Anglia Railways
Former East Anglian train operating company
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Anglia Railways was a train operating company that operated the Anglia franchise in the East of England from January 1997 until March 2004; it was owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup.
5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004
Breckland Line,
East Suffolk Line,
Ely to Peterborough Line,
Felixstowe Branch Line,
Ipswich to Ely Line,
London Crosslink,
Mayflower Line,
Wherry Lines
| |
 A Class 86 at Stowmarket | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchises | Anglia: 5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004 |
| Main route | Great Eastern Main Line |
| Other routes | Bittern Line, Breckland Line, East Suffolk Line, Ely to Peterborough Line, Felixstowe Branch Line, Ipswich to Ely Line, London Crosslink, Mayflower Line, Wherry Lines |
| Stations called at | 64 |
| Parent company | GB Railways (1997–2003), FirstGroup (2003–2004) |
| Reporting mark | AR |
| Predecessor | InterCity, Regional Railways |
| Successor | National Express East Anglia |
| Other | |
| Website | www.angliarailways.co.uk |
History
The Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to GB Railways; it commenced on 5 January 1997.[1] In June 1998, Anglia Railways unveiled a turquoise and white livery.[2][3][4] Prior to 1997, trains in the area were operated by British Rail sectors of InterCity, Regional Railways and Network SouthEast.
On 1 April 2004, operations passed to National Express East Anglia.
Services
Anglia Railways operated the following routes:[5]
- Inter-city services:
- Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street, Ipswich and Norwich
- Manningtree-Harwich, for boat trains between Liverpool Street and Harwich International.
- Regional services:
A franchise commitment was to increase the hourly London Liverpool Street-Norwich services to half-hourly.[6] The half-hourly service was introduced in 2000 with some extended to Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
With funding from the Strategic Rail Authority's Rail Partnership Funding, Anglia Railways introduced a new experimental service from the Great Eastern Main Line to Basingstoke, via the North London Line, branded London Crosslink. It operated from 22 May 2000 until 28 September 2002, due to poor patronage.[7][8]
A more successful new service with Rail Partnership Funding was introduced on 29 September 2002 from Norwich to Cambridge on the Breckland Line; the route continues to operate.[9]
Rolling stock
Anglia Railways inherited a fleet of Class 86s, Mark 2 coaches, Driving Brake Standard Opens, Class 150s and Class 153s from British Rail. As part of the franchise, the fleet of Mark 2 coaches had a complete mechanical and interior refurbishment. On 10 June 1998, it unveiled its turquoise and white livery.[2] In June 1998, preserved Class 201 diesel-electric multiple unit no. 1001 commenced an eleven-month lease, operating services on the Wherry Lines.[10]
To meet a franchise commitment to operate two services per hour between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, eight three-car Class 170 Turbostar units were delivered in 1999/2000.[11] These units were used on new services from Liverpool Street to Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft; they were also used on London Crosslink services and, from September 2000, were hired to GB Railways' Hull Trains subsidiary to work services between London King's Cross and Hull Paragon
Due to the late delivery of these units, Class 317s and Class 322s were hired from West Anglia Great Northern for a time.[12][13][14] A further four two-car Class 170s were delivered in 2002 and were used principally on the new Norwich to Cambridge services.
Anglia hired a Class 47 from Cotswold Rail, from June 2002, as a rescue locomotive and to haul Mark 2 sets on summer Saturday services to Great Yarmouth.[15]
In July 2002, Anglia hired a Class 90 from Freightliner for a few months, with a view to replacing the Class 86s.[16][17]
In October 2003, Anglia began operating three Class 90s from English, Welsh & Scottish Railway until the end of the franchise.[18][19]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||
| 47 |  |
Diesel locomotive | 100 | 160 | 1, hired from Cotswold Rail |
1966 |
| 86 |  |
Electric locomotive | 15 | 1965–1966 | ||
| 90 |  |
110 | 177 | 3 | 1987–1990 | |
| 150/2 Sprinter |  |
Diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 10 | 1984–1987 |
| 153 Super Sprinter | .jpg) |
7 | 1987–1988 | |||
| 170/2 Turbostar |  |
100 | 160 | 12 | 1999–2002 | |
| Mark 2 |  |
Passenger carriage | 115 | 1964–1975 | ||
 |
DBSO | 13 | 1979–1986 | |||
Depot
Anglia Railways' fleet was maintained at Crown Point TMD in Norwich.
Franchise reorganisation
In 2002, as part of a franchise reorganisation by the Strategic Rail Authority, it was announced that the Anglia franchise would be merged into a new Greater Anglia franchise.[20] Having missed out on pre-qualifying for the Greater Anglia franchise, FirstGroup purchased GB Railways in August 2003.[21][22]
In December 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new Greater Anglia franchise to National Express, with the services operated by Anglia Railways transferring to the One brand on 1 April 2004.[23]
