Greater Anglia, the rail operator serving eastern England and London, will transition to public ownership on October 12th.
This nationalization, previously announced in December 2024 for 2025, will not disrupt services, timetables, or station operations. All employee roles will transfer.
Managing Director Martin Beable confirmed the company’s commitment to service delivery, echoed by the Department for Transport (DfT)’s aim for a seamless transition.
Greater Anglia’s network encompasses Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire, including the Stansted Express airport link.
The government anticipates nationalization will yield savings up to £150 million and improve service reliability, reducing delays and cancellations. A DfT spokesperson stated that bringing services under public control will optimize track and train integration, ultimately providing better value for taxpayers.
This follows the nationalization of South Western Railway this month and the upcoming nationalization of c2c in July, all enabled by the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, passed by Parliament in November.
The government’s broader plan involves establishing Great British Railways (GBR) to manage service contracts as existing private agreements expire.
Colchester MP Pam Cox expressed her support for the act, anticipating improved service reliability. Conversely, Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew voiced concerns about increased costs, particularly regarding rolling stock leasing, arguing against nationalization for ideological reasons, particularly given Greater Anglia’s high customer satisfaction and reliability ratings.
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