Roaming Around East Anglia – Felixstowe Beach Station And The Dolphin Hotel
Felixstowe Beach station closed in 1967 and I can remember seeing the station buildings in the 1960s.
I can also remember sitting in the car outside the Dolphin Hotel, drinking an orange juice, whilst my father was inside having a quick beer.
These days, I suspect that in many pubs the children would have been allowed into the pub.
My reason for visiting the area of Felixstowe Beach station was to investigate the possibility of using the site as a terminus for the proposed tram-train to Felixstowe.
I doubt it is a feasible plan.
Roaming Around East Anglia – North Sea Floods Of 1953 Memorial Garden At Felixstowe
This picture shows the memorial garden to the forty-one who died in the North Sea Flood Of 1953 at Felixstowe.
My memories of the floods are minimal, as I was only five. But I can remember my father pointing out to me, the story of Reis Leming at a later date.
Roaming Around East Anglia – The Ordnance Hotel, Felixstowe
The Ordnance Hotel in Felixstowe is long gone and has now been replaced by a Premier Inn.
The Ordnance Hotel played a large part in my life, in that according to my father, I was conceived there.
It was rather strange to walk out of the front of the hotel and imagine in my mind, the view from perhaps in 1958, when we stayed as a family in the hotel.
In those days, you could still see the tide mark on the walls of the nearby houses, which was caused by the North Sea Flood of 1953.
Roaming Around East Anglia – Freight Trains Through Newmarket
The East West Rail Consortium plan to change the route of freight trains to and from Haven Ports; Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich to the West of Kennett station.
In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.
Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.
How would these changes affect Newmarket and the horse-racing industry in the town?
How Many Freight Trains Are We Talking About?
This table shows the number of freight trains going through Kennett station on the 1st of March 2019.
- 00 1 1
- 01 1 0
- 02 0 1
- 03 2 1
- 04 1 1
- 05 1 1
- 06 1 2
- 07 1 1
- 08 1 0
- 09 1 0
- 10 1 0
- 11 0 0
- 12 0 0
- 13 2 2
- 14 0 2
- 15 1 1
- 16 0 1
- 17 1 1
- 18 0 1
- 19 1 1
- 20 1 0
- 21 1 2
- 22 0 2
- 23 0 0
In the table the first figure is the hour, the second figure is the number of freight trains going West and the third figure is the number of freight trains going East.
This gives a daily total of eighteen trains going West and twenty-one trains going twenty-one trains going East.
But these figures will increase!
At present, Network Rail are adding a passing loop on the Felixstowe Branch Line. This article on Rail Magazine is entitled £60.4m Felixstowe Branch Upgrade Under Way and says this about the upgrade.
Installing the new line will create capacity for up to ten additional freight trains, each the equivalent of 76 lorries.
Not all will come via Kennett, as some will go via London.
The Port of Felixstowe will get larger and other improvements on the route across Suffolk will increase the number of freight trains passing through Kennett station.
I estimate that it is very likely that in a few years there will be two trains per hour (tph) in both directions for every hour of the day.
Rerouting The Trains Through Newmarket
Currently, these freight trains go via Ely, but the plan of the East West Rail Consortium would be to reroute all these freight trains through the Warren Hill tunnel and Newmarket station.
I suspect the reasons for the change of route could include the following.
Accessing The East West Rail Link From Newmarket Is Easy And Quick
If as expected the East West Rail Link joins the London-Cambridge Line just South of Cambridge South station, then the trains would run through Dullingham, Cambridge and Cambridge South stations, when running between the East West Rail Link and Newmarket station.
The East West Rail Link Will Be An Efficient Railway
Drive on a new motorway and the curves are smooth with relaxed gradients.
A new railway will be like that too and less energy will be used to power trains along its length.
Increasing the Capacity Through Ely Is Difficult
There is a very complicated track layout at Ely and increasing the number of trains might be difficult or very expensive.
