Current operator | Greater Anglia | ||
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Main Route(s) | Great Eastern Main Line West Anglia Main Line | ||
Dates of operation | 1 April 2004 – 4 February 2012 (National Express East Anglia) 5 February 2012 – 20 September 2026 (Greater Anglia) | ||
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The East Anglia franchise is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the Great Eastern Main Line and West Anglia Main Lines in England. It commenced operating in April 2004 when the Anglia and Great Eastern franchises, together with the West Anglia part of the West Anglia Great Northern franchise, were combined to form the Greater Anglia franchise.
Initially operated by National Express East Anglia, in February 2012 it was taken over by Greater Anglia. In May 2015 the Liverpool Street to Chingford/Cheshunt and Enfield Town and Romford to Upminster services transferred to London Overground, and the Liverpool Street to Shenfield services transferred to TfL Rail. Upon being re-tendered in 2016, it was retained by Abellio and rebranded Greater Anglia as specified by the Department for Transport.
In 2002, as part of a franchise reorganisation by the Strategic Rail Authority, it was announced the Anglia and Great Eastern franchises together with the West Anglia part of the West Anglia Great Northern franchise would be combined to form the Greater Anglia franchise. [1] This was part of a Strategic Rail Authority strategy to reduce the number of train operating companies providing services from a single London terminal. This was expected to improve efficiency and reliability. [2]
In April 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority announced Arriva, GB Railways and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise. [3]
In December 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the franchise to National Express. [4] [5] with the services operated by Anglia Railways, First Great Eastern and West Anglia Great Northern transferred to One on 1 April 2004. The franchise was run until March 2011, with provision for a three-year extension to 2014 if performance targets were met. The franchise was originally branded as One before being rebranded as National Express East Anglia in February 2008 as part of a company wide rebranding programme. [6]
In November 2009, the Department for Transport announced National Express was to lose the Greater Anglia franchise in March 2011 rather than be granted an extension to operate it until March 2014. The decision followed National Express defaulting on the National Express East Coast franchise even though National Express East Anglia had met all of its targets required for the franchise to be extended. [7]
In June 2010 following the 2010 general election, the Department for Transport announced the replacement process for the franchise would be put on hold pending a review of the franchising process resulting in an extension until February 2012 being granted. [8]
When tendering restarted, it was for a short-term franchise which would give the government time to plan changes in rail franchising policy based on Roy McNulty's Rail Value for Money Study. It also covered the period of the 2012 Olympic Games. The franchise was originally to run from 5 February 2012 until July 2014. [9]
In March 2011, the Department for Transport announced Abellio, Go Ahead and Stagecoach had been shortlisted for the new franchise, [10] with the Invitation to Tender issued in April 2011. [11] In October 2011, the franchise was awarded to Abellio [12] with the services operated by National Express East Anglia transferred to Greater Anglia on 5 February 2012.
In March 2013, the Secretary of State for Transport announced the franchise would be extended until 15 October 2016. [13] However, on 31 May 2015 the Liverpool Street to Chingford/Cheshunt and Enfield Town and Romford to Upminster services transferred to London Overground [14] [15] and the Liverpool Street to Shenfield services to TfL Rail. [16] [17]
In late 2013, Greater Anglia was rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia.
The process of tendering for the new franchise began on 19 February 2015 with the franchise renamed the East Anglia franchise. [18]
In June 2015, an Abellio (60%)/Stagecoach (40%) joint venture, FirstGroup and National Express were shortlisted to bid for the franchise. [19] On 9 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 bid to operate the new franchise running from 16 October 2016 until 11 October 2025. [21] A franchise commitment is to replace the entire fleet with 1,043 new carriages. Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works will build 665 Class 720 Aventra electric multiple unit vehicles, [22] while 378 Class 745 and Class 755 Stadler Flirt electric multiple unit carriages will work between London and Norwich, and London and Stansted Airport.
