Abellio Greater Anglia rail firm faces franchise challenge

Aging infrastructure has led to major disruptions and delays to services on the Greater Anglia mainline, MPs said last year

Three rail companies have been shortlisted to run the East Anglia franchise.

Abellio Greater Anglia currently runs the East Anglia franchise, but it is being re-let in October 2016.

It includes services to Stansted Airport and to Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Suffolk.

Abellio, in a joint bid with Stagecoach, now faces competition from the other two shortlisted companies - FirstGroup and National Express.

New off peak Cambridge to Stansted Airport services are to be brought in from July this year

Last month, it was revealed that Abellio Greater Anglia had had more negative tweets from passengers in 2014 than any of the other commuter train operators.

Abellio carries more than 350,000 passengers a day.

Announcing the shortlist, rail minister Claire Perry said: "We have ambitious plans for East Anglia's rail network, and the successful bidder will be central to making these plans a reality.

Analysis by Andrew Sinclair, BBC East Political Correspondent

The government wants to show that it is moving fast to act on its manifesto promise.

The pledge to provide a better rail service for East Anglia was one of the party's key pledges for the East, continually emphasised by the prime minister and his ministers whenever they visited during the election campaign. It is thought to be one of the reasons why the Conservatives did so well on 7 May.

Work to upgrade the track and signalling has already started but upgrading the rolling stock and making it feel like a 21st Century train service will be the job of the new franchise holder and the government has already made it clear that whoever wins will be expected to make immediate improvements.

The reality is that upgrading any form of infrastructure takes time, that's why ministers want to get the ball rolling now. They know that when the next election comes they will be judged on whether they have really delivered on that very public pledge.

"We want to find a partner who will help us meet the increasing demand for transport in the region by providing faster, more reliable journeys and better connections across the region and beyond."

Stagecoach Group chief executive Martin Griffiths said: "We are one of the country's leading rail companies and we know the railway is central to the economy in East Anglia.

"We believe our strong track record, combined with the insight of Abellio, can produce a powerful joint bid to deliver a better experience for customers, and support jobs and businesses in the region."

Peter Radford, of the Essex Rail Users Federation, said he welcomed the government announcement as a "positive" but added he would "like to see the money on the table".

In April this year Abellio announced a £20m plan to refurbish trains serving the East of England and increase services between Stansted Airport and Cambridge.

Abellio Greater Anglia pledged the improvements as part of its agreement with the government.

The firm also agreed to complete upgrades to stations at Bishops Stortford, Cambridge and Chelmsford.