Published on: Monday, 17 June 2024
Last updated: Monday, 17 June 2024
Members of the Greater Anglia and Campaign for Better Transport teams showed support at Rayleigh. Credit: Greater Anglia
The main train operator for the East of England, Greater Anglia, is proud to partner with the charity, Campaign for Better Transport, as part of Better Transport Week 2024 and support the charity's #ScenicRailView competition.
Better Transport Week runs between Monday 17 and Sunday 23 June. It is a national celebration of sustainable transport and aims to promote the wide range of benefits of public transport, shared mobility, walking, and cycling to the public and encourage more people to travel sustainably.
Aside from walking or cycling, rail is recognised as being the most environmentally friendly form of transport. Greater Anglia is leading the way in creating an attractive, clean, and green network.
All of Greater Anglia services are now operated by new, high quality, higher capacity, more comfortable, more reliable, more accessible and more energy-efficient trains, including bi-mode trains for regional routes where train services need to switch between diesel and electric power on route.
These new trains have already helped the company deliver record-breaking performance. Recent figures published by the Office of Rail and Road showed GA as the best performing operator in the UK for the January to March 2024 period. It is the fourth quarter in a row that Greater Anglia has delivered the best national “on time” punctuality results.
The train operator has also been working to minimise its carbon emissions and become an even more sustainable organisation. As well as introducing more energy-efficient trains, since 2019, Greater Anglia has cut waste, increased recycling and works with partners and communities on projects to improve sustainability, such as the Station Adoption scheme.
The train company, which serves six counties, has more than 300 volunteer station adopters on its network to help keep stations looking their best, tending to flowerbeds and station gardens, and keeping things vibrant and welcoming for passengers and local wildlife alike.
In 2023, the scheme celebrated its twentieth anniversary.
Jonathan Denby, Greater Anglia’s Head of Corporate Affairs, said:
“At Greater Anglia, we are really pleased to be supporting Better Transport Week 2024 because rail travel is such a great way to get around.
“With brand new trains on all our services, right across our network, we are playing our part in making sustainable transport more attractive.
“By promoting train travel and supporting further investment in wider improvements to the rail network, we can ensure rail contributes fully to greener transport choices, in support of our national climate change goals.”
Greater Anglia is one of more than 100 organisations supporting Better Transport Week 2024, including local authorities, the transport industry, NGOs, businesses, and passenger groups.
Silviya Barrett, from Campaign for Better Transport, said:
“Sustainable transport does amazing things. It shrinks traffic jams, cleans up our air and tackles climate change. It improves our health and boosts our economy. It connects us to the things that matter.
"This Better Transport Week, we’re encouraging everyone to think which journeys they can make more sustainably.
“I am delighted that Greater Anglia are one of our 100 official partners. We are looking forward to celebrating the benefits of train travel with the company.”
Greater Anglia is also pleased to support the charity's #ScenicRailView competition. As part of this initiative, the Campaign for Better Transport, together with the Community Rail Network (through their Scenic Rail Britain campaign), is inviting passengers to share a ‘scenic view’ from their train seat - with the chance of winning a £100 rail travel e-voucher.
Other prizes for the competition include a family voucher for the Bodmin Railway, a signed copy of Pete Dyson's book, Transport for Humans, or a return journey between two Greater Anglia stations for two people.
Passengers are encouraged to take a snap and post on X, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag #scenicrailview.
Details on what to do and how to enter can be found here or on the Campaign for Better Transport's social media channels.
Better Transport Week takes place from 17 to 23 June. For more information on the week and how to get involved, visit http://bettertransportweek.org.uk