GBR Anglia trains made their public debut at London Liverpool Street on July 16, introducing Great British Railways branding across selected c2c and Greater Anglia units.

GBR Anglia Class 357 train in red, white and blue livery at London Liverpool Street
Newly branded GBR Anglia Class 357 and Class 720 trains at London Liverpool Street. Photo: GBR Anglia / Network Rail Media Centre.

The official presentation at Liverpool Street⁠ brought together Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy, GBR Anglia Managing Director Jamie Burles and employees from c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia. The display featured c2c Class 357 units 357008 and 357020 alongside Greater Anglia Class 720 units 720144 and 720501, all carrying the red, white and blue GBR identity.

The vehicles are not newly built trainsets. They are existing fleet members receiving a new regional identity as the three organisations move toward more integrated management of infrastructure and passenger operations.

Don’t miss…Mauá Norte Yard signalling contract awarded to Alstom

What the GBR Anglia trains launch represents?

GBR Anglia combines c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail’s Anglia route under a unified leadership structure. The organisations say closer coordination should support quicker decisions, clearer accountability and improved reliability across the East of England.

The change follows c2c and Greater Anglia entering public ownership under the UK government’s staged rail programme⁠. However, GBR Anglia is currently a regional operating identity rather than the completed national Great British Railways organisation.

“Seeing the first GBR Anglia trains together at London Liverpool Street is a proud moment and a clear sign of the railway we are building.”

Operational cooperation has already included approval for Greater Anglia Class 720 trains to work on the c2c network. This is intended to provide additional fleet flexibility when units are unavailable or disruption affects services.

Teams have also coordinated extra capacity for Southend United supporters travelling to Wembley and developed a trial of overnight Friday Stansted Express services by adjusting engineering plans where possible without removing essential maintenance.

Rail officials and staff beside a newly branded GBR Anglia Class 720 train
Rail officials and employees beside a newly branded GBR Anglia train at London Liverpool Street. Photo: GBR Anglia / Network Rail Media Centre.

How GBR Anglia trains and branding will roll out?

More Class 357 units will receive the livery during scheduled repainting and maintenance. Existing c2c and Greater Anglia logos will then be replaced gradually across the wider fleet, while Stansted Express will become GBR Stansted Express.

According to Greater Anglia’s transition notice⁠, the identity will also appear on station signage, wayfinding, staff materials and customer communications. Passengers will see mixed branding during the transition, but existing services, tickets and customer arrangements are not changing as part of the launch.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

Don’t miss…Amtrak Launches New Haven to Providence Rail Study