Inter City trains on the London to Norwich route through Ipswich were the best in the country last year according to some of the country's top rail experts.

Greater Anglia won three "Golden Whistle" awards at the annual event to celebrate rail excellence in the UK this week.

One was for being the Best Long Distance operator for the Inter City services on the Great Eastern main line.

It also won awards for the best commuter services in the south east of England and the best operation award for reducing delays.

The awards are solely based on actual operational results and statistics, rather than any wider factors.

They meant the company was both the most successful train operator at this year’s awards and achieved its best ever results at the event.

Jamie Burles, managing director, Greater Anglia, said: “We’re really proud to have received three major awards at this year’s national Golden Whistles awards.

"It’s deserved recognition for our teams and the excellent performance being delivered across Greater Anglia over the past year.

"Customers consistently rate a punctual and reliable service as their key priority for rail travel, so we have been focusing relentlessly on meeting those expectations.

"With the help of our new trains and targeted work by colleagues across our company, day-in, day-out, we have been delivering performance at the highest standards ever seen in our region, on an ongoing basis, for three years now.

"We pledged that with the help of our new trains we would transform the rail travel experience in East Anglia, both in terms of the on-train environment and performance standards.

"We’re achieving that aim and we are fully focused on maintaining and further improving service standards in the years ahead to deliver an even better, more consistent service.”