News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 397 - 30/04/2026
From 02:00 on 31 May 2026, as part of the planned transition to public ownership, Govia Thameslink Railway Limited (GTR), — which operates four brands: Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express — will transfer to a new company, Thameslink Southern Great Northern Limited (TSGNL). Although the legal operator is changing, the services will be unchanged with the same teams in charge, according to GTR's emails sent to custeorms registered with it. The new operator will stil be called GTR, but it will now standard for Greater Thameslink Railway. The new operator will also have some additional responsibilities, such as the Freedom of Information Act.
Performance figures released by Greater Anglia (GA) show excellent punctuality results have continued across East Anglia, with GA being one of the best performing train operators in Britain over te last three years. Annual performance for the 12 months to 31st March 2026 using the 'Time to 3' (T-3) metric, which measures the arrival within 3 minutes of every single train at every single station it serves, is at 91.84% . This is currently the second highest annual T-3 average nationally, just behind c2c on 91.86%. Norwich to Great Yarmouth is 98.0%, Norwich to Lowestoft 97.5%, Marks Tey to Sudbury: 96.0%, Norwich to Sheringham: 95.9%, Ipswich to Lowestoft 94.8%, Ipswich to Felixstowe: 94.1% and London to Colchester/Clacton: 93.2%. GA also has the highest national annual average using the 'On Time' measure at 80.4%. Accoridng to GA's press release, it has the highest score on the long standing Public Performance Measure (which measures arrival at destination within five minutes) with an annual average of 93.2% and the second lowest rate of cancellations at 1.7% (just behind c2c on 1.6%). See news story.
In April, Greater Anglia announced its first "Open Day" at the Crown Point depot in Norwich in over 30 years. The special event is taking place on Saturday 6th June 2026, offering members of the public a rare behind-the-scenes look at a key train maintenance facilitiy. Just over 1,100 tickets were available and they were all snapped up in just over 2 hours! Info about the open day can be seen here
Life-saving defibrillators have been installed on the Wherry Lines between Norwich and Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. See news story. Although the funding was nominally channelled through Greater Anglia's Customer and Community Improvement Fund, the reality is that GA has no money of its own and the cost is met by taxpayers.
The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership received £5,100 to fund new wayfinding signage at Saxmundham station and in its car park. The smart new signage installed around the station and car park to provide information about additional parking, onward public transport options, and the route to public toilets, specifying both step-free and stepped access options. Thalia Woodgate, East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership Officer, said: "Upgrading the signage at Saxmundham is a simple change that makes a real difference. Clear, easy-to-follow information helps people feel more confident using the station and planning their onward journey. See news story.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is looking for someone to take on the editorial role for its magazine, BlastPipe. To find out more, please contact [samantha.taylor at mnr.org.uk]. The Railway 200 Inspiration Train will be at the MNR from 19th May to 21th May 2026: it is scheduled to be at Dereham station on 19th-20th May and Wymondham Abbey station on 21st May.
Additional content will be added to this page.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 397 - 30/04/2026
[Prev Issue (396)] [Snippets Issues] [Next Issue (398)] [Category List] [Keyword List] [People List] [Story List] [Branch Dashboard]
Railfuture is a non-profit making pro-rail campaiging organisation, which is run entirely by unpaid volunteeers, including production of Rail News Snippets for the East Anglian branch of Railfuture.
How we spell Railfuture — singular, one word, one capital letter (can be abbreviated to Rf).