Greater Anglia to be Nationalised

[Welshguy1048]

BBC News - Greater Anglia to be nationalised, says rail operator - BBC News

Greater Anglia to be nationalised, says rail operator

The rail firm says it will be brought under public ownership in October.

www.bbc.co.uk

Greater Anglia is set to be nationalised later this year, the rail operator has said.

The company, which runs trains across the East of England and into London, said it would be brought under public ownership on 12 October.

It said train services, timetables and station facilities would be unaffected by the transition, and employees' roles would all transfer across.

Martin Beable, the company's managing director, said the firm would "remain focused" on delivering its services. The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.

Greater Anglia runs trains throughout Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, including the Stansted Express airport service.

Mr Beable said: "I am very proud of what we have achieved here in East Anglia over the past 13 years, significantly improving standards, investing in a complete fleet of new trains and working closely with the local community."

 

[zwk500]

I'm surprised they have managed to get ahead of a DfT announcement

 

[jackdoyle]

Interesting phrasing at the start of the press release:
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/abo...ticles/greater-anglia-be-nationalised-october

Today, the Department for Transport has confirmed that Greater Anglia – the UK’s most punctual train operator and the current Train Operator of the Year – is set to be nationalised on 12th October 2025.

We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to public ownership and have both the plans and expertise in place to deliver this outcome. In the meantime, we will continue to provide safe, punctual, and high quality services for passengers in the East Anglian region, building on the industry-leading standards we’ve been delivering for some time now.

For the second consecutive year, Greater Anglia is the most punctual operator in the UK. We have increased passenger demand and are the fastest-growing train operator in London and the South East, with 82 million passenger journeys across our network in 2024/25.

Since 2012, Greater Anglia has implemented a £2bn investment programme to upgrade its services - introducing an entirely new fleet of trains, and transforming performance and service quality for customers across our region. We’ve also collaborated with local stakeholders to improve our environmental performance and community impact.

It is important to confirm that train services, timetables and station facilities are unaffected by the transition, with no changes to ticket validities or conditions of carriage. Employees’ roles are also unaffected, as they will all transfer across into the publicly owned company.

Martin Beable, Managing Director, Greater Anglia, said:

“I am very proud of what we have achieved here in East Anglia over the past thirteen years, significantly improving standards, investing in a complete fleet of new trains, and working closely with the local community.

"As we transition to a publicly owned railway, we remain focussed on delivering outstanding levels of service for our passengers.”

 

[saismee]

I think that just about everybody internal has known for quite some time...

 

[jackdoyle]

The Written Ministerial Statement from the DfT in December said that Greater Anglia would be nationalised in Autumn 2025, this is just news of an exact date.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Interesting phrasing at the start of the press release:
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/abo...ticles/greater-anglia-be-nationalised-october

I wonder who will be keeping the trophies this time around!

(for reference when First Great Eastern and Anglia Railways were merged into One, senior people from both companies took the Rail Operator of Year Awards out of the company offices and home with them!)

On a more serious matter though, I've not seen anything from the companies that have been took in-house from their operators that suggest nationalisation is going to be the silver bullet some people think it will. One can hardly look at some of the stuff that has gone on with LNER fares and say it has turned out better for customers, despite what they were promised.

GA did have a rocky patch around the time of the pandemic but to their credit they recognised where their shortcomings are and addressed them and are now a very good operator who I cannot complain at all about. Not sure they got the new trains order exactly right but that was not down to current management.

I do wonder what will happen the closer we get to the end though because as we have seen before, in the dying days of an operator there tends to be less willingness to spend money.

 

[THC]

As a frequent GA user I shall be sorry to see them go, although the lack of an onward structure should stay the execution for a while yet.

And this for me is the crux of the matter. How nationalisation is implemented will be a huge factor in whether it succeeds. When will the TOCs be absorbed into GBR and in what form? And how will operations relate to infrastructure at each level? A wider question than the subject of this thread, of course.

THC

 

[saismee]

As a frequent GA user I shall be sorry to see them go, although the lack of an onward structure should stay the execution for a while yet.

