GA Trains Limited,[ GA Trains Limited Companies House] trading as Greater Anglia, is a British state-owned train operating company that provides commuter and inter-city services from its Central London terminus at Liverpool Street station to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as many regional services throughout the East of England.
It took over the services of the operator of the same name from Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co on 12 October 2025.
History
In the lead-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of
Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under
state ownership.
[ Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power The Guardian 25 April 2024][ Labour pledges to renationalise most rail services within five years BBC News 26 April 2024] Following its election win, the government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received the
royal assent in November 2024.
[ Rail nationalisation takes a step closer under Starmer’s first major public reform in Commons victory The Independent 4 September 2024][
]
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Government reveals first three operators to be renationalised after law change Railnews 4 December 2024
In December 2024, it was announced that Greater Anglia's contract would be terminated after the Department for Transport activated a break clause, with DfT Operator taking over services on 12 October 2025.[
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> South Western Railway, C2C and Greater Anglia to be nationalised in 2025 CityAM 4 December 2024][Operators to move in-house every three months Rail issue 1024 11 December 2024 page 14][South Western Railway to return to public ownership Rail Express issue 344 January 2025 page 11]
In January 2026, Greater Anglia announced installation of new anti-trespass measures.
Services
, the following services, inherited from Greater Anglia's predecessor, operate during the off-peak period, Monday to Friday:
Inter-City
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Services call at either Chelmsford, or Stratford and Stowmarket.
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Great Eastern
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Additional irregular services in partnership with Stena Line's Dutchflyer to Harwich International are provided from , , and .
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West Anglia
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Harlow Mill, Sawbridgeworth, Stansted Mountfitchet, Elsenham, Newport, Great Chesterford, and Shelford are all served by the same trains.
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Northumberland Park, Enfield Lock, Waltham Cross and Harlow Mill are served by the same trains.
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Regional
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Kennett and Dullingham are served by alternate trains.
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Trains alternate between serving Worstead, or Salhouse, Gunton, and Roughton Road together.
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2 trains per day run via Berney Arms, calling at , , and in lieu of Lingwood and Acle.
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Trains alternate between stoppers or only calling at Oulton Broad North
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Stansted Express
Greater Anglia operates the
Stansted Express sub-branded airport rail link between and .
, Stansted Express' off-peak services Monday to Friday are:
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Services alternate between Harlow Town and Bishop's Stortford; with Stansted Mountfitchet being served by Bishop's Stortford services (northbound), or Harlow services (southbound).
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Fleet
In October 2025, Greater Anglia inherited the following rolling stock from its predecessor.
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| | | N/A | Shunter | 15 | 24 | 3 | N/A | Stock movements | 19521962 |
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| Bombardier Aventra | | | EMU | 100 | 161 | 44 | 5 | | 20182021 |
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| Stadler FLIRT | | | 10 | 12 | | 2018-2020 |
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| | 10 | 12 | | 2018-2020 |
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| Stadler FLIRT | | | BMU | 100 | 161 | 14 | 3 | | 20182020 |
| 24 | 4 |
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External links
