East Suffolk Line

East Suffolk line
156419 crossing a bridge near Boss Hall
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Suffolk, East of England
Termini	Ipswich Lowestoft
Stations	12
Operation
Opened	1854
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio Greater Anglia
Character	Rural branch line
Rolling stock	Class 153 "Sprinter" Class 156 "Sprinter" Class 170 "Turbostar"
Technical
Line length	49.03 mi (78.91 km)
Number of tracks	1-2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	55mph

The East Suffolk line is an un-electrified secondary railway line running between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The traffic along the route consists of passenger services operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, while nuclear flask trains for the Sizewell nuclear power stations are operated by Direct Rail Services. It and the Wherry Lines are the easternmost railway lines in Great Britain.

The original section of the line opened between Halesworth and Haddiscoe in 1854 with the rest of the current route opening on 1 June 1859.

In 1847 the Ipswich & Bury Railway secured the rights to build the line from Ipswich to Woodbridge with the passing of the Ipswich & Bury Railway (Woodbridge Extension) Act. The works were delayed for financial reasons and the Ipswich & Bury Railway was absorbed by the Eastern Union Railway(EUR) in 1847 (which given that they shared six directors was a logical step). Between 1847 and 1849 the EUR was building the line from Haughley to Norwich and it was not until 1851 that the EUR's appointed solicitor posted a notice signalling the EUR's intent to ask parliament for more time to build the railway. The moves may have been encouraged by the fact the people of Woodbridge issued a "Manifesto of discontent" which included the claim the town was losing money because it had no railway. However it was not until 1856 that work on the link between Ipswich and Woodbridge started.

The Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway was incorporated in 1851 and the first section of the East Suffolk line from Beccles to Halesworth was constructed by contractors Peto, Brassey and Betts. The East Suffolk Railway, which had been incorporated on 3 July 1854, took over the powers of the Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway and the route opened on the 4 December 1854. It was originally built as a single line and continued north to Haddiscoe to a junction on what is now part of the Wherry Lines. This line was closed from 17 May 1858 to 1 June 1859 to enable doubling and the opening of the through route between Great Yarmouth and Ipswich and the associated branches being built at that time.