Great British Railways Identity Arrives On c2c And Greater Anglia Trains

The first trains to display the new Great British Railways identity for Anglia have been shown at London Liverpool Street, giving passengers an early look at how the railway’s changing structure will appear across the region.

The unveiling took place today, 16 July, and featured c2c Class 357 units 357008 and 357020 alongside Greater Anglia Class 720 units 720144 and 720501. Each was displayed in the red, white and blue Great British Railways livery as part of the public launch of the GBR Anglia identity.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy attended the event with GBR Anglia Managing Director Jamie Burles, as well as colleagues from c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia.

GBR Anglia brings together c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia under one leadership structure. The aim is to align train operations and infrastructure more closely, with the organisations planning and delivering services as a more joined-up railway across the East of England.

While the new livery is the most visible sign of the change, the work behind GBR Anglia is already extending into operations. One early development has been securing approval for Greater Anglia Class 720 trains to run on the c2c network, creating more flexibility between the fleets and improving resilience when trains are unavailable or disruption occurs.

The three organisations have also worked together around major event travel, including support for Southend United fans travelling to Wembley. Strengthened services were provided on both routes between Southend and London to help manage demand.

Another example of closer working has been the trial of overnight Friday Stansted Express services. Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia reviewed engineering plans and made adjustments where possible, while still protecting essential maintenance, to offer more options for passengers using late-night and early-morning flights.

Further joint work is planned around maintenance coordination, improved data sharing, the use of on-train technology to detect potential infrastructure faults earlier, and marketing to encourage more rail travel to and from Southend.

Passengers will see more trains carrying the GBR Anglia identity over the coming weeks and months. Additional Class 357 units will gain the new livery as they move through c2c’s existing repainting and planned maintenance programme, allowing the transition to take place without adding unnecessary disruption.

Across the wider fleet, c2c and Greater Anglia branding will gradually be replaced by GBR Anglia. The Stansted Express name will remain, though it will move to GBR Stansted Express as part of the wider branding changes.

The new identity will also appear gradually across station signage, wayfinding, staff materials and customer communications. During the transition, passengers should expect to see a mix of GBR Anglia, Greater Anglia and c2c branding across the network.

Existing services, tickets and customer arrangements will not change as a result of the branding rollout.

Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:

“Track and train are two sides of the same coin but for too long they operated independently of each other, with passengers and taxpayers left to bear the consequences. By uniting track and train under one identity and leadership in Anglia, we’re creating a more reliable service that will put passengers first. It’s all part of our plan to deliver the biggest reform of our railways in a generation, creating more, growth, jobs and homes as we work to set up Great British Railways.”

Jamie Burles, Managing Director of GBR Anglia, said:

“Seeing the first GBR Anglia trains together at London Liverpool Street is a proud moment and a clear sign of the railway we are building. More importantly, the new identity reflects c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia increasingly planning and delivering as one railway. We are already creating greater flexibility across our train fleets, planning major events more effectively and using closer track-and-train working to trial new services for customers. There is much more to do, but we have made a strong start. Our focus is on turning that progress into better journeys and a more reliable, responsive and efficient railway for everyone who depends on us.”

Image: c2c