Abellio has been named as the operator of the new East Anglian rail franchise, starting October 16.
Abellio operates the current franchise, which trades as Abellio Great Anglia and connects London, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.
The rail operator was confirmed as the preferred bidder for the contract on August 10. But a legal requirement of any Government contract is there must be a period of at least 10 days between the contract being awarded and it being concluded, to allow any challenges to the decision to be made.
The nine-year franchise will include a number of improvements including: 55 per cent more seats into London in the morning peak period, and 1,144 extra services a week on the network and a replacement of the entire fleet of trains which will be in service by 2020.
There will also be changes to ticketing with the introduction of automatic delay-repay for season and advance purchase ticket holders as well as lower fares on the Stansted Express.
Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: “This is great news not only for Abellio but for the whole of East Anglia. We are pleased to become preferred bidder to deliver a transformation in rail services across the region. It will enable us to build on the successes of the two short East Anglian franchises we have run since 2012, and we commend the DfT on running a transparent and rigorous procurement process.
“Our plans will greatly improve our customers’ experience with faster and more reliable journeys on new trains with higher frequencies and reduced journey times, to support the socio-economic well-being of East Anglia, one of the country’s most successful and fastest growing areas.”
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