News

West Anglia Routes Group Responds to Train Operator's Proposals

Author: WARG Administrator
Date: 15 Sep 2009

The Group has responded to a National Express East Anglia consultation on proposals for improving West Anglia services.  The proposals focus on how new and existing carriages will be deployed to deliver 12 car trains to Cambridge and Stansted, as well as all peak services to Chingford, Enfield Town and Hertford East being 8 carriages.

The Group welcomed the planned introduction of 120 new carriages which will facilitate 12 car trains to Cambridge and Stansted, along with longer inner suburban trains.  However several issues were highlighted:

• The proposal to have a limited number of Cambridge services formed from new rolling stock was cautiously welcomed.  However it is unclear how this will be achieved in practice without altering the timetable and compromising the service offered to Stansted Express users.

• The use of rolling stock configured for the airport for services to Cambridge, particularly in peak, reduces the space available for passengers.

• Using existing outer suburban trains on services to Chingford, Enfield Town and Hertford East could increase journey times and reduce overall capacity.

• With only a limited number of new carriages, the rest of the fleet should be refurbished to make sure it is of a consistently high quality.

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