Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe Smith 
Chloe Smith MP, co-chair of the Great Eastern Rail Campaign, is encouraging Norwich passengers to respond to the Government’s consultation on the next Greater Anglia rail franchise.
The Government published a consultation document asking members of the public to respond to say what they want in the new franchise, which is due to come into effect in October 2016.
Chloe and the Great Eastern Rail Taskforce have produced a full report outlining improvements needed to the Norwich-London line, which is the backbone of the Greater Anglia franchise. The campaign recently gained huge success as the Chancellor endorsed their recommendations and agreed to all their asks. These asks could bring 8,000 more jobs to Norwich. The campaign is already backed by thousands of passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
Chloe today urges passengers to take the necessary next step of responding to the consultation which produces the franchise specification. If East Anglian passengers make clear their support for improvements, these will be written into the next franchise specification. The company that wins the franchise will have to operate accordingly and, in particular, order new carriages.
Chloe commented:
“Passengers deserve better rail services and the new consultation provides a once in a generation opportunity to speak up for the changes to rail services that we need. Rail users need to see big improvements in the services they pay for and by engaging positively with the franchising process we can see new rolling stock, more reliable journeys and better customer facilities brought in. Please make your views known today and join thousands of others in voicing your support for the campaign’s key points.”
Further details about the consultation can be found online at the web link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/east-anglia-rail-passenger-franchise
The Great Eastern Mainline Campaign asks can be found here, including all the information that passengers need to reply to the consultation:
http://www.newanglia.co.uk/find-out-about-us/campaigns-to-unlock-barriers-to-growth/gerailcampaign/
Consultation responses can be sent to: eaconsultation2014@railexecutive.gsi.gov.uk and copied to Chloe: chloe@chloesmith.org.uk and her co-chair Mark Pendlington, of the New Anglia LEP: info@newanglia.co.uk