Rail passengers in East Anglia have enjoyed record breaking punctuality over the last year, new figures reveal.
Overall, just under 95% of trains were on time – based on moving annual average results from March 2020 to March 2021.
Six of Greater Anglia’s branch lines hit their own highs with annual average punctuality at between 95.5% and 96.9% for the 12 months ending 6 March 2021.
The Norwich – Great Yarmouth annual average punctuality figure is currently at 96.9% of trains on time, the Norwich – Sheringham and Marks Tey – Sudbury lines are both at 96.8%, the Norwich – Lowestoft line is 96.1%, the Norwich – Cambridge line is 95.7% and the Ipswich – Felixstowe line is 95.5%
Greater Anglia’s intercity services between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and London also currently stand at a record annual average figure of 93.4% of trains running on time.
Meanwhile on both the West Anglia route, between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street, and the Great Eastern lines in from Harwich, Clacton, Colchester, Braintree, Chelmsford, Southminster and Southend to London, annual average punctuality is at over 94%.
These are the highest annual average results ever recorded by the train operator and reflect hard work by teams across the company, the benefits of new trains on a number of routes and improvements to rail infrastructure reliability by Network Rail.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “I know how important it is to our customers that our trains run on time, which is why I started a concerted punctuality drive jointly with Network Rail in 2018, focusing on all areas to improve the reliability and punctuality of our service.
“This has continued throughout the pandemic and we’ve seen record-breaking punctuality, building on strong performance in 2019.
“Latest figures show that just under 95 per cent of our trains have run on time in the last 12 months and we will be working hard to continue these good results as people come back to the railway when travel restrictions ease.”
Current Government advice is to stay at home unless you need to travel for permitted reasons, including work, school and medical appointments.
Greater Anglia continues to ensure that rail travel is safe for staff and passengers with an enhanced cleaning regime, on stations and trains, concentrating on high-touch areas such as push buttons, grab rails and door handles.
The train operator has also introduced a wide range of measures to make it easier for customers to maintain social distancing at stations and on trains – including floor markings, one-way systems, new signs and queuing systems.
It is mandatory for customers to wear a face covering when using public transport, to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Children under the age of 11 and people with a disability or illness which means they cannot wear a face covering are exempt from wearing them.
Photo credit: Greater Anglia
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