New Greater Anglia trains on more new routes

Published on: Tuesday, 23 March 2021
Last updated: Tuesday, 23 March 2021

Greater Anglia’s rollout of brand-new trains has reached new routes today (Tuesday 23 March) starting with an early morning maiden passenger voyage from Clacton to London.

Early morning travellers boarded one of the company’s British-built electric commuter trains which left Clacton-on-Sea at 5.20am bound for London Liverpool Street.

The ten-carriage train, made up of two brand new five-carriage trains coupled together, then went on to serve the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich and Colchester to Colchester Town routes for the first time.

New trains at London Liverpool Street

It’s the first time that these new trains - built by Alstom, formerly known as Bombardier – have operated in passenger service beyond Witham and Braintree, to serve stations in North Essex and Suffolk.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia business readiness director, who was on board for the first passenger trip, said: “It’s brilliant to see more of our routes served by brand new trains.

A new train at Ipswich

“Obviously at the moment there aren’t as many passengers as usual due to Covid-19, but as we follow the roadmap out of lockdown, we’re sure passengers will appreciate the extra seats, space and mod cons that these trains will give them.

“Since we first introduced our new Alstom trains into passenger service last November, we’ve been delighted with passengers’ responses – they like the comfort of the seats, the plug and USB sockets, the fast free wifi and the smooth quiet ride.”

The new trains, which are longer with more seats, all have two wheelchair user spaces and one accessible toilet per five-carriage train, as well as a dedicated area to secure four full-size bikes.

Greater Anglia is introducing 133 of these trains, which are all being built in Derby.

They are the first trains in the UK to be fitted with underfloor heating, which works with an overhead heating and air conditioning system to improve passenger comfort and increase foot room for passengers sitting in window seats.

They feature regenerative braking which delivers energy back into the electrical supply network, rather than wasting the energy, through heat, as is the case with conventional systems.

Greater Anglia is replacing every single train on its network with brand new trains.

A new train at Clacton

Routes already served exclusively by new trains are Norwich to Lowestoft, Cambridge/Stansted, Sheringham and Great Yarmouth; Ipswich to Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Cambridge and Peterborough; Marks Tey to Sudbury; London to Stansted Airport; and the Intercity route between Norwich and London Liverpool Street, which serves Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester, Chelmsford and Stratford.

New trains are also in passenger service on the following routes: Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street and the Southminster and Braintree branch lines.

A new train at Colchester Town

Later this year, Greater Anglia’s new Alstom trains will be introduced into passenger service on the company’s West Anglia routes, including Cambridge and Bishops Stortford to London Liverpool Street.

They will also start operating between Harwich and Manningtree and between Walton-on-the-Naze and Thorpe-le-Soken.

The full introduction of new trains on Greater Anglia’s services is due to be completed in Summer 2022.