First Great Eastern
 | |
 Class 360 Desiro at Ipswich in 2004 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Great Eastern 5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004 |
| Main region(s) | East London East of England |
| Fleet size | 144 |
| Stations called at | 61 |
| Parent company | FirstGroup |
| Reporting mark | GE |
| Successor | One |
First Great Eastern[1] was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997 until March 2004.
Services
First Great Eastern operated all stops and limited stops services on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria, Southminster, Braintree, Colchester Town, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Harwich Town and Ipswich. It also ran services on the Romford to Upminster Line and Gainsborough Line from Marks Tey to Sudbury.[2]
| Route | tph | Calling at |
|---|---|---|
| Romford to Upminster | 2 | Emerson Park |
| Liverpool Street to Shenfield | 4 | Stratford, Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood |
| Route | tph | Calling at |
|---|---|---|
| London Liverpool Street - Southend Victoria | 3 | Stratford, Romford (1tph), Shenfield, Billericay, Wickford, Rayleigh, Hockley, Rochford, Southend Airport, Prittlewell |
| Wickford - Southminster | 1.5 | Battlesbridge, South Woodham Ferrers, North Fambridge, Althorne, Burnham-on-Crouch |
| London Liverpool Street - Ipswich | 1 | Stratford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester, Manningtree |
| London Liverpool Street - Colchester Town | Stratford, Romford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester | |
| London Liverpool Street - Clacton-on-Sea | Stratford, Shenfield, Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham, Colchester, Wivenhoe, Thorpe-le-Soken | |
| London Liverpool Street - Braintree | Stratford, Shenfield, Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham, White Notley, Cressing, Braintree Freeport | |
| Marks Tey - Sudbury | Chappel & Wakes Colne, Bures | |
| Colchester - Walton-on-the-Naze | Colchester Town, Hythe, Wivenhoe, Alresford, Great Bentley, Weeley, Thorpe-le-Soken, Kirby Cross, Frinton-on-Sea
Trains reverse at Colchester Town. | |
| Colchester - Colchester Town (shuttle) | ||
| Manningtree - Harwich Town | Mistley, Wrabness, Harwich International, Dovercourt |
Rolling stock
First Great Eastern inherited a fleet of Class 312, Class 315 and Class 321s from British Rail. A Class 153 was hired from Anglia Railways for the Marks Tey to Sudbury service due to it not being electrified, a Class 150 being used on weekdays and a Class 153 on weekends. Prior to this arrangement, a Class 121 Bubble Car was hired from Silverlink.[3]
A franchise commitment was the replacement of the Class 312s. In May 2001, First Great Eastern ordered 21 Class 360 Desiros with the first entering service in August 2003.[4]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| 121 Bubble Car | 
|
diesel multiple unit | 70 | 112 | Hired from Silverlink |
Marks Tey–Sudbury | 1960 |
| 150 | 
|
75 | 120 | Hired from Anglia Railways |
1984–1987 | ||
| 153 | 
|
1987–1988 | |||||
| 312 | 
|
electric multiple unit | 90 | 145 | 24 | Colchester–Walton-on-the-Naze Harwich Town–Manningtree London Liverpool Street–Clacton-on-Sea and Ipswich (peak times only) |
1975–1978 |
| 315 | 
|
75 | 120 | 43 | London Liverpool Street–Shenfield and Southminster Romford–Upminster |
1980–1981 | |
| 321 | 
|
100 | 160 | 77 | London Liverpool Street–Braintree, Southend Victoria, Ipswich, Walton-on-the-Naze, Colchester Town, Clacton-on-Sea Wickford–Southminster (Sundays only) |
1988–1990 | |
| 360/1 Desiro |
|
21 | London Liverpool Street–Clacton-on-Sea and Harwich Town London Liverpool Street–Ipswich (peak times only) |
2002–2003 | |||
Depot
First Great Eastern's fleet was maintained at Ilford depot.
Demise
In 2002, as part of a franchise reorganisation by the Strategic Rail Authority, it was announced that the Great Eastern franchise would be merged into the Greater Anglia franchise.[5] In December 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the Greater Anglia franchise to National Express, and the services operated by First Great Eastern were transferred to One (later National Express East Anglia) on 1 April 2004.[6]
References
- ^ Companies House extract company no 3007936 Great Eastern Railway Limited
- ^ First Great Eastern route map August 2003
- ^ "Bubble cars revived, depot opens to solve Great Eastern branch crisis" Rail issue 312 27 August 1997 page 10
- ^ Rail issue 468 20 August 2003 page 9
- ^ Rail issue 426 9 January 2002 page 4
- ^ "National Express wins rail franchise". The Daily Telegraph. London. 22 December 2003.
External links
Media related to First Great Eastern at Wikimedia Commons
