Network Rail on behalf of the rail industry published its final strategy on 21 December 2007 to deliver a rail network able to manage the rapid expansion of the Anglia region and growth in rail usage over the next 10 years. The publication, which will now go forward to the Office of Rail Regulation, follows a three month consultation over the summer and additional analysis.

By 2021 the number of peak passenger journeys in the Greater Anglia region is projected to grow by an average of 19 percent, although this will rise to over 28 percent if additional capacity is provided. Already, 120million passengers each year use Liverpool Street Station making it Britain's busiest station - twice as busy as Heathrow airport.

The document - the Greater Anglia Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) - illustrates the forecast growth in population, employment and housing, and subsequently estimates rail usage over the next 10 – 15 years setting out the industry’s preferred strategy that could be adopted to help meet this demand.

The strategy includes longer platforms and trains, additional tracks, improved facilities at stations and improved freight capacity.

Patrick Hallgate, Anglia Route Director for Network Rail said: "After a successful consultation process, I am satisfied that we now have a robust and purposeful strategy for delivering a rail network in Anglia that can handle the expected increase in use over the next decade or so. This is an exciting time for the rail industry. The changes ahead will improve the reliability, capacity and connectivity of the routes across London and the Anglia region. We appreciate all the contributions to both the development process of the strategy and to the consultation."

The strategy to address peak capacity includes:

Thameside:

- Running additional mainline 12-car services during the peak and lengthen platforms on the Tilbury loop and Ockenden branch to allow longer trains to operate on peak services

Great Eastern:

- Extending platform 10a at Stratford Station so that all outer services can call at Stratford

- In the high peak running additional outer services from Colchester Town, Chelmsford and Southend, and from Chadwell Heath on the inner services. Additional shoulder peak services are also recommended.

- Introducing a new fleet of modern trains on Norwich services providing over 1,000 extra seats in the peak.

- Crossrail will expand capacity of the Great Eastern inner services by allowing 10-car operation. It will also improve connectivity.

West Anglia

- Running longer 12-car trains on peak services between Cambridge/Stansted Airport and Liverpool Street

- Building additional track in the Lea Valley area (Tottenham Hale-Broxbourne) to enable additional services to Hertford East, Stansted and Stratford to operate throughout the day

- Reintroducing nine-car trains on the West Anglia route

- Adding a peak shuttle service between Cheshunt and Seven Sisters.

The strategy to increase freight capacity includes:

- Increasing freight gauge and capacity on the Felixstowe -Nuneaton route

- Removing speed restrictions for heavy freight trains on the cross country route between Ipswich and Peterborough.

The strategy to address passenger access to the network includes:

- Improving car parks at key stations

- Making more stations not currently covered by the Department for Transport's 'Access for All' programme compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act

- improving interchange at key London Underground stations including Seven Sisters, Tottenham Hale, Stratford and West Ham

The RUS also includes options to address: power supply issues, berthing capacity, improving the efficiency of engineering access (ie reducing the impact of engineering works on train services as the industry moves towards a 24/7 railway) and performance issues. The RUS also contains a view on the interventions required to meet longer term growth.