Privatisation Part 1: First Great Eastern



Great Eastern, like Network SouthEast, didn't have any local DMU maintenance facilities to allow a dedicated unit to the Sudbury line, and continued to hire in single car Class 153s daily from Anglia Railways.

The Original FGE Livery on a Class 321
The Original FGE Livery on a Class 321

All was fine until September 1997, Anglia Railways' unit requirement changed and they were no longer able to provide a 153 to Great Eastern, and after searching the only spare units available to hire were elderly Class 121 "Bubble Cars" from North London Railways.
Units 121027/029 and 031 were hired to Great Eastern for use on the Sudbury line, with the intention of 1 unit in service, 1 on spare at Colchester and the other one on maintenance, although in reality all 3 were often out of use requiring attention, with a replacement bus service in operation.

The 40 year old 121s managed all sorts of faults, from broken gear boxes to broken drive shafts, the passengers slowly were deserting the line in favour of their more reliable cars. The Class 153s having managed a 23% increase in passengers in previous years.

The Office of Passenger Rail Franchises set a deadline of October 1998 for the withdrawal of the 121s from the Sudbury line, and with Anglia managing to hire in an additional train for their services until their new Turbostars were delivered, First Great Eastern were once again able to hire a 153 unit, and the 121s returned to North London Railways.
With a more reliable service, running hourly the train quickly became full at peak time, where in 2001 due to severe over crowding, First Eastern National were contracted to provide supplementary bus services whilst First Great Eastern once again searched for more suitable units.

2001: Capacity Doubled ---->


156407

History


In this section you can find out about the Stour Valley Line, from its opening in 1849 right through the years of its expansion, then decline, then stability under BR which led the way for the investment from the privatised railway in the late 90s and now.

Whatever your interest in Railways, this section should have something for you. If you feel that anything has been missed please get in touch