The Missing Links in East Anglian Railways
Travelling from east to west or vice versa by public transport is difficult in East Anglia.
Peterborough-Ely-Ipswich is not too bad with a fast train every two hours and bits and pieces in between. But now that the rail line is being upgraded to carry more freight, it surely should be possible to improve this service and the very much related Ipswich-Cambridge service I use about twice each week.
On the other hand Kings Lynn-Norwich-Great Yarmouth is only possible by Ely, as the line from Kings Lynn to Norwich via Dereham is long gone. And it takes over three hours compared to the hour and a half for the fast trains between Peterborough and Ipswich! So who in his or her right mind would go by rail. People like me, who have no alternative, I suppose!
I doubt that the Kings Lynn-Nowich missing link will ever be built, but as Kings Lynn will become a Thameslink station in a couple of years, there should be an increase in the variety and frequency of services into London and beyond. Hopefully, this will also mean increased frequencies btween Ely and Kings Lynn, which might make the Kings Lynn-Norwich-Great Yarmouth journey a lot easier.
There is also another missing link that a lot of people feel should be reinstated and that is Cambridge to Sudbury. If this line was to be reinstated, it would link the Marks Tey to Sudbury branch to Cambridge, via Long Melford, Cavendish, Clare and Haverhill. A station at Haverhill would be a bonus for me in my state, but then the town has grown substantially since it lost its rail link in the 1960s. I do think though that the sums don’t really add up for this line, but it would be a nice must-have, if we start expanding railways again. Schemes like this do seem to be getting the nod again in Scotland!
Since I originally wrote this piece yesterday, I’ve found this web site of the Norfolk Orbital Railway. They are proposing a reconnection of the railways from Wymondham to Sheringham along disused and heritage lines. This would be a welcome addition to the infrastructure of Norfolk.
The Anonymous Widower 
These are good points. Certainly more trains to Kings Lynn should mean better connections at Ely, ideally with the newish fast Cambridge-Norwich service.
Reinstating Sudbury-Cambridge would be very useful. Again, it’s unlikely to happen. As James suggests, schemes like this stand a far better chance in devolved parts of the country where the Department for Transport isn’t involved.
Comment by Nick Comfort | September 19, 2010 |
I think that Cambridge to Sudbury will never be built. One of the reasons,is that if it were reinstated it would be a good freight route from Harwich to Cambridge and on to the North and West. But then would places like Clare and Cavendish want long freight trains clanking through at all hours?
On the other hand, it might just be proposed to get more passenger paths from Ipswich to Cambridge, if the direct route gets overloaded with freight from Felixstowe to Nuneaton.
Comment by AnonW | September 19, 2010 |