Freight Trains Will Use The East West Rail Link To Avoid London
Take going between the Haven Ports and Bristol or South Wales.
Currently, these trains tend to go via London and in a couple of years will have to share tracks with London’s intensive Crossrail network between Acton Main Line and Reading stations.
Using the East West Rail Link, the trains would join the Great Western Main Line at Didcot, a few miles West of Reading.
How many services will use the East West Rail Link to by-pass London?
Freight Trains Will Use The East West Rail Link To Get To The West Coast Main Line
Currently, these trains either go via London or take the slow cross-country route via Peterborough to Nuneaton for the West Coast Main Line.
If they use the East-West Rail Link, they can join the West Coast Main Line at Bletchley.
The East-West Rail Link Will Be An Important Freight Link
I think that as the years pass and more freight terminals are created, we will see more freight trains using the East-West-Rail-Link and many of these trains will go through Newmarket.
What Problems Would The Rerouting Create In Newmarket?
I can see these problems.
Noise And Vibration
Four freight trains per hour will create a lot of noise and vibration as they pass through.
Frightening The Horses
This Google Map shows a corner of the gallops at Newmarket.
Note how the railway from the East splits into two, to the West of the band of trees running down the map.
- The top branch curves away to the North and goes through Soham to Ely.
- The bottom branch curves away to the South and goes through Warren Hill Tunnel to Newmarket station and then on to Cambridge.
Alongside, the Southern route is the Al Bahatri all-weather gallop, which is an important facility for training racehorses. It can just be picked out as a sand-coloured line.
Currently, nearly all the freight trains take the Northern route to Ely, keeping them away from the Al Bahatri.
But, if the main freight route was through the town, as planned by the East West Rail Consortium, then at least four freight trains per hour would run alongside the gallop. There could also be four passenger trains per hour.
Railway Electrification
It is unlikely, that the railway through Newmarket will be electrified, but under a different government, this could happen.
It might add another dimension to disturbance through the town, as you get pantograph noise and occasional sparks and flashes. I don’t know how horses will react, but from my own experience years ago, they do react to electrical fields.
The Rail Freight Industry
Look at most freight trains on the UK’s railways and the locomotive on the front, is a noisy, smelly and polluting Class 66 or Class 70 locomotive.
You’ll see these American imports, which don’t meet the latest emission regulations, hauling freight trains, even when there are overhead wires for electric haulage.
Why?
Because rail freight companies are so driven by accountants, that they can’t be bothered to obtain more modern diesel locomotives, that are quieter, more powerful and less polluting.
The picture shows a modern Class 68 locomotive at Stratford. These are quieter and meet most of the noise and emission regulations.
Mitigating The Problems
I’ll deal with various methods, that could be used, starting with the easiest.
A Level Railway Through The Town
It looks like the Victorian engineers, who built the railway through the town, built it as level as possible, so that steam locomotives didn’t have to work so hard in the Warren Hill Tunnel, which I don’t think has a chimney for smoke.
Modern engineers will ensure that the railway is as level as possible, with gentle gradients and curves all the way between Kennett and Dullingham stations.
Passenger Trains With Batteries
Greater Anglia’s new Class 755 trains are powered by both overhead electrification and onboard diesel engines. The latter sit in a power pack in the middle of the train.
Not having seen or heard one of these Swiss-built trains in the metal, I can make no comment as to the noise and vibration of these trains, but they should be quieter than the current three-car Class 170 trains.
It does appear that passenger trains built in the last years are much quieter, as they are much more aerodynamically correct and slippery, so they generate less noise.
The new trains have also been ordered for the South Wales Metro. But the Welsh trains will additionally be fitted with batteries to avoid some difficult electrification in the Valleys.
So if the passenger trains prove to be noisy through the town, which I doubt they will be, there will be the option of adding batteries to avoid the use of diesel power.
It is my belief, that technology will ensure that passenger trains will not be a problem.
