West Anglia Great Northern - A

West Anglia Great Northern - A

West Anglia Great Northern, commonly shortened to WAGN, was a train operating company in England. It operated the West Anglia Great Northern franchise between January 1997 and March 2004, as well as the Great Northern franchise between April 2004 and March 2006. It was initially owned by Prism Rail, and was subsequently acquired by the British transport conglomerate National Express.

The West Anglia Great Northern franchise was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail, the recently-founded company Prism Rail successfully bid for it, being awarded a seven year concession for its operation during December 1996. It took over operations from British Rail on 5 January 1997. The company set about overhauling its inherited rolling stock, such as the Class 313 and Class 317 electric multiple units. By 1999, WAGN was amongst the best performing franchises according to statistics compiled by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising. However, proposed open access services between Peterborough and Doncaster by WAGN were rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) due to a lack of capacity.

During July 2000, Prism Rail, along with WAGN, was acquired by the British transport conglomerate National Express via a £166 million deal. In January 2002, as part of a wider reorganisation of the various franchises conducted by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), it was announced that the franchise would be divided, and that the West Anglia portion would be merged into the Greater Anglia franchise.

On 10 May 2002, a northbound WAGN service derailed at Potters Bar, resulting the deaths of seven people and the injury of a further 76, services were heavily disrupted and special measures were implemented in response. In December 2005, the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded the recently-created Thameslink franchise to rival company FirstGroup, thus the services operated by WAGN were transferred to the new operator First Capital Connect on 1 April 2006.

West Anglia Great Northern History

During 1995, amid the privatisation of British Rail, several individuals from the bus industry decided to found their own company, Prism Rail, to bid for some of the newly-created rail franchises. In its bid for the West Anglia Great Northern franchise, Prism promised that it would make a premium payment of £24.8 million to the franchising office in 2004. During December 1996, it was announced that that Prism had been awarded a seven year concession to operate the franchise, which was the company's fourth awarding of a passenger train franchise at that time.

On 5 January 1997, West Anglia Great Northern commenced operations, taking over service from British Rail, including their rolling stock. During the late 1990s, West Anglia Great Northern submitted an application to operate extended services on an open access basis between Peterborough and Doncaster, however, the proposal was rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) due to a reported lack of capacity on the route.

By 1999, according to statistics compiled by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, West Anglia Great Northern was amongst the best performing franchises, being one of only seven franchises to obtain a B grade, for which its average punctuality had to be above 90 per cent while its average reliability figures had to be exceed 99 per cent.

During July 2000, it was announced that Prism Rail, and thus West Anglia Great Northern as well, had been acquired by the British transport conglomerate National Express in exchange for £166 million. That same month, the company had agreed to invest £20.5m into the network, and had reported that the Great Northern portion of the franchise' operations were running at a profit.

In January 2002, as part of a wider reorganisation of the various franchises conducted by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), it was announced that the franchise would be divided, and that the West Anglia portion would be merged into the Greater Anglia franchise.

During December 2003, the SRA awarded the Greater Anglia franchise to National Express, resulting in the transfer of the West Anglia services to One on 1 April 2004. The company was also granted a two-year extension on the West Anglia Great Northern franchise, thereafter, the Great Northern services were retained with the company commonly referring to itself as WAGN rather than West Anglia Great Northern.

On 10 May 2002, a major rail accident involving a northbound WAGN service occurred at Potters Bar, resulting the deaths of seven people and the injury of a further 76. The train, a four-coach Class 365 Electric multiple unit, had derailed while passing over a set of points just south of Potters Bar railway station at 97 mph (156 km/h), these points had unintentionally moved while still underneath the third coach.

In the aftermath of the accident, WAGN services were heavily disrupted and delayed, leading to a special timetable being implemented for a time. During April 2004, the railway infrastructure services company Jarvis plc admitting liability for the accident.

West Anglia Great Northern Overview

West Anglia Great Northern Franchise(s): West Anglia Great Northern:
5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004
Great Northern Only:
1 April 2004 – 31 March 2006
West Anglia Great Northern Main Region(s): East of England
West Anglia Great Northern Other Region(s): Greater London (north and north-east)
West Anglia Great Northern Fleet Size: 145
West Anglia Great Northern Stations Called At: 55
West Anglia Great Northern Parent Company: Prism Rail (1997–2000)
National Express (2000–2006)
West Anglia Great Northern Reporting Mark: WN
West Anglia Great Northern Successors:
One
First Capital Connect