And this for me is the crux of the matter. How nationalisation is implemented will be a huge factor in whether it succeeds. When will the TOCs be absorbed into GBR and in what form? And how will operations relate to infrastructure at each level? A wider question than the subject of this thread, of course.

THC

Hopefully everything will stay the same for GA, they seem to be pretty good even in disruption with ticket acceptance and alternative travel arrangements handled quickly. Maybe some of the success could work its way over to the other DfT-run operators...

 

[185]

Many people questioning the order of those in the queue for the guillotine although conspiracy theorist me thinks Greater Angular (sic) took the fall for other poorly performing train companies within that owning group.

 

[Russel]

Lets hope, from a customer point of view, only the logos change.

I use GA about once a month to visit relatives in Clacton and I cant remember that last time there was any issues, not even late running. Now, compare that to my onward connection from Euston with Avanti and it's a stark contrast.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I've not seen anything from the companies that have been took in-house from their operators that suggest nationalisation is going to be the silver bullet some people think it will.

It won’t be a silver bullet for anything- same staff, same management, same budget. The advantage is you’re not paying millions a year for old rope, that’s all.

I think that just about everybody internal has known for quite some time...

I would hope so, it was announced in December 2024.

 

[OneOfThe48]

Many people questioning the order of those in the queue for the guillotine although conspiracy theorist me thinks Greater Angular (sic) took the fall for other poorly performing train companies within that owning group.

The Government has always been clear they were going to nationalise it in the order of contract expiry dates. A lot of the people (managers, politicians and owning groups etc) wanting TOCs to be nationalised in an order based on operational performance only make that argument as it drags the process out or lets them continue their management contract further.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

It won’t be a silver bullet for anything- same staff, same management, same budget. The advantage is you’re not paying millions a year for old rope, that’s all.

I would assume there's also an advantage that all the bureaucracy associated with writing and negotiating the contracts and deciding who to offer the contracts to disappears, although that's probably a pretty small amount in the big scheme of things, and will be a saving accruing to the DfT not to the railway industry.

 

[Geeves]

Any TOC could become an amazing one when you have the blessing of a virtual uniform fleet, less than a few years old that was able to keep hold of it's express cash generating train services.

I speak to from a TOC that is constantly told its forever bottom of the pile with multiple old units and it's express work ran by another toc entirely.

It's good that it's coming under the GBR umbrella and so it should.

 

[aron2smith]

I strongly support rail renationalisation, but would've been quite happy for Greater Anglia to go last. Excellent TOC, rarely had issues with them beyond a train being more than a couple minutes late! Ely Junction was the only real issue at times. Like C2C it was very reliable. I hope it isn't the end of the flexible hare fares as I really enjoying using them at the moment (and in the last couple years!) and would be cool to see fare reform based a bit on this offer! The latest one reduced nearly all the fares on Greater Anglia's network down to just 4 prices from £7 return for short trips up to £28 return for the longest ones. A day trip from London to Norfolk (£28) or Clacton (£22) or Southend (£14) suddenly became excellent value compared to the normal fares.

Also, possibly the only TOC in recent times to fully replace all its trains and most have built in level boarding now! Regional services are very busy now too. Can't say enough good about them, may even miss them a little. Hopefully the staff and management stays as it is and can teach best practice to other parts of GBR. Overall, I'm hoping the government wastes no time with GBR and immediately restores sectorisation, so it's just Intercity, Regional Railways and Network South East again, but of course with decent input from the devolved regional governments and mayors this time.

 

[Wivenswold]

Totally agree with the positive comments about Greater Anglia.

There was a time when it was safest to factor-in at least 30 mins delays whenever planning a trip or commuting on the Great Eastern Main Line. The level of service is excellent, the trains are either superb (Stadler Flirts) or at the very least about the best we could hope for out of a high capacity commuter unit (Class 720).
The quality of information and the general staffing of the GA network has improved greatly too.
They will be missed.

 

[D3WY]

I think that just about everybody internal has known for quite some time...

I'm sure it was announced last year in the news the dates for the first 3 TOCs to move over

 

[Russel]

Totally agree with the positive comments about Greater Anglia.

