Greater Anglia has marked one year since its transfer into public ownership, highlighting new stations, expanded contactless ticketing and closer cooperation with rail partners across East Anglia.
The operator joined the Department for Transport Operator group on 12 October 2025. Greater Anglia said it continues to have the best annual on-time performance of any UK train operator, while working with c2c and Network Rail through GBR Anglia.
Stations and ticketing expanded
Two new stations opened during the year: Beaulieu Park on the Great Eastern Main Line north of Chelmsford, and Cambridge South next to the city’s biomedical campus.
Contactless ticketing was extended to Stansted Airport, Witham and Southend Victoria in March 2026. Greater Anglia said more than 1.5 million additional contactless journeys have been made since the expansion.
Timetable changes introduced in May increased service frequency on local routes in Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The operator also added bus information screens at stations in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich and Norwich.
Greater Anglia said rail’s share of journeys to Stansted Airport reached a record annual level of more than 35%. It also cited continued work through its Customer and Community Improvement Fund, Community Rail Partnerships and station adoption scheme.
Weather resilience and joint working
The operator said extreme weather during the hot, dry summer of 2026 caused disruption and led to additional speed restrictions in some areas. Work is under way to remove those restrictions and maintain service reliability.
As part of GBR Anglia, six Greater Anglia trains have been fitted with rail infrastructure monitoring equipment. The operator said this helped prevent 15 separate disruptive incidents. Other joint initiatives included targeted engineering works, a trial of Friday-night overnight Stansted Express services between July and September, and coordinated planning for special events.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy said: “Greater Anglia is showing the benefits of public ownership in action, with strong punctuality, new stations, expanded availability of contactless ticketing, work with partners on improvements to freight services and closer collaboration across the wider railway through GBR Anglia.”
He added: “This progress shows exactly what Great British Railways can achieve nationwide, bringing track and train together to deliver a simpler, more reliable railway that supports jobs, growth and new homes.”
Jamie Burles, managing director of GBR Anglia, said the operator had used its first year in public ownership “to keep on improving and innovating, and to make rail travel even more attractive and convenient” across the region.
Greater Anglia said future work would focus on coordinating engineering activity with c2c and Network Rail to reduce disruption, alongside efforts to secure investment in rail projects supporting economic growth and social inclusion across East Anglia.