Published on: Monday, 13 June 2016
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Abellio Greater Anglia has published its Annual Report to Customers for2015/16, providing a summary of the company’s progress over the last year, outliningkey improvements and setting out priorities for the remainder of its franchise,which finishes in October. Thepublication reflects the train operator’s commitment to engage openly with itscustomers and stakeholders across the region.
Additionalinvestment announced in 2015, means that in the current short franchise Abellio Greater Anglia has invested over£40 million in customer-focused initiatives and service improvements across itsnetwork. This is more than double the investment agreed with the Department forTransport at the start of the franchise in July 2014. As a result, more trainshave been upgraded, more investment has been made in train reliabilityimprovements and more resources have been provided for train cleaning – with aresultant rise in train presentation standards.
The highlights of the report, which is available at stations across the network include:
The £12 million refurbishment programme forthe intercity trains used on the Norwich – Ipswich – Colchester – London line,with plug points, new lighting, new carpets, new tables, new carpets and newtoilets which has been progressing well,is on schedule, and is now over 80% complete;
A linked programmeto provide over 600,000 extra standard seats a year on intercity trains betweenNorwich and London by refurbishing seven catering vehicles, which is also oncourse and will be completed later this year;
The completion of a £1m investment project torefresh the company’s fleet of 24 Class 317/6 trains and the start of an interiorrefresh for all 15 Class 317/5 trains – all trains which are used on the WestAnglia routes to Hertford, Harlow, Bishops Stortford and Cambridge;
A refresh projectfor 66 Class 321 trains (used on Great Eastern mainline services betweenIpswich, Harwich, Clacton, Colchester, Braintree, Chelmsford and Southend and London)with new seat covers, better lighting and enhanced deep clean, which is nowwell advanced;
The start of a full refurbishment programmefor 10 Class 321 trains in a major upgrade programme in partnership withEversholt Rail;
Completion ofa project to renew seat covers on the Class 360 trains used on Great EasternMain Line services from Ipswich, Clacton, Colchester and Chelmsford to London;
New seat covers for the fleet of 12 x Class 170trains, operating on the regional network in Norfolk, Suffolk andCambridgeshire;
A morefrequent "heavy clean" programme for all trains, and extra resources to further raise train presentation andcleaning standards;
The opening ofCambridge station’s £2.5 million CyclePoint in February, providing safe andsecure parking in the largest new facility of its type at a UK rail station;
From Easter 2016, most Stansted Express services at weekends wereincreased to eight coaches, doubling the number of seats to create over 40,000additional seats each weekend;
The first South Eastern Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) smartcardseason tickets have been launched on our Cambridge to Liverpool Street andSouthend Victoria to Liverpool Street routes;
The extension of the popular Cambridge toStansted Airport weekday train services (launched in July 2014) toseven-days-a-week operation from December 2015;
Provision of extra summer Sunday servicesbetween Norwich / Ipswich and Lowestoft, and Norwich and London were introducedin May 2015, in addition to the usual extra summer services to destinationssuch as Great Yarmouth. Additional Summer Monday and Friday services to GreatYarmouth also operated;
Progression of major station upgrade projectsfor key stations including Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich and Norwich.
In addition, as part of its proactiveapproach to working with local communities, the train operator also increasedfunding for community rail partnerships and station adopters; delivered anumber of partnership schemes to upgrade stations ranging from the provision ofticket vending machines (e.g. at Cromer, Halesworth, Hythe and Prittlewell), tonew information screens, to refurbished stations, platforms and footbridges(e.g. Brampton, Hertford East, Great Chesterford, Needham Market, Roydon,Tottenham Hale and Wymondham), to regenerated station buildings (e.g. atBurnham on Crouch); local education partnerships (e.g. at Great Yarmouth) andcommunity artworks (e.g. at Mistley, Rayleigh and South Woodham Ferrers);supported wider community projects linked to tourism, the arts and localevents; celebrated local anniversaries such as the 50th anniversaryof the East Suffolk Travellers Association and worked on the innovative Fixingthe Link project to make the walking route between Colchester town centre andthe main station more attractive and accessible.
Abellio Greater Anglia also continued to playa positive and active role in making the case with wider stakeholders forfurther investment in the region’s railways, ensuring that the strategic rail aspirationsfor East Anglia are high on the agenda in the East Anglia franchise renewal programmeand in the process to agree Network Rail’s future investment and infrastructureupgrade plans.
Although there remains much more to do, theoperator’s efforts received some recognition from its customers as NationalPassenger Survey results increased to 81% in Autumn 2015. The company alsoreceived independent awards for projects to reduce the disruptive impact ofengineering works; trial a new battery-powered train; develop its customerservice training programme and joint operation of London Liverpool Streetstation with Network Rail.
Jamie Burles,Managing Director, Abellio Greater Anglia, commented: “Our Annual Report toCustomers highlights the progress we have made in the issues that matter to ourcustomers and stakeholders – especially performance, customer service andupgrades to trains, stations and information provision. In the most recent National Passenger Surveyresults for autumn 2015, customer satisfaction improved significantly to 81%,endorsing the investment of over £40 million we are making across thefranchise. We know there is much more to do to meet and exceed our customers’expectations. We remain committed to our sustained and proactive approach toinvestment in service upgrades, working closely with Network Rail toconsistently deliver a more punctual and reliable service, and continuing to improveservice standards right through to the end of the current franchise.”