Greater Anglia is starting to plan for the day, next year, when its new fleet of trains can start speeding up services across the region – but their full potential will only be realised when track and signalling is upgraded in the years ahead.

The company is now starting to draw up its new timetable that is due to come into service in December 2021 – and is inviting the public to comment during the next 12 weeks.

Journey times on some routes could be a little faster – usually a couple of minutes – but in some cases by as much as five to seven minutes for longer journeys, such as Norwich and Ipswich to London, due to quicker acceleration and braking.

Most journeys on this route take between 108 and 117 minutes for the whole journey – between 69 and 75 minutes for trips from Ipswich to London.

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Other planned key changes include changing the time of the Monday to Saturday express Norwich in 90/Ipswich in 60 services.

To find out how to take part in the consultation, which closes on Friday 12 February, check the Greater Anglia website.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We’re really keen to hear from customers and stakeholders to help us to fine tune the final timetable. We’re not proposing major changes in this timetable – further changes and improvements depend on infrastructure capacity and capability.

“However, by speeding up some services, altering some timings, adding some extra services and other changes such as using new longer trains will make our services even more reliable and improve customers’ journeys.

“We want to do everything we can to help our region thrive and develop sustainably in the years ahead as we recover from the pandemic. Rail is one of the greenest forms of transport and we want to make it quicker and more reliable and punctual.”

Greater Anglia is introducing new trains on every single service on the network. The first new trains went into passenger service in July 2019.

MORE: New suburban Aventra trains being prepared by Greater Anglia

The first of the new Aventra suburban trains is expected to enter service on Greater Anglia before the end of this year, and these are expected to take over all commuter services in Essex and on trains from Cambridge over the next two years.