Abellio Greater Anglia welcomes government commitment to Norwich in 90 recommendations

AbellioGreater Anglia today welcomed the commitment made by the government to back thekey recommendations of the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) Taskforce report.Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin this morning confirmed thathe has asked Network Rail to continue developing improvements to the speed ofthe line over the next few years and pledged that the Taskforce'srecommendations would be supported though the next franchising process. He alsomade it clear that the government backed the report's analysis that the keyelements in upgrading this major regional rail route were better infrastructureand state-of-the-art rolling stock.

Abellio Greater Anglia has been playing a pivotal role in the development ofthe upgrade plans for the Great Eastern Main Line and the stakeholder alliancewhich has been working to build the case for major investment and improvementinitiatives to be approved - as well as helping to promote the proposals. The trainoperator has also been a committed and enthusiastic member of the Great EasternRail Taskforce, with Head of Corporate Affairs Jonathan Denby representing thecompany and leading its significant contributions to the preparation of theTaskforce's report.

Commenting on the announcement, the Managing Director for Abellio GreaterAnglia, Jamie Burles said: "We are delighted that the government isbacking the recommendations of the Great Eastern Rail Taskforce, in which weare key participants. We have played a proactive role in the development ofboth the business case supporting this major route upgrade and the creation ofa broad-based stakeholder and customer alliance to effectively advocate andchampion this substantial boost for East Anglia's rail network - and all thecommunities and economies served by the GEML.

“We cannow look forward to real enhancements to services on the GEML over the nextdecade. The positive momentum will start to really gather pace early in the NewYear as our major refurbishment programme for the current intercity trains getsunderway. We will continue to play our full part in taking forward improvementson the GEML, working with other stakeholders to make sure the plans aredelivered as soon as practical, by maintaining the cross-party, cross-regional,cross-industry alliance that has been instrumental in the success of theinitiative to date."