National Express East Anglia does not have a great track record and commuters are quick to jump up and down when a train is delayed or cancelled.

The firm’s seven-year franchise is due to come to an end in February and campaigners have drawn up a wishlist of areas they want the new train operator to improve.

Members of the Essex Rail Users’ Federation, set up amid discontent with National Express East Anglia, have drawn up a nine-point plan to improve the rail service.

They met Essex MPs at Westminster – including Colchester’s Bob Russell, Witham’s Priti Patel and Braintree’s Brooks Newmark – in the hope they can influence the Department for Transport.

The Government will decide which of three bidders, Abellio, Go-Ahead and Stagecoach, is awarded the new franchise.

Mark Leslie, federation secretary, said: “We had previously met the three companies and put our wishlist to them and they have said they want to avoid making the bad start National Express did. It left a bad feeling with commuters, which the company never shook off. We pay a lot for our tickets and the line is a cash cow, but people really don’t feel there is the investment.”

The new franchise will run for 17 months, with an optional one-year extension.

Mr Leslie, also chairman of Kelvedon Rail Users’ Association, said the federation formed out of a collective dissatisfaction with National Express, from a number of small rail lobby groups who wanted one powerful voice.

So why has the public been so unhappy with National Express East Anglia’s regime?

“It started off disastrously with the initial changeover,” said Mr Leslie. “It reduced the service dramatically – that’s a good way to upset people. When the trains did go, they were like cattle wagons.

“There are other things, like the fact a lot of children travel by train every day.

“But it cut the number of trains that picked up the children in the middle of the afternoon, when school finishes, which left 300 or 400 children jostling on the platform at Ingatestone. National Express East Anglia quickly replaced that, but it was very poor, really. It has had to improve its service over the years, but it hasn’t been a happy relationship.

“We certainly hope the next company will come in with a completely different attitude to its customers.”

Mr Leslie said extra investment on the lines was vital and hopes to meet with the Department for Transport. He said: “You can’t keep building houses and expanding ports like Felixstowe without improving the infrastructure.

“We were also hoping for extra tracks and extra signalling to help address capacity on the line.”

MPs have promised to lobby for changes. Mr Russell said he was pressing for extra passing tracks between Colchester and Chelmsford, to allow for freight trains to pass.

Witham MP Priti Patel added: “We want to ensure the Government is fully aware of the service we want from the new franchise.”

A National Express East Anglia spokesman said the company had met its commitments as part of the franchise.

He added, since 2004, punctuality had improved, from 85 per cent to 90 per cent, and timetable changes introduced in December increased seating capacity at peak times on mainline services serving north Essex by more than 4,000 seats.