figures released today reveal that for the 12 months to 31 March 2026, Greater Anglia achieved an impressive 91.84% punctuality score using the demanding Time to 3 (T‑3) metric. This measure records whether every single train arrives within three minutes of its scheduled time at every station served.
Despite operating across a busy and complex regional network, and facing growing challenges from extreme weather, Greater Anglia’s result is currently the second highest annual T‑3 performance in the UK, narrowly behind c2c on 91.86%.
Strong results across the network
The latest figures continue a long‑term trend of strong operational delivery, with historically high results being achieved for more than six years. Using the same T‑3 metric, performance across individual parts of the network remains consistently strong:
- Great Eastern services across Essex, serving destinations including Southend, Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich, recorded 92.8%
- Rural routes across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, including the Marks Tey to Sudbury branch, averaged 93.0%
- Intercity services between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and London averaged 88.9%
- West Anglia services to destinations such as Hertford East, Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford, Cambridge and Ely achieved 91.1%
- Stansted Express services recorded 89.8%
Seven routes delivered particularly outstanding results, each achieving 93.0% or higher under the T‑3 measure:
- Norwich to Great Yarmouth – 98.0%
- Norwich to Lowestoft – 97.5%
- Marks Tey to Sudbury – 96.0%
- Norwich to Sheringham – 95.9%
- Ipswich to Lowestoft – 94.8%
- Ipswich to Felixstowe – 94.1%
- London to Colchester / Clacton – 93.2%
Leading performance on national measures
Greater Anglia also topped the national rankings on several other key measures. The operator achieved the highest annual average “On Time” score in the country at 80.4%, alongside the best annual Public Performance Measure (PPM) result at 93.2%, which records arrivals within five minutes of schedule.
In addition, GA recorded the second lowest cancellation rate nationally at 1.7%, just behind c2c on 1.6%.
With both Greater Anglia and c2c now part of an integrated railway in East Anglia, working closely with Network Rail Anglia, the results highlight the strength of collaboration across the region and the benefits of closer joint working.
A step‑change in performance
Looking back over longer‑term trends, annual PPM results show a clear and sustained improvement. Historically, punctuality across the Greater Anglia network typically averaged between 87% and 91%, with a previous peak of 92.8% achieved briefly in June 2013.
However, over the last six years, annual performance has consistently exceeded 93% throughout the year, representing a significant step‑change in reliability.
This improvement has been driven by three key factors: sustained joint performance work between Greater Anglia and Network Rail; the introduction of a completely new train fleet over the past six years; and targeted investment by Network Rail to improve infrastructure reliability.
Leadership perspective
Commenting on the latest results, Jay Thompson, Train Service Delivery Director, Greater Anglia, said:
“We are pleased to be maintaining the consistently high levels of punctuality, for our customers and stakeholders across East Anglia, that have seen us be one of the best performing train operators in the UK for over three years now (and top on a number of measures).
"I would like to pay tribute to the entire team at Greater Anglia. Delivering such impressive results on an ongoing basis is down to the dedication and commitment of my colleagues right across the organisation, be they in operations (such as drivers and conductors), train maintenance (such as our engineering and cleaning teams), customer service (such those working at stations or in on‑board catering), or our business support and management teams.
“We are committed to keeping up these very high standards of performance, and looking to improve still further and provide even more consistent performance, to complement the transformation in the journey experience brought by our new trains – with their greater comfort, better facilities (including plug/USB points and Wi‑Fi), increased seating capacity and better accessibility."
Image credits: iStock
