How Trains Have Changed
I travelled down to Ipswich for the match against Burnley on Saturday, by changing from the East Coast train that had brought me from Edinburgh to the National Express East Anglia one that took me the rest of the way. The train was a comfortable Turbostar and I sat cosily in First Class, which is one of the perks of a Senior Railcard, as I get one third off. I had thought about sleeping, especially as Ipswich is the end of the line, but in the end I talked about football and trains to two drivers from East Midlands Trains, who were positioning back from Ely to Norwich.
It was a pleasant journey in rolling stock that is a far cry from what we used to have to endure. We all had to agree though, that according to reports some of the newer trains that cross the Pennines are a lot better and have been consistently praised for the quality of the ride.
I arrived at Ipswich on time with ninety minutes before kick off after a six hour journey from Edinburgh.
A point to note is that the Felixstowe-Ipswich-Peterborough route is being upgraded to handle more and longer container trains to and from Felixstowe, by selective dualling of the line between Felixstowe and Ipswich and also between Soham and Ely. It is estimated that this and other schemes will take almost 250,000 lorry journeys off the road. To me this is a good thing, especially as the cost is probably less than adding an extra lane to sections of the A14. But there is a downside. I was told that these heavy freight trains can damage the track and make the ride of passenger trains worse.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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