More Environmentally-Friendly Freight Locomotives
As I said earlier, smelly, noisy and polluting freight locomotives are a big problem.
This is not just a problem for places like Newmarket with special circumstances, but on railways like the London Overground and those in Central Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester,, where suburban electric railways have to accommodate heavy rail freight.
The railway locomotive manufacturers have designed solutions for the problem in recent years.
Stadler, who are an innovative Swiss company have started to manufacture a Class 93 locomotive, which can run on diesel, electric and/or battery power. I’m fairly sure, that one of the design goals of this locomotive is to be able to haul a heavy freight train between Felixstowe and Peterborough, using electric power where it is available and a mix of diesel and battery at other times.
At Newmarket if the new double-track was well-designed and almost level, I suspect that a Class 93 locomotive could haul a train between Kennett and Dullingham stations on battery power.
Locomotives of this type should be compulsory on all freight routes through sensitive areas.
The government must legislate, as left to themselves the rail freight companies will sit on their hands and wallets.
One of the conditions of a double-track railway through Newmarket, should be that only locomotives that meet the latest noise, vibration and pollution standards, like the Class 93 locomotive should be allowed.
Quieter 100 mph Freight Trains
Karl Watts, who is a disruptive innovator and CEO of the Rail Operations Group, has bought the first ten Class 93 locomotives and intends to use them to haul 100 mph freight trains, where the routes allow.
On the electrified Great Eastern Main Line between Ipswich and London, the operating speed is 100 mph. But freight trains trundle up and down at 75 mph, thus slowing all of the passenger services.
Watts plans to use the Class 93 locomotives with new 100 mph container wagons to run freight trains at 100 mph on this and other routes, which would increase the freight and passenger capacity of the line.
New 100 mph freight wagons will be smoother, quieter and used through Newmarket at an appropriate speed would remove a large proportion of the noise and vibration.
Again, it would need investment from the freight companies.
However, modern freight trains hauled by modern hybrid locomotives like the Class 93 could significantly remove noise and vibration.
Lengthen Warren Hill Tunnel
A second bore will be dug to double-track the kilometre long Warren Hill Tunnel.
Some rail tunnels have been extended with covers and this technique might be possible at the Newmarket station end of the tunnel. The techniques exist, so that housing or other developments can be built on top of the railway.
Techniques like this not only suppress noise and vibration, but create much needed housing.
Acoustic Barriers
You see these a lot in Germany to reduce noise and vibration from railway lines in sensitive area, but rarely in the UK.
Conclusion
It will be difficult to put a double-track railway through Newmarket, but I believe that using modern rolling stock and some advanced construction, that a solution can be found.
Newmarket should dig in its heels and only accept the best to force rail freight companies to get their act together.
Government too, should enforce the current regulations on diesel locomotives, which most of the current locomotives do not meet.
Roaming Around East Anglia – What Trains Will Run On The East-West Rail Link?
In my discussions at Newmarket and as I passed through stations like Ipswich, Norwich and Stowmarket, I got to thinking what type and size of train will be used by the East-West Rail Link.
Bi-Mode Trains
The trains will undoubtedly be some form of bi-mode train, as electrification of the whole route has been ruled out.
But the ability to use electrification would undoubtedly be useful, as parts of the route and some stations already have 25 KVAC overhead wires.
- Reading to Didcot
- Milton Keynes to Bletchley
- Around Bedford
- Around Sandy
- Cambridge North to Cambridge
- Around Norwich
- Haughley Junction to Manngtree
With a few other sections likely to be electrified, I suspect that automated pantograph control would be useful.
Operating Speed
Wikipedia states this about the operating speed of the Western section.
In May 2014, Network Rail announced that the line will be opened to 125 mph (200 km/h) running, the current top speed for InterCity services. It is proposed that CrossCountry services, along with Chiltern Railways and London Northwestern Railway services will use the route.
