The first new Anglian trains to carry the new Great British Railways identity have been unveiled at London Liverpool Street station.
Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy was jointed by GBR Anglia Managing Director Jamie Burles and colleagues from c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia at a reveal event, where c2c Class 357 units 357008 & 357020 and Greater Anglia Class 720 units 720144 & 720501 were displayed in new red, white and blue Great British Railways livery.
GBR Anglia will combine c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia together to create one unified leadership team, aligning both track and train more closely in an effort to improve reliability, resilience and customer service across the region.
Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:Track and train are two sides of the same coin but for too long they operated independently of each other, with passengers and taxpayers left to bear the consequences.
By uniting track and train under one identity and leadership in Anglia, we're creating a more reliable service that will put passengers first. It's all part of our plan to deliver the biggest reform of our railways in a generation, creating more, growth, jobs and homes as we work to set up Great British Railways.
Meanwhile, work behind the scenes is well under way to establish GBR Anglia across the region, with early progress including the securing of approvals for Greater Anglia Class 720 trains to operate on the c2c network. Teams from c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia have also begun working together to support Southend United supports travelling to Wembley, including through bolstered services on both routes between Southend and London.
Elsewhere, closer planning between Greater Anglia and Network Rail has allowed the creation of a trial of overnight Friday Stansted Express serviced, with engineering plans reviewed and adjusted where possible whilst protecting essential maintenance in order to provide additional overnight travel options.
Jamie Burles, Managing Director of GBR Anglia, said:Seeing the first GBR Anglia trains together at London Liverpool Street is a proud moment and a clear sign of the railway we are building. More importantly, the new identity reflects c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia increasingly planning and delivering as one railway.
We are already creating greater flexibility across our train fleets, planning major events more effectively and using closer track-and-train working to trial new services for customers.
There is much more to do, but we have made a strong start. Our focus is on turning that progress into better journeys and a more reliable, responsive and efficient railway for everyone who depends on us.
Further work is now under way to coordinate maintenance more closely, expand the use of on-train technology to identify potential infrastructure faults earlier, improve data sharing and develop joint marketing to encourage rail travel to and from Southend.
Customers will begin to see trains carrying the GBR Anglia identity over the coming weeks and months, with further Class 357 trains set to receive the new livery as they pass through c2c’s existing fleet repaint and planned maintenance programme, minimising disruption to services.
Across the wider fleet; existing c2c and Greater Anglia logos will gradually be replaced by GBR Anglia branding, with the Stansted Express identity set to be retained and transition to GBR Stansted Express. Signage will also be updated, as will wayfinding, colleague materials and customer communications.
