The Anonymous Widower

Cambridge To Ipswich In A Class 755 Train

Because of the usual buses on the Great Eastern Main Line, to get to the football at Ipswich, I went via Cambridge and had a drink with a friend in the City.

The journey is timetabled to take seventy five minutes with seven or eight intermediate stops.

These were my observations.

• We arrived in Ipswich a couple of minutes late.
• At times the train was travelling at 75 mph.
• The operating speed is given in Wikipedia as 40-75 mph.
• Some stops were executed from brakes on to brakes off in around thirty seconds.
• I wasn’t sure, but the pantograph may go up and down at Stowmarket, depending if the train is going East or West.
• Cambridge to Stowmarket averaged 43 mph, whereas Stowmarket to Ipswich averaged 48 mph, which would seem to indicate use of the electrification.

I suspect that there isn’t much room to speed up the service, especially as the current 75 minutes gives a convenient turnround with a round trip of three hours.

Which means three trains are needed for the hourly service.

Surprise

What surprised me was the timing of the station stops.

As I said, some were around thirty seconds, with the longest at Stowmarket, where I assume the train picked up the electrification.

It certainly shows how modern trains can do station stops fast.

February 16, 2020 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Cambridge Station, Class 755 Train, Greater Anglia, Ipswich Station