More Trains, More Often
Labour is proudly delivering on its manifesto pledges to improve and invest in our railways. They were in desperate need of transformation, after years of chaos under the Conservative governments. Empty promises were made, plans for change were delayed or cancelled, and the fiasco of HS2 was frankly an embarrassment. In just over 18 months in office, this Government is implementing the change we were elected make.
I have already championed the nationalisation of our railways, and the upcoming plans to establish Great British Railways. It was simply wonderful news when Greater Anglia was put back into public ownership in October last year. It was therefore extremely welcome to hear that more frequent services were being added to the timetable, along with extra intercity stops at Stowmarket.
Starting from Sunday 17 May, Greater Anglia will have an expanded set of service improvements that will see extra journeys added across regional routes. This will meet rising passenger demand, another endorsement of our great local railway network. Stowmarket will benefit from later departures along key routes, extended evening and weekend services, and better connections between regional hubs. This is all a result of valuable passenger feedback.
Greater Anglia continue to perform at an exceptional rate, maintaining their brilliant services. Some of the encouraging recent statistics include:
92% overall satisfaction rate
90.8% punctuality rate at Bury St Edmunds station
88% punctuality rate at Stowmarket station
88.4% punctuality rate at Thurston station
86.6% punctuality rate at Elmswell station
All four stations report a service cancellation rate of approximately 1.0%
Building on this positive data, I welcome this expanded timetable, and look forward to seeing Greater Anglia continue to thrive and serve our community in the excellent ways it does.
