Greater Anglia short-listed for the Rail Operator of the Year award in the National Transport Awards

Abellio train operator Greater Anglia has been short-listed for the Rail Operator of the Year award at the National Transport Awards. The company has made improvements across all aspects of the rail service it provides in the region, but especially in train performance and customer service standards, since it took over the franchise in February 2012 - despite only holding a short franchise to July 2014. Notable enhancements achieved over the last 18 months include:

· Very good performance, reaching the highest-ever 4-week period and Moving Annual Average punctuality levels for this franchise area - at 95.7% and 92.7% respectively.
· Impressive service delivery during the Olympics and Paralympics Games periods across punctuality, customer service and information provision.
· A positive step change in ease of ticket purchase and wider information provision
· A successful alliance with Network Rail which has led to customer-focused changes, such as better performance and far fewer weekends affected by disruptive engineering work
· A major customer service programme and blackberries provided for all customer-facing employees to help improve customer information
· Upgrades to trains, stations and integrated transport facilities

The winning and commended entries will be announced at a special ceremony in London in October.

Commenting on the short-listing for this major award, Greater Anglia Managing Director Ruud Haket said:

"I'm pleased to see the commitment and achievements of our employees in raising service standards over the last year and a half recognised, with this short-listing for the Rail Operator of the Year award. We know have much more to do and we are committed to consistently improving train services for the customers and communities we serve. However, this independent endorsement illustrates the progress we have already made in a short space of time, as we focus on the maintaining the positive momentum for our passengers and stakeholders across the region."