If it is a 125 mph line in places, then surely the trains will have this speed capability.
The 125 mph East-West Rail Link would also open up some fast 125 mph routes, from the South West and South Wales to the East Coast Main Line.
Train Length
The following stations East of Cambridge will be seved by East-West Rail Link trains.
- A14 Parkway
- Attleborough
- Brandon
- Bury St. Edmunds *
- Cambridge *
- Cambridge North *
- Dullingham
- Ely *
- Elmswell
- Ipswich *
- Kennett
- Manningtree *
- Needham Market *
- Newmarket
- Norwich *
- Stowmarket *
- Thetford
- Thrston
- Wymondham
I am fairly sure that stations marked with an asterisk can already take trains with at least eight cars.
It doesn’t appear that there are any stations to the East off Cambridge, that will have a serious restriction on train length.
I would suspect that five, six or eight cars will be used.
I would also suspect that all platforms would be capable of taking two hundred metre long trains. London Overground was caught out, by making the initial platform length too short and it would be tragic, if the East West Rail Consortium made the same mistake.
Will The Trains Be Walk-Through?
The first long-distance walk-through trains will start to appear this year.
As they offer more passenger space, I think that the trains will be walk-through.
Conclusion
I am pretty sure that the trains for the East-West Rail Link will be 125 mph-capable bi-modes of whatever length the East West Rail Consortium thinks is needed.
Consider.
- Many of the Eastern stations already take two hundred metre trains.
- Reading and possibly Oxford can take two five-car Class 800 trains, which have a length of 260 metres.
- Intermediate stations like Bedford, Cambridge and Milton Keynes all have long platforms.
- Other stations will be newly built or like Newmarket will need rebuilding of the platforms.
I think we might see the East-West Rail Consortium, buying the longest trains, they could possibly need.
Trains from the Hitachi Class 800-family must be in the running for the order, but I feel that this order could be ideal for the 125 mph bi-mode Aventra with batteries, which has been proposed to Cross-Country. I wrote about this train in Bombardier Bi-Mode Aventra To Feature Battery Power.
Roaming Around East Anglia – Stowmarket Station
After Newmarket, I travelled on to Norwich, changing trains at Stowmarket station.
It was an easy change, as I waited about half-a-dozen minutes after arriving from Newmarket for the Norwich train.
The station is Grade II Listed, has the capability to handle the long London-Norwich expresses and probably only needs a step-free footbridge to be ready for the East-West Rail Link.
Roaming Around East Anglia – Newmarket Station
I went to Newmarket station for two reasons; to assess if the East West Rail Consortium’s plans for Newmarket were feasible and also to see a friend, who trains racehorses in the town, to tell him about the plans.
I should say, that I haven’t been to Newmarket for perhaps six years and it struck me that the town was much more crowded with traffic, with a lot of full car-parks. Around the station, there were lots of cars parked. How many were owned by commuters going to Cambridge.
The Plans Of The East West Rail Consortium For Newmarket
In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.
Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.
So would it be possible to create a double-track railway through Newmarket station?
These are pictures that I took of the station.
It does appear that there is space for another track on the other side of the current track to the platform.
Newmarket station has some positive attributes.
- It is in the centre of the town.
- There is enough shelter and storage for cycles.
- The platform will be long enough for Greater Anglia’s new four-car Class 755 trains.
- There is a wide, spacious platform.
But these are outweighed by these drawbacks.
- The vehicle access is terrible.
- There is no Kiss-and-Ride facility.
- Car parking is in the surrounding streets and as it’s free, the local roads will get choked, especially when Greater Anglia’s larger trains are introduced later this year.
- The East West Rail Link will introduce a two trains per hour (tph) through the station.
- Will the platform at Newmarket be long enough for the East West Consortium trains, which will be running between Ipswich and Oxford? Probably not!
- There is no coffee kiosk, shop or toilets.