There was a time when it was safest to factor-in at least 30 mins delays whenever planning a trip or commuting on the Great Eastern Main Line. The level of service is excellent, the trains are either superb (Stadler Flirts) or at the very least about the best we could hope for out of a high capacity commuter unit (Class 720).
The quality of information and the general staffing of the GA network has improved greatly too.
They will be missed.

Fully agree, I'd like to think GA could be used as a blueprint for how to do things going forward... Wishful thinking, I know.

 

[87015]

Fully agree, I'd like to think GA could be used as a blueprint for how to do things going forward... Wishful thinking, I know.

Hopefully absolutely not, completely pedestrian timings are what makes it “good”. Everyone would deliver similar performance with a timetable only requiring about 80% of possible timings! Let alone the 720s having the worst interiors of possibly the last 30 years

 

[Horizon22]

Any TOC could become an amazing one when you have the blessing of a virtual uniform fleet, less than a few years old that was able to keep hold of it's express cash generating train services.

I speak to from a TOC that is constantly told its forever bottom of the pile with multiple old units and it's express work ran by another toc entirely.

It's good that it's coming under the GBR umbrella and so it should.

A uniform, new fleet that was to be fair a major part of GA/Abellio's bid for the franchise (to have a 100% new fleet by the end of it). A lot of people doubted it would work and it definitely had some teething propblems, but they are certainly reeping the rewards now.

There was a time when it was safest to factor-in at least 30 mins delays whenever planning a trip or commuting on the Great Eastern Main Line. The level of service is excellent, the trains are either superb (Stadler Flirts) or at the very least about the best we could hope for out of a high capacity commuter unit (Class 720).
The quality of information and the general staffing of the GA network has improved greatly too.
They will be missed.

Much of this is unlikely to change. Network Rail Anglia is generally pretty reliable, and most of the staff will remain in situ. As mentioned above, the fleet is likely to be around for a good few years too.

Hopefully absolutely not, completely pedestrian timings are what makes it “good”. Everyone would deliver similar performance with a timetable only requiring about 80% of possible timings!

There's a few "pedestrian" timings on the GEML because they've already timetabled in Beaulieu Park but otherwise having a timetable with some slack in it is excellent for reliability and punctuality.

 

[Mikey C]

Any TOC could become an amazing one when you have the blessing of a virtual uniform fleet, less than a few years old that was able to keep hold of it's express cash generating train services.

I speak to from a TOC that is constantly told its forever bottom of the pile with multiple old units and it's express work ran by another toc entirely.

Agreed. Being able to replace its entire fleet in one go is a incredible advantage over all the other TOCs, either operating elderly trains, or having a mish mash of units, many passed on from other operators.

Maybe the government wants a decent operator to be one of the first nationalised ones, to bump up GBR's performance stats

 

[saismee]

There's a few "pedestrian" timings on the GEML because they've already timetabled in Beaulieu Park but otherwise having a timetable with some slack in it is excellent for reliability and punctuality.

Realistically, isn't it preferable to have a bit of slack and have your train always arrive on time/slightly early than have everything running at-capacity with no room for disruption? Why are "pedestrian" timings being criticised on routes that don't need the extra speed/capacity? Some of them are quite generous such as Ipswich to Felixstowe which has long dwell times on either end and it often runs early, but a consistent hourly service is better than a 50 minute service that has odd departure times. Also, as shown on the Felixstowe service, it helps to account for delays caused by congestion (freight) and the service recovery is very good.

Agreed. Being able to replace its entire fleet in one go is a incredible advantage over all the other TOCs, either operating elderly trains, or having a mish mash of units, many passed on from other operators.

Maybe that's the blueprint we should be following! Having a reliable and easy-to-maintain fleet across every region is quite important, isn't it?

 

[Wivenswold]

Totally agree with the above comments in favour of a slacker timetable. Sometimes less is more.

I don't commute much these days but my wife does and getting dinner ready for her arrival home used to be a "let me know when you make it to Colchester" message thing. Now I just prepare dinner for her scheduled arrival home assuming she'll be on time. The difference since the old fleet was removed from mainline duties has been night and day.

That extra couple of minutes' journey time is improving lives beyond those who are actually using the trains.