The franchise was rebranded back to Greater Anglia on 16 October 2016 as specified in the franchise contract. In March 2017 Abellio sold a 40% stake in the business to Mitsui. [23] [24]
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. [25]
The invitation to tender was published on 17 September 2015 and included the following requirements. [26]
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. The company also operates transport services including trains abroad: in the Republic of Ireland, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, and Morocco, and long-distance coach services across Europe.
National Express East Anglia (NXEA) was a train operating company in England owned by National Express that operated the Greater Anglia franchise from April 2004 until February 2012. Originally trading as One, it was rebranded National Express East Anglia in February 2008. It provided local, suburban and express services from London Liverpool Street to destinations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk in the East of England.
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Cheshunt is a National Rail and London Overground station in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England. On the National Rail network it is on the West Anglia Main Line, 14 miles 1 chain (22.6 km) from London Liverpool Street and situated between Waltham Cross and Broxbourne. On the London Overground network it is one of three northern termini of the Lea Valley lines.
The British Rail Class 315 is a fleet of alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road Carriage Works in York between 1980 and 1981; they replaced the Class 306 units. It was a variant of unit derived from British Rail's 1971 prototype suburban EMU design which, as the BREL 1972 family, eventually encompassed 755 vehicles across Classes 313, 314, 315, 507 and 508. Revenue services with Class 315 units commenced in 1980 and continued until December 2022.
The Chingford branch line is a railway line between Clapton Junction and Chingford station. Services operate between Liverpool Street station and Chingford. The branch is part of the London Overground.
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited.
Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain is the system of contracting the operation of the passenger services on the railways of Great Britain to private companies, which has been in effect since 1996 and was greatly altered in 2020, with rail franchising being effectively abolished in May 2021.
London Overground Rail Operations Limited was a train operating company contracted to operate the London Overground train service on the National Rail network, under the franchise control of Transport for London. The company was a 50/50 joint venture between Arriva UK Trains and MTR Corporation.
Serco-Abellio is a joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group, each owning 50%. The joint venture is the train operating company of the Merseyrail franchise since July 2003 in the Liverpool City Region. It previously operated the Northern Rail franchise in Northern England from December 2004 until March 2016.
InterCity East Coast is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom from London King's Cross to Hull, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. It was formed during the privatisation of British Rail and transferred to the private sector in April 1996.
Abellio is a Dutch public transport company that operates bus and rail services in Germany, and formerly also in Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It is wholly owned by the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
Greater Anglia is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and intercity services from its Central London terminus at London Liverpool Street to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire as well as many regional services throughout the East of England.
Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) is a management contract for the provision of passenger services on the Thameslink and Great Northern routes to Bedford, Luton, Peterborough, King's Lynn, Cambridge, London King's Cross, London Moorgate, Sutton, Wimbledon and Brighton, as well as the whole Southern network and the jointly operated First Capital Connect Southeastern services, which were added to the franchise on 25 July 2015, with the Southern and Gatwick Express brands retained.
Essex Thameside is a railway contract, and former franchise, for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rail and the franchise was originally called London, Tilbury and Southend. The only train operating company on the line to date has been c2c. Following a number of temporary extensions caused by problems with the rail franchising system, c2c was awarded a new 15-year franchise which commenced on 9 November 2014.
The Southbury Loop is a line linking Edmonton Green, in north-east London, to Cheshunt. It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1891. Initially it was not very successful and was closed to passenger traffic in 1909. Goods trains continued to use the line and during World War I passenger services were reinstated for munitions workers. Once the war finished the line returned to its goods-only status although it was occasionally used for diversionary purposes when the West Anglia Main Line was closed south of Cheshunt. Electrification of the line and the reintroduction of passenger services in 1960 saw the line become busy with regular suburban services as part of the Lea Valley Lines network. Since May 2015 passenger services on the line are part of London Overground.
TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. It ran from 2015 until May 2022, upon the opening of the Crossrail central section, when TfL Rail was rebranded as Elizabeth line and the name was discontinued.
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