First Great Eastern
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox rail company
|logo = First Great Eastern Logo2.gif
|logo_size = 150
|image = 360111 at Ipswich.jpg
|image_size = 300
|caption = Class 360 Desiro at {{stnlnk|Ipswich}} in 2004
|franchise = Great Eastern
5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004
|regions = East London
East of England
|secregions =
|fleet = 144
|stations = 61
|abbr = GE
|parent_company = FirstGroup
|website =
|map =
|successor=One}}
First Great Eastern[http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/03007936 Companies House extract company no 3007936] Great Eastern Railway Limited 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, {{stnlnk|Braintree|England}}, 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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20030805035944/http://www.ger.co.uk/images/network_large.jpg First Great Eastern route map August 2003]
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.{{cite magazine |title= Bubble cars revived, depot opens to solve Great Eastern branch crisis | magazine = Rail Magazine |issue=312 |date= 27 August 1997 |page=10}}
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.{{cite magazine |title= | magazine = Rail Magazine |issue=312 |date= 30 August 2003 |page=9}}{{Full citation needed|date=May 2023}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ Fleet at end of franchise |
| rowspan="2" |Class
! rowspan="2" |Image ! rowspan="2" |Type ! colspan="2" |Top speed ! rowspan="2" |Number ! rowspan="2" |Routes operated ! rowspan="2" |Built |
|---|
| mph
!km/h |
| 121 Bubble Car
| rowspan="3" |diesel multiple unit |70 |112 |Hired from | rowspan="3" |{{stnlink|Marks Tey}}–{{stnlink|Sudbury}} |1960 |
| 150
| rowspan="2" |75 | rowspan="2" |120 | rowspan="2" |Hired from |1984–1987 |
| 153
|1987–1988 |
| 312
| rowspan="4" |electric multiple unit |90 |145 |24 |{{stnlink|Colchester}}–{{stnlink|Walton-on-the-Naze}} |1975–1978 |
| 315
|75 |120 |43 |{{stnlink|London Liverpool Street}}–{{stnlink|Shenfield}} and {{stnlink|Southminster}} |1980–1981 |
| 321
| rowspan="2" |100 | rowspan="2" |160 |77 |{{stnlink|London Liverpool Street}}–{{stnlink|Braintree|England}}, {{stnlink|Southend Victoria}}, {{stnlink|Ipswich}}, {{stnlink|Walton-on-the-Naze}}, {{stnlink|Colchester Town}}, {{stnlink|Clacton-on-Sea}} |1988–1990 |
| 360/1 Desiro
|21 |{{stnlink|London Liverpool Street}}–{{stnlink|Clacton-on-Sea}} and {{stnlink|Harwich Town}} |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.{{cite magazine |title= | magazine = Rail Magazine |issue=426 |date= 9 January 2002 |page=4}}{{Full citation needed|date=May 2023}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1450062/National-Express-wins-rail-franchise.html |title=National Express wins rail franchise|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=22 December 2003 | url-access = subscription | access-date = 23 May 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=Network SouthEast
As part of British Rail}}
{{s-ttl|title=Operator of Great Eastern franchise
|years=1997 – 2004}}
{{s-aft|after=One
Greater Anglia franchise}}
{{s-end}}
{{UK TOCs|defunct|state=collapsed}}
Category:Defunct train operating companies in the United Kingdom
Category:FirstGroup railway companies
Category:Railway companies established in 1997
Category:Railway companies disestablished in 2004