GREATER Anglia have launched their new £2billion franchise and hope to deliver an improved rail service to and from London to people across East Anglia.

The launch, which officially took place today, will mean that every single train in the current fleet will be replaced by a larger brand new fleet of 1,043 trains, to be delivered by 2019/2020.

Greater Anglia will be introducing more services and aiming to reduce journey times by an average of 10 per cent, including the journey from Southend to London falling to 47 minutes.

The trains, which will be built by Bombardier in Derby and Stadler in Switzerland, will come equipped with climate-controlled air conditioning, high-speed wi fi and power points throughout in an attempt to completely transform the customer experience.

Jamie Burles, managing director of Greater Anglia said: “This is an exciting time for the railway in our region. This is the first franchise renewal to see a train operator replace its entire fleet with brand new trains.”

The company will be investing £60million to redevelop the region’s stations, including Southend Victoria, ensuring all are equipped with ticket vending machines and improved customer display points.

While major upgrades linked to the new trains will not arrive until 2020, there are a number of other improvements that will be delivered in the next three years, including free high-speed wi-fi, ticket vending machines at every station as well as at least 1,800 additional parking spaces and 4,000 extra bike spaces at stations across the network.

Mr Burles added: “We have a huge programme of improvements planned for trains, stations, timetables, journey times, ticketing, performance and wider customer service standards.

“Today really is the start of a period of major investment and improvement to upgrade services for customers and communities across the region.”

Speaking after the launch event in London, chairman of the Essex Rail Association, Derek Monnery said: “It’s a step in the right direction but we won’t notice any real improvement until 2020.

“The bigger question is what will happen with the infrastructure. New trains are fine but if the infrastructure continues to fail, with points failures and other things, then there will always be delays and cancellations, so this is what we will be pushing for next.”

To mark the launch, Greater Anglia are running a “Wake up to Weekdays” offer until October 30 with special adult return fares from as little as £10 for off-peak travel while children can travel for just £2 return.