Storm Damage

Now the dust has settled after the recent storm and the disruption it caused has finished, a couple of facts about the damage caused.  Firstly, over 240 trees fell on or close to tracks in the Greater Anglia region.  Over 40 of these were on the Braintree line alone. Whilst Network Rail have been clearing trees from near the railway in recent years there are still many on private land that can cause disruption in severe weather.

Secondly there were six instances of overhead wires being damage.  Experience has shown that wires coming down causes significant disruption at the best of times.  To have six instances at once stretches the resources of Network Rail to the limit.

Most passengers have been understanding of the problems caused by the weather with he biggest criticism being lack of communication.  However this seems to depend on where you were on the network as many have been complimentary of the information received.

The MRUA recommends passengers make use of the excellent Twitter service provided by Greater Anglia.  Even if you're not a Tweeter yet, it's worth setting up an account and just following @greateranglia for up to date information on services and a very prompt personal response to queries.

No Trains Before 9am on 28th October

Due to the forecast storm approaching the region, Greater Anglia have issued the following statement:

"On Monday 28th October Greater Anglia will be suspending services on all Greater Anglia routes until 09:00. Customers are advised not to attempt to travel before 09:00.

We have worked with Network Rail and our plans are based on the high winds of up to 75mph forecast across our region early on Monday morning which presents a significant risk of falling trees/branches, damage to railway equipment and will severely limit our ability to safely and quickly respond to any incidents which may occur.
We will be working with Network Rail throughout the night to ensure that the railway is open as soon as possible on Monday morning but we need to undertake checks across every area of our routes in order to ensure that services can run safely. We are working closely with Network Rail to deploy additional staff across the network overnight and throughout the early morning.
From 09:00 we will look to run a reduced service on all lines but we expect there to be significant disruption to services throughout the day.
We will update our website (greateranglia.co.uk) and our Twitter feed (@greateranglia) throughout the morning with the latest advice and information. Customers are strongly advised to check the latest travel information before setting out.
Customers with Greater Anglia tickets dated for travel on Monday 28th October can travel on Sunday 27th and Tuesday 29th October. Customers with Advanced Purchase tickets dated for Sunday 27th are advised that restrictions on the time of travel are suspended.
Other operators across South East England are likely to be affected and details of their services are available here www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/60152.aspx"

Greater Anglia MD to leave...

Greater Anglia has announced that Manageing Director Ruud Hacket is to leave the company to take up the role of CEO at Keolis.  His replacement will be announced in due course.

Trains To Be Cleaned (Externally)

A new cleaning programme for Greater Anglia is to restore exterior paintwork on the electric, sliding door fleet.  All Class  321 (the older sliding door trains) and 360 (Purple sliding door trains) will be cleaned this year.

GA is using a new cleaning product to strip away contamination like embedded brake dust. The work will take place at Ilford depot in London.

Sadly there is no news on improving the interiors.

Greater Anglia Shortlisted For Top Award

Greater Anglia has been nominated for Rail Operator Of The Year award at the National Transport Awards.  Among the reasons fro being nominated are:

• Best punctuality ever seen in this region
• Improved ticketing service
• Service provided during the Olympics
• The alliance with Network Rail resulting in fewer weekend disruptions

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in October.

Bike & Go

Instructions on the new Bike & Go stand say that keys should be returned to the ticket office at the end of the day.  It is not clear what to do if the ticket office is closed....

Ticket Office Availability

There is much talk amongst neighbouring Rail User Groups of ticket offices being closed more and more often.   Regular travellers at Manningtree will know this has been a matter of concern here for some time now.  Have you been affected?  Let us know at info@mrua.org