Ipswich to Ely Line
| Ipswich–Ely line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale |
Suffolk Cambridgeshire East of England |
| Termini |
Ipswich Peterborough |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 26 November 1846 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Abellio Greater Anglia |
| Character | Rural |
| Rolling stock |
Class 153 "Sprinter" Class 156 "Sprinter" Class 170 "Turbostar" |
| Technical | |
| Line length | ~24 mi (39 km) |
| Number of tracks | Two |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Ipswich–Ely line is a railway line linking East Anglia to the English Midlands via Ely. There is also a branch line to Cambridge. Passenger services are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. It is a part of Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.07, 05.08 and part of SRS 07.03.
More detailed history of the Ipswich to Stowmarket section can be found under the Great Eastern Main Line entry.
The Eastern Union Railway had built a line from Colchester to Ipswich and a number of directors from the EUR formed a new company, the Ipswich and Bury Railway, chaired by John Chevallier Cobbold to build a line from Ipswich to Bury St Edmunds which was known as the "Bury extension". It was granted parliamentary approval on 21 July 1845 and the first train ran on 26 November 1846. The stations at Bramford, Claydon, Needham, Stowmarket, Haughley Road, Elmswell and Thurston all opened on this date. Bury St Edmunds was served by a temporary station east of the current site with the main station opening in November 1847.
The Ipswich and Bury Railway was formally merged with the Eastern Union Railway on 9 July 1847.
The 'Newmarket Railway' was built by the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway with the first section from Newmarket to meet the West Anglia Main Line at Great Chesterford opened in 1848. The intermediate stations at Six Mile Bottom and Dullingham opened at this time.
In addition to the new line from Chesterford, the Newmarket Railway also stated constructing a line from Cambridge to Newmarket. The original route diverged form the main platform at Cambridge on a sharp curve and was the cause of operational difficulties for many years.
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