Greater Anglia entered public ownership at the weekend in good shape as one of the UK’s best-performing train operators.
The move marks the conclusion of a highly successful chapter under Transport UK’s stewardship — one defined by a complete transformation of the railway to the benefit of customers and communities right across its network.
Punctuality and reliability have hit historic highs, with Greater Anglia the most punctual operator in the UK for more than two and a half years, since April 2023. Under Transport UK leadership, it has become a multi-award-winning railway, securing Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards three times in four years. This year, Greater Anglia also swept the board at the other main rail industry awards, receiving the equivalent “Operator of the Year” awards at the National Transport Awards, Rail Business Awards and Spotlight Rail Awards as well. In 2024, it was also the only privately run operator to generate income for the Treasury.
Behind this success was a very effective combination of an excellent team at Greater Anglia, fully supported by Transport UK’s experienced leadership and operational teams. A consistent focus on performance, customer service, communities and innovation has driven measurable improvements across every aspect of service delivery including:
- High quality new trains, on every service, offering more seats, air conditioning, wifi, plug points and USB points, with the transition to all services being operated by new trains completed in April 2023
- Punctuality improved from 16th nationally in 2012 to 1st from 2023 onwards, and now at 94% (ahead of the 93% target set in 2016, which was achieved ahead of schedule in 2021).
- Timetable improvements, including more frequent services on many routes, a new direct Norwich to Stansted Airport service and Norwich–London journey times cut by an average of 6–7 minutes.
- Level boarding available at most stations served by the new Stadler-built trains, improving accessibility for wheelchair users, parents, cyclists and travellers with heavy luggage.
- Station facilities and integrated transport links enhanced across the network, with expansion of GA’s highly successful station adoption scheme and biodiversity supported through the Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme.
These improvements have also led to an increase in customer satisfaction, a 60% reduction in complaints and increased revenue.
Commenting on the transition, Martin Beable, Managing Director, Greater Anglia said:
“We are proud of the transformation we’ve delivered at Greater Anglia in recent years and we’re fully committed to maintaining those high standards as we pass into public ownership. We’re keen to keep on delivering service improvements for customers and communities.
I’d like to thank the GA team for all they’ve done to enable us to raise our service standards and deliver a better service for our passengers and stakeholders.
I’d also like to pay tribute to the Transport UK team for their key role in our success. Without their ambitious bid, their vision to achieve complete replacement of all our fleet with new trains and their excellent support, backing and input, the positive step change in services we’ve delivered would not have been possible.
We’re pleased to end the current era with Greater Anglia as one of the best train operators in the UK and look forward to building on that positive legacy under public ownership in the years ahead.”
Image credits: Greater Anglia