 

[Horizon22]

Realistically, isn't it preferable to have a bit of slack and have your train always arrive on time/slightly early than have everything running at-capacity with no room for disruption?

Indeed it is.

Why are "pedestrian" timings being criticised on routes that don't need the extra speed/capacity? Some of them are quite generous such as Ipswich to Felixstowe which has long dwell times on either end and it often runs early, but a consistent hourly service is better than a 50 minute service that has odd departure times. Also, as shown on the Felixstowe service, it helps to account for delays caused by congestion (freight) and the service recovery is very good.

I wouldn't really call long turnarounds "dwell" or "slack" as that's not train running performance/engineering allowances as you do get on other parts of the GA network. But as you say, might as well keep to an even clockface timetable and sometimes the length of the journey means you can fit this in with the resources (i.e train numbers not too badly stretched). On other branches, it doesn't neatly align and it because very difficult to keep the branch running at its timetabled, clockface timetable because the turnarounds are quite small to prevent extra resources (another train in the circuit).

 

[Sorcerer]

How likely is it that the management at Greater Anglia right now will likely be kept on somehow? I think seeing as it's one of the first operators to be renationalised under GBR, it would be really good to start off strong by maintaining the reputation GA have built up for years now, especially if you want to convince the public that the nationalisation does not have to mean a return to the days of British Rail.

 

[Clarence Yard]

Very likely. When an operator goes to the DfT, the only people who usually disappear are the owning group directors.

And GA isn’t going to GBR, that comes later.

 

[Russel]

Hopefully absolutely not, completely pedestrian timings are what makes it “good”. Everyone would deliver similar performance with a timetable only requiring about 80% of possible timings! Let alone the 720s having the worst interiors of possibly the last 30 years

So building resilience into the timetable is a bad thing now?

If having some slack in the timetable is what it takes to operate a reliable, on time service, then so be it, I'd rather that than the shambles we see elsewhere.

 

[Mikey C]

Maybe that's the blueprint we should be following! Having a reliable and easy-to-maintain fleet across every region is quite important, isn't it?

But also completely unrealistic and unaffordable for such mass fleet replacement programmes to happen everywhere, as it would result in large fleets of mid life (or newer) trains being scrapped.

 

[Adrian1980uk]

But also completely unrealistic and unaffordable for such mass fleet replacement programmes to happen everywhere, as it would result in large fleets of mid life (or newer) trains being scrapped.

I'm also not convinced the new trains Vs old train argument makes a lot of difference in terms of service, the reliability comes from having an excess of 720s and spare 755s I would suggest. Shortages of 745s are covered by the above in simple terms.

Timetables are helping with the slack built in but 70% of GA success is having enough train crew and drivers to run the service, the most important lesson to be learnt by other TOCs is cost saving by running everything red hot is a false economy.

 

[William3000]

I strongly support rail renationalisation, but would've been quite happy for Greater Anglia to go last. Excellent TOC, rarely had issues with them beyond a train being more than a couple minutes late! Ely Junction was the only real issue at times. Like C2C it was very reliable. I hope it isn't the end of the flexible hare fares as I really enjoying using them at the moment (and in the last couple years!) and would be cool to see fare reform based a bit on this offer! The latest one reduced nearly all the fares on Greater Anglia's network down to just 4 prices from £7 return for short trips up to £28 return for the longest ones. A day trip from London to Norfolk (£28) or Clacton (£22) or Southend (£14) suddenly became excellent value compared to the normal fares.

Also, possibly the only TOC in recent times to fully replace all its trains and most have built in level boarding now! Regional services are very busy now too. Can't say enough good about them, may even miss them a little. Hopefully the staff and management stays as it is and can teach best practice to other parts of GBR. Overall, I'm hoping the government wastes no time with GBR and immediately restores sectorisation, so it's just Intercity, Regional Railways and Network South East again, but of course with decent input from the devolved regional governments and mayors this time.

Agreed - GA are excellent. The only differences I would have had is for the Class 745s to have all had tables on the Stansted Airport trains, and for more to have been ordered for them to serve Ely/Cambridge services and Ipswich/Clacton semi-fasts. I would also have made the 720s, 2+2 seating and run on the commuter services.