The
former
Greater
Anglia
franchise
will
be
renationalised
on
12
October,
and
the
operator
has
said
it
is
‘disappointed’.

Greater
Anglia,
which
is
owned
by
a
consortium
of
Transport
UK
and
Mitsui,
has
held
a
National
Rail
Contract
since
19
September
2021,
following
the
abolition
of
franchises
in
2020.

Jobs
are
not
at
risk,
said
Greater
Anglia,
because
staff
will
be
transferred
to
the
new
publicly-owned
company.

TUK
said:
‘Despite
having
other
valid
options
for
which
operator
to
nationalise
next,
we
are
disappointed
that
the
Government
has
decided
to
go
ahead
with
Greater
Anglia,
which
is
outperforming
other
railways
and
generating
income
for
the
taxpayer.
We
are
also
concerned
that
this
decision
creates
unnecessary
risk,
such
as
slowing
the
pace
of
service
improvements
and
jeopardising
taxpayer
revenue,
given
that
Great
British
Railways
has
yet
to
be
established,
and
its
functions
currently
fall
to
the
temporary
DfT
Operator.’ 

Managing
director
Martin
Beable
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
focused
on
delivering
outstanding
levels
of
service
for
our
passengers.’

Transport
UK
CEO
Dominic
Booth
added:
‘I’m
incredibly
proud
of
our
stewardship
of
Greater
Anglia.
For
the
third
year
running,
Greater
Anglia
won
an
unprecedented
three
Golden
Whistles
for
punctuality
and
was
named
Passenger
Operator
of
the
Year
at
the
National
Rail
Awards.

‘This
is
a
testament
to
the
whole
team’s
hard
work
and
commitment
to
delivering
the
highest-quality
services
possible
for
our
passengers.
Our
task
now
is
to
ensure
that
we
oversee
a
smooth
transition
into
public
ownership
and
support
the
Government
with
its
wider
agenda
of
rail
reform.’

Greater
Anglia
will
be
the
third
former
franchise
to
be
renationalised
this
year.
The
first
will
be
South
Western
Railway
on
25
May,
followed
by
c2c
on
20
July.

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