Wikipedia

Greater Anglia

GA Trains Limited,[1] trading as Greater Anglia, is a British state-owned train operating company that provides commuter and inter-city services from its Central London terminus at Liverpool Street station to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as many regional services throughout the East of England.

Greater Anglia
Greater Anglia Class 745 and Class 755 units at Ipswich
Overview
FranchiseEast Anglia 12 October 2025
Main regionsEast of England
Greater London
Fleet
Stations called at150
Stations operated134
Parent companyDfT Operator
HeadquartersLondon
Reporting markLE
PredecessorGreater Anglia
Other
Websitewww.greateranglia.co.uk

It took over the services of the operator of the same name from Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co on 12 October 2025.

History

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In the lead-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership.[2][3] Following its election win, the government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received the royal assent in November 2024.[4][5]

In December 2024, it was announced that Greater Anglia's contract would be terminated after the Department for Transport activated a break clause, with DfT Operator taking over services on 12 October 2025.[6][7][8]

In January 2026, Greater Anglia announced installation of new anti-trespass measures.[9] Figures from 2025/26 revealed that trespass incidents caused more than 18 days' worth of delays, as a result the installation of additional fences, gates and witches' hats (rubber spikes on the ground) at stations in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.[9]

Services

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As of May 2026, the following services, inherited from Greater Anglia's predecessor, operate during the off-peak period, Monday to Friday:[10]

Inter-City

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RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Norwich2
  • Services call at either Chelmsford or Stratford.

Great Eastern

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Great Eastern Main Line
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Ipswich1
Shenfield–Southend and Crouch Valley lines
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Southend Victoria3
Wickford – Southminster3⁄2
Braintree branch line
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Braintree1
Gainsborough line
RoutetphCalling at
Marks Tey – Sudbury1
Sunshine Coast Line
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Colchester Town1
  • Stratford
  • Shenfield
  • Chelmsford
  • Beaulieu Park
  • Witham
  • Kelvedon
  • Marks Tey
  • Colchester
London Liverpool Street – Clacton-on-Sea1
Colchester – Colchester Town1Shuttle service
Colchester – Walton-on-the-Naze1
Mayflower line
RoutetphCalling at
Manningtree – Harwich Town1

West Anglia

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West Anglia Main Line
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Cambridge North2
  • Harlow Mill, Sawbridgeworth, Stansted Mountfitchet, Elsenham, Newport, Great Chesterford, and Shelford are all served by the same trains.
Stratford – Meridian Water2
Stratford – Bishop's Stortford2
  • Lea Bridge
  • Tottenham Hale
  • Northumberland Park (1 tph)
  • Enfield Lock (1 tph)
  • Waltham Cross (1 tph)
  • Cheshunt
  • Broxbourne
  • Roydon
  • Harlow Town
  • Harlow Mill (1 tph)
  • Sawbridgeworth
  • Northumberland Park, Enfield Lock, Waltham Cross and Harlow Mill are served by the same trains.
Hertford East branch line
RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street – Hertford East2

Regional

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Felixstowe branch line
RoutetphCalling at
Ipswich – Felixstowe1
East Suffolk line
RoutetphCalling at
Ipswich – Lowestoft1
Ipswich–Ely line
RoutetphCalling at
Ipswich – Cambridge1
  • Kennett and Dullingham are served by alternate trains.
Ipswich – Peterborough1⁄2
Bittern Line
RoutetphCalling at
Norwich – Sheringham1
Wherry Lines
RoutetphCalling at
Norwich – Great Yarmouth1
Norwich – Lowestoft1
Breckland line
RoutetphCalling at
Norwich – Stansted Airport1
  1. ↑ Pick up only northbound, set down only southbound
  2. 1 2 Trains reverse

Stansted Express

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Greater Anglia operates the Stansted Express sub-branded airport rail link between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street.[11] As of December 2025, Stansted Express' off-peak services Monday to Friday are:[10]

RoutetphCalling at
London Liverpool Street - Stansted Airport4
  • Services alternate between Harlow Town and Bishop's Stortford; with Stansted Mountfitchet being served by Bishop's Stortford services (northbound), or Harlow services (southbound).

Fleet

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In October 2025, Greater Anglia inherited the following rolling stock from its predecessor.

Family Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Routes operated Built
mph km/h
Shunting locomotive
08[12] N/A Shunter 15 24 3 N/A Stock movements 1952–1962
Electric multiple units
Bombardier Aventra 720/1 EMU 100 161 44 5 2018–2021
720/5 89
Stadler FLIRT 745/0 10 12 2018-2020
745/1 10 12 2018-2020
Bi-mode multiple units
Stadler FLIRT BMU 100 161 14[13] 3[13] 2018–2020
24 4

References

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  1. ↑ GA Trains Limited Companies House
  2. ↑ Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power The Guardian 25 April 2024
  3. ↑ Labour pledges to renationalise most rail services within five years BBC News 26 April 2024
  4. ↑ Rail nationalisation takes a step closer under Starmer’s first major public reform in Commons victory The Independent 4 September 2024
  5. ↑ Government reveals first three operators to be renationalised after law change Railnews 4 December 2024
  6. ↑ South Western Railway, C2C and Greater Anglia to be nationalised in 2025 CityAM 4 December 2024
  7. ↑ Operators to move in-house every three months Rail issue 1024 11 December 2024 page 14
  8. ↑ South Western Railway to return to public ownership Rail Express issue 344 January 2025 page 11
  9. 1 2 Ahmed, Shariqua (28 January 2026). "Greater Anglia to install anti-trespass measures across the East". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Timetables". Abellio Greater Anglia. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Stansted Express". Greater Anglia. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "RSS Class 08 modifications precede Anglian shunter duties". Rail. No. 825. 26 April 2017. p. 26. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Just three diagrams left for GA 321s". Today's Railways UK. No. 254. April 2023. p. 59.
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  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Greater Anglia at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
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