But above all it is not a destination station., that gives a good impression for visitors and tourists, who could make up a proportion of travellers.
The East West Rail Consortium are planning a parkway station on the A14 to the North of Newmarket and this will surely solve the problem of traffic and parking, that blocks the local streets,
But I believe that Newmarket needs a station, that will attract visitors.
My pictures, show the previous station building still standing next door to the current station.
- This could be converted into a first-class station with excellent passenger facilities.
- There could be a large taxi rank.
- There could be passenger drop-off and pick-up facilities.
- There is space for a bus connection to the race-course on race-days.
- Limited car-parking of a short-term nature.
- A two-hundred metre long platform could be built to accommodate the longest-possible trains.
This Google Map, shows the combined site of the current and previous stations.
Both stations are effectively side-by-side, with the current station to the East.
The large area behind the stations is parking for horse-boxes during the numerous sales at Tattersalls. For much of the year, it is virtually empty.
I’m pretty sure, that with some management, the area could serve both its current purpose and as a forecourt to a landmark station,, that would enhance the town and the racing industry.
I don’t think that a second platform would be needed for the following reasons.
- Adding the step-free access to the seond platform would cost a seven figure sum.
- Commuters into Cambridge would be encounraged to use the proposed A14 Parkway station.
- Probably only on race days, would there be large enough numbers of passengers to need to accommodate two trains in the station at the same time..
However space could be left, if a second platform were to be needed in the future.
Conclusion And Recommendations
The current Newmarket station is totally inadequate for the current service of one three-car train per hour in both directions.
Greater Anglia’s new Class 755 trains could be a car longer and will certainly attract more passengers to use Newmarket station, as new trains always do!
I feel that in the next couple of years, possible additional trains, more passengers and lack of car parking will create problems at Newmarket station.
I would recommend the following actions.
A14 Parkway Station
Work should start as soon as is practical for the A14 Parkway station, proposed by the East West Rail Consortium.
This station would have the following Greater Anglia services.
- Peterborough and Colchester – 1 tph
- Ipswich and Cambridge – 1 tph
These two services would give the following frequencies to these places.
- Bury St. Edmunds – 2 tph direct
- Colchester – 1 tph direct and 2 tph with a change at Ipswich
- Diss – 1 tph with a change at Stowmarket
- Ipswich – 2 tph direct
- London – 1 tph with a change at Cambridge and 1 tph with a change at Ely
- Newmarket – 1 tph direct
- Norwich – 1 tph with a change at Cambridge, 1 tph with a change at Ely and 2 tph with a change at Stowmarket
- Peterborough – 1 tph direct and 1 tph with a change at Cambridge
- Stansted Airport – 2 tph with a change at Cambridge
- Stowmarket – 2 tph direct
A14 Parkway station sitting at the junction of two of the busiest roads in East Anglia; the A11 and A14, and two important rail routes,would be one of the most important stations in the East.
The station could only be named after Ancient Britain’s most famous queen, who by repute once lived in the area.
Upgrade Newmarket Station
Hopefrully, the A14 Parkway station would ease the problems at Newmarket station and this would enable work to progress on the design of an upgraded Newmarket station, that would serve the town, the racing industry and the towns tourist attractions.
Improved Train Services To/From Cambridge
Once the East West Rail Link opens between Cambridge and Oxford, the current service between Ipswich and Cambridge, could eventually be replaced with a service between Manningtree and Oxford or possibly Reading, that calls at Ipswich, Stowmarket, Bury St. |Edmunds, A14
Parkway, Newmarket, Cambridge, Cambridge South, Bedford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bicester, Oxford and several smaller intermediate stations.
The three Cambridge stations of Cambridge, Cambridge North and Cambridge South will also increasingly be connected to the surrounding stations like A 14 Parkway, Bury St. Edmunds, Cambourne, Ely, Kings Lynn, March, Newmarket and Peterborough. Services will be at a frequency of at least two tph, with some as high as four tph.
