Greater Anglia and C2C will begin operating under the same leadership structure

Two recently-nationalised rail companies have announced a united leadership team together with Network Rail – as preparation continues for the launch of Great British Railways (GBR).

Greater Anglia and C2C both operate rail services out of Liverpool Street, plus Fenchurch Street in the case of C2C, and will now begin operating under a single structure.

National rail services throughout the Lea Valley are run by Greater Anglia, stopping at stations in eastern Enfield and Haringey, plus Lea Bridge in Waltham Forest, while C2C runs services to Southend via Barking and Dagenham in East London.

With both train operating companies having been nationalised last year as part of the government’s efforts to bring the railways back into public ownership, they will now effectively be merged.

Network Rail Anglia, which is responsible for track maintenance across the region, will also be brought into the same management structure – promising a “more joined-up and reliable railway for passengers in the East of England”.

The new structure, the operators claim, is designed to “provide an even better service for customers and communities – by enabling faster, more coordinated decision-making across the network, with benefits for both day-to-day service delivery and the long-term planning of customer improvements”.

Similar integrated teams will now become the “industry standard” across the network as the government sets up GBR.

Greater Anglia and C2C are already among the best-performing train operators in the country, both achieving punctuality of over 91%.

Reacting to the news, rail minister Lord Hendy said: “C2C, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia are showing exactly how public ownership is transforming the railways for good. Great British Railways will bring the management of train and track together, a vital part of ending the fragmentation that passengers have dealt with for far too long.

“As we move towards GBR, leaders will work together to put passengers and freight at the centre of all planning and decision-making, and those travelling across East Anglia will now reap the benefits: less disruption, greater connectivity and improved reliability.

“This is all part of our mission to build a passenger focused railway that supports jobs, growth and homes.”

The new managing director of the joint leadership team, Jamie Burles, added: “We are starting from a position of strength, with two of the best-performing train operators in the country and a strong Network Rail route. This is about building on that success and moving into the next phase, with joint objectives and joint solutions.

“By bringing track and train together under one leadership team, we can plan better, respond faster and deliver an even more reliable railway for passengers.

“Over time, that means better co-ordination during disruption, more effective planning of engineering work and a more consistent experience for customers and communities across the region.”

There will be no immediate changes to services, branding or the way customers travel.

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