Abellio Greater Anglia has spent £40 million in the past year on “customer-focused initiatives and service improvements”, according to its annual report.

The operator says this is double the investment agreed with the Department for Transport at the start of its franchise in July 2014.

AGA’s Annual Report to Customers for 2015-16 was released on June 13, a few days before the DfT was due to announce the winning bid for the long-term Anglia franchise that starts in October. Abellio, FirstGroup and National Express are the shortlisted bidders for the franchise.

The report highlighted the £12m refurbishment of the Mk 3 fleet (which is more than 80% complete); the £1m refresh of 24 Class 317/6s and the start of an interior refresh of 15 ‘317/5s’; the refresh of 66 Class 321s; and the start of a full refurbishment of ten Class 321s at Doncaster. Other schemes included seat cover replacements for the Class 170 and ‘360’ fleets along with a heavy clean for all trains, and introducing more cleaners.

  • For more on this, read RAIL 803, published on June 22.