In addition, there could be new services to Haverhill and Wisbech.
Newmarket will get a share of these services and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these frequencies from Newmarket station to the three Cambridge stations.
- Cambridge – 4 tph direct
- Cambridge North – 2 tph direct and 2 tph with a change at Cambridge
- Cambridge South – 2 tph direct and 2 tph with a change at Cambridge
Cambridge is becoming one of the most important cities in Europe and Newmarket can benefit by holding on to big sister’s skirts.
West Suffolk And London Services
If you look at the sizeable towns in Suffolk, the following ones that are rail connected, do not have a direct train service to London.
- Beccles
- Bury St. Edmunds
- Felixstowe
- Halesworth
- Lowestoft
- Newmarket
- Sudbury
- Woodbridge
Greater Anglia’s new Class 755 trains, will be running three trains per day, between Liverpool Street and Lowestoft, which will reduce this list to just.
- Bury St. Edmunds
- Felixstowe
- Newmarket
- Sudbury
If Felixstowe is discounted as it is on a branch line busy with freight trains and Sudbury because it is on a single track branch line, we are left with just.
- Bury St. Edmunds
- Newmarket
Add in the proposed A14 Parkway station and is it feasible to run a service between London Liverpool Street and Bury St. Edmunds via Cambridge, Newmarket and A14 Parkway.
I calculate that a round trip would be possible in around four hours, thus making three trains per day possible.
I suspect, there would be capacity problems on the Southern section of the West Anglia Main Line, but if this were to be four-0tracked as is proposed, this would ease that problem.
So a service between West Suffolk and London, is probably one for the future.
A Final Conclusion
Newmarket can benefit from East West Rail, but the two parties must agree objectives that don’t cause problems for the other.
Roaming Around East Anglia – Coldhams Common
I took the spacious three-car Class 170 train from Cambridge to Newmarket.
This Google Map shows the area, where the Cambridge to Ipswich Line via Newmarket leaves the main Cambridge to Ely route.
The Cambrifge-Ipswich line is the loop at the bottom of the map crossing the green space of Coldhams Common.
These are pictures, I took as my train passed.
The East West Rail Consortium have plans for this rail line.
In this document on their web site, this is said.
Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.
So would it be possible to fit, the required chord between the two railway lines?
I suspect that a double-track chord would be preferred and there might be some extra tracks between Cambridge and Ely.
This Google Map shows the area in more detail.
Note the level crossing shown in my pictures.
The main problems in the way of a double-track chord that would allow trains to pass between the routes to Ely and Newmarket, would appear to be the industrial Buildings and the level crossing that gives access across the rail line.
But I don’t think that this will be the major problem, as industrial premises can always be relocated, especially if the compensation is good.
I estimate that it is likely, that two heavy freight trains in every hour in both directions should be passing across the quiet green space of Coldhams Common.
Would this be acceptable to the nearby residents and the users of the Common?
- The East West Rail Consortium are well funded and I suspect they have a cunning plan here, that could put a double track railway through this sensitive area.
- If the landowner of these industrial buildings happened to be Network Rail, that would surely help, as they would co-operate.
- There also appears to be very little housing alongside the Cambridge-Ipswich rail line.
I could see a solution, where more of the industrial buildings than needed were removed and some of the land given over to extend Coldhams Common.
Roaming Around East Anglia – Cambridge Station Square
Cambridge station now has a station square with a hotel, a pub, several coffee shops, a convenience store and a taxi rank, which is a big difference from when I left Suffolk ten years ago.
It is so much better than the crowded space squeezed between the car parking.
As a pedestrian, I like it! I was able to walk to everything I would need like a coffee, some gluten-free snacks, a bed, a decent meal, bus or a taxi.
The only thing missing is a proper tram to take you to the City Centre.
How many towns and cities need a station square like this in the UK?
The Anonymous Widower 