IMPROVEMENTS include more services and Norwich to London services now on average 6 minutes faster than before new trains were introduced.

Greater Anglia is introducing more services and improving some intercity journey times from this weekend, as it continues to increase timetables in line with recovering customer demand after the pandemic.

From June 2, key improvements will include:

• Additional weekday evening peak services from London to Southend, Southminster, Witham, and Ipswich
• Faster journey times between Norwich and London, with most off-peak services timed for 1 hour 47 minutes
• 08.00 from Norwich to London and 17.00 London to Norwich weekday services back to under 1 hour 40 minutes journey time
• Off peak Clacton to London services will call at Hythe – offering better links for the University of Essex
• Normal peak summer season additional services on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays between Norwich and Great Yarmouth
• Normal peak summer season additional Sunday morning services between Ipswich and Peterborough

The service improvements are designed to both support the ongoing recovery in passenger numbers and reflect emerging travel patterns across the Greater Anglia (GA) network, as well as take advantage of the new trains in place on all GA services, with the full transition to new trains completed last year.

The timetable also sees the continuation of the full 4-trains an hour Stansted Express service, which GA reintroduced in December 2023, helping to drive an ongoing increase in passenger numbers by train to the airport and in airport demand.

Jamie Burles, Managing Director, Greater Anglia said:

“We are pleased to be making further timetable improvements in our June timetable change, including additional services, some quicker journey times and our summer season trains, benefitting existing passengers and encouraging even more customers to take the train. 

“With new trains operating all our services, we have transformed rail travel in our region, offering an excellent travel experience, more seats, and a more punctual and reliable service – which is consistently the best in the UK. We’ll continue to adjust our timetable in line with emerging demand and look to make further improvements whenever practical, working with regional partners on the case for additional services wherever appropriate.”