Derby Road railway station
Derby Road 
|
|
|---|---|
Looking towards Ipswich
|
|
| Location | |
| Place | Ipswich |
| Local authority | Ipswich |
| Grid reference | TM183439 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | DBR |
| Managed by | Abellio Greater Anglia |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | F2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 43,220 |
| 2012/13 |
45,720 |
| 2013/14 |
46,336 |
| 2014/15 |
 45,204 |
| 2015/16 |
42,972 |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1 May 1877 |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Derby Road from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 |
|
Derby Road railway station is on the Felixstowe Branch Line, serving the Rose Hill area and the eastern side of the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is 74 miles 67 chains (120.4 km) down-line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Westerfield and Trimley. It is managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all passenger trains that call.
The station was opened by the Felixstowe Railway & Pier Company in 1877 and takes its name from the street on which it is located in Ipswich. It used to be a popular station for people travelling from the eastern side of Ipswich to the seaside at Felixstowe due to its connection to the local tram system.
The Act of Parliament for the Felixstowe Railway and Pier was granted on 19 July 1875. It was soon built and opened, along with the station at "Derby Road (Ipswich)", on 1 May 1877. The Suffolk Chronicle described its location as "the most inconvenient and out-of-the way spot which could have been selected" and during the line's pre-opening inspection by the Board of Trade, the mayor of Ipswich unsuccessfully made representations for an additional station a half-mile to the north between Spring Road and Woodbridge Road.
On 1 September 1879 the Great Eastern Railway took over operation of the line, although the original Felixstowe company retained ownership until 5 July 1887, when it sold the railway to the GER. In October 1879 the "Ipswich" suffix was dropped from the station name and some trains now continued beyond Westerfield to the main Ipswich station. This allowed better connections with trains on the main line, but that station, like Derby Road, was outside the commercial centre of the town.
People living on the eastern side of the town generally preferred to use Derby Road when travelling to Felixstowe and the station could be very busy on sunny weekends with day trippers to Felixstowe Beach and Felixstowe Pier. They could reach the station on the Ipswich Tramway which terminated outside the entrance. Consequently, many trains from Felixstowe turned around here instead of continuing to Ipswich. The station was rebuilt with a second platform in 1891.
...
Wikipedia