Chamber first to meet Abellio – keeping Suffolk’s business on track

Last week saw senior members of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce meet with the new train operator for the region and ensure the voice of business in the county was heard loud and clear.

Greater Anglia is the name of the new franchise and its parent company, Abellio met with the Suffolk Chamber Transport and Infrastructure Group for talks about the rail service for business in Suffolk. Abellio is a Dutch based company, now operating rail and bus services across Europe and elsewhere in the UK.

Greater Anglia has won the interim franchise contract which began operation on February 5^th 2012 and has 29 months to run. This is prior to a 15 year franchise contract being offered.

“We were delighted that Abellio recognise the importance of meeting with business and making briefing Suffolk Chamber a priority,” said Steve Britt MD of Anchor Storage and Chair of the Suffolk Chambers Transport and Infrastructure Group.

“We know that because of the short term nature of the interim contract, Abellio are not in a position to make major capital investments but will focus their available resources on improving customer services. This is important to business,” he added.

Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs from Greater Anglia explained to the Suffolk Chamber Transport Group that additional rolling stock which is already being introduced will be deployed to best effect. He added that ticket purchasing will better utilise computer and mobile phone technology and station facilities will improve.

“We are encouraged that Abellio are making a real push to integrate better with other transport modes across the region,” Steve Britt added. ”This is a Dutch speciality as travellers in the Netherlands will know so we are expecting a great improvement in links with bus services, better car parking and good cycle facilities.”

Chamber members also heard that Greater Anglia is working closely with Transport for London to interface with more TfL stations and to ensure that the demands during the London 2012 Olympics are met. Greater Anglia is running East Coast services through Stratford, the main Olympic station.