02 Dec Greater Anglia wins ‘most reliable train’ accolade for fourth year
Greater Anglia’s new bi-mode trains have been crowned the “most reliable train of their type” in the country in independent industry awards for the fourth year running.
Greater Anglia’s Class 755 four-carriage bi-mode trains were named the most reliable “second generation new diesel” train at the Modern Railways Fourth Friday Club Golden Spanners Awards held on 22 November, completing a hat trick of wins, after the operator’s Class 755 three-carriage bi-mode trains received the award in 2021.
The Golden Spanners Awards are made purely on the statistical reliability of every single type of train over the past 12 months up to 15 September 2024.
Those train types with the fewest faults, and are therefore the most reliable, receive the awards and, to provide a level playing field, similar types of trains are compared against each other.1
The four-carriage Class 755 trains, which operate on rural lines in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, were named the most reliable train of their type in England, Scotland and Wales with 23,889 miles between faults.
In addition, Greater Anglia’s Class 745/1 Stansted Express trains, which operate Stansted Airport and London, as well as on some intercity services between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and London, and its Class 720 trains, which operate between London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria, Southminster, Braintree, Clacton, Ipswich, Colchester Town, Cambridge and Hertford East, picked up Silver Spanner awards, meaning they are the most improved train of their type, with a 97.4% and 98.4% year-on-year improvement respectively.
Martin Beable, Managing Director, Greater Anglia, said: “Our new trains have transformed rail travel in the region, and we’re thrilled that they have been recognised again with these awards.
“This excellent result is a tribute to the work of both our teams and the teams at Alstom and Stadler who work round the clock keeping our trains running and further improving their performance.
“We are committed to maintaining these excellent performance standards, to complement the transformation in the journey experience brought by our new trains, with their greater comfort, better facilities (including plug/USB points and Wi-Fi), increased seating capacity and better accessibility.”
