East Suffolk Line - Railway Line

The first section of what is now the East Suffolk Line opened in 1854, going from Halesworth to Beccles and on to Haddiscoe. In 1859 the line extended
south to Ipswich, the northern terminus being Yarmouth South Town station. The Beccles to Lowestoft branch opened at the same time. The line north of Beccles was closed in 1959; trains then
used the remaining branch to Lowestoft.

The line was singled in many places in 1984, and through services to London were withdrawn. At the same time British Rail installed a Radio Electronic Token Block system; this allowed signals to be controlled from a central location at Saxmundham.

Today the line has two dual sections of track:
from Ipswich to Woodbridge, and Saxmundham
to Halesworth. Sixteen miles of single track north of Halesworth prevent an hourly service. There have been proposals to build a passing loop at Beccles or Oulton Broad South to allow for more frequent services; the cost has been estimated at between £500,000 and £4,000,000.

At Westerfield looking toward East Suffolk Junction

The East Suffolk Line was privatised in 1997. A seven year franchise to run trains was awarded to Anglia Railways (GB Railways PLC). In 1999 one through train to London Liverpool Street was re-introduced. The franchise was awarded to National Express in December 2003 which began running services under the banner 'one' in April 2004. The name was changed to "National Express East Anglia" in February 2008.

Today the 49 mile East Suffolk line serves as a direct gateway to East Anglia. Through trains run to and from London several times a day. Although through services to the capital are not offered on Sunday, connections to London, Peterborough and Cambridge are easily made at Ipswich. Norwich can be reached by changing at Ipswich or Lowestoft.