Published on: Friday, 28 September 2012
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
The popular Norwich to Cambridge direct train service provided by regional train operator Greater Anglia, is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary following the establishment of the service in September 2002.
Almost one million passengers are now using the service annually with significant growth recorded in passenger journeys from its beginnings 10 years ago when just over 300,000 people travelled in the first year of operation.
Mid Norfolk MP, George Freeman will cut a cake at Norwich station at 9.30am on Monday 1st October to mark the occasion, before boarding the 09.40 from Norwich to Cambridge where ‘birthday muffins’ will be handed out to passengers.
Prior to 2002 there was no direct train service between the regional cathedral cities of Norwich and Cambridge with passengers forced to change at Ely. The popularity of the service has grown consistently over the past decade and more trains have been added, including later services, stops at Brandon and more recently the move to provide more seats by operating three-carriage Class 170 trains instead of the two-carriage version.
Since Greater Anglia took over the regional rail franchise in February, the company has worked to improve the quality of the service still further in deep-cleaning the trains and improving information and retailing with a new phone app for smartphones, better information provision at Cambridge and Norwich stations, and investment in more new automatic ticket machines. Greater Anglia has also delivered improvements in train service punctuality and reliability as part of a real focus in improving services for customers.
Ruud Haket, Managing Director, Greater Anglia said: “The Norwich to Cambridge train service is extremely important to the business and leisure communities of these key regional centres and the towns served by the route. The train services are vital to the economic well-being of this increasingly busy corridor in providing a real alternative to the A11.”
“We will continue to make every effort to develop and improve train services in the region and work with our partners to make a compelling case for further investment.”