Sizewell C – North Park And Ride

This document on the Planning Inspectorate web site, is a description of the Northern Park-and-Ride for the Sizewell C Project.

This Google Map shows the area of the Park-and-Ride site.

Note.

1. The main road running SW-NE is the A 12 between Ipswich, Felixstowe and Woodbridge in the South and Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in the North.
2. The East Suffolk Line runs North-South at the West side of the map.
3. Darsham station, which is indicated by the red logo on a white background is situated, where road and railway cross.
4. The Fox Inn is in the village of Darsham and indicated by an orange arrow.
5. The pink arrow to the North-West of the Fox Inn indicates White House Farm.
6. The lane going North-West from the A 12 to the North of the farm is Willow Marsh Lane.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the site.

The site comprises approximately 27.9 hectares (ha) of predominantly
agricultural land but also includes sections of the A12 and Willow Marsh Lane
towards the north of the site. It is located west of the village of Darsham and
west of the A12, to the east of the East Suffolk line, and to the north of
Darsham railway station (see Chapter 1, Figure 1.1 of this volume). Further
detail on the site and the environmental baseline is provided in Chapters 1
and 4 to 12 of this volume of the Environmental Statement.

This second Google Map shows Darsham station.

Note.

1. Darsham station has long platforms.
2. Crossing the line is by means of the level crossing.
3. The Budgens store, which is indicated by the blue arrow also sells fuel.
4. The station has a bus service.
5. The Southern end of the Park-and-Ride site lies between the railway and the road at the North of the map.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about walking between the Park-and-Ride site and the station.

There would be a pedestrian route from Darsham railway station along the
footway on the A12 to the south-east of the site. Pedestrians accessing the
site would leave the A12 and enter through a security gate provided in the
security fencing. Further details of access measures (such as key fobs,
CCTV, intercom system) would be agreed at the detailed design stage.

I could probably manage that at 76.

These are further thoughts.

The Current Rail Service

Currently, the rail service is as follows.

1. One train per hour (tph) in both directions.
2. |Trains are Class 755 trains, built by Stadler in Switzerland a few years ago.
3. Each train can carry  up to 229 passengers.
4. Up to three trains can run together.
5. Trains going to and from Lowestoft in the North call at Oulton Broad South, Beccles, Brampton and Halesworth.
6. Trains going to and from Ipswich in the South call at Saxmundham, Wickham Market, Melton and Woodbridge.
7. Travellers for London Liverpool Street change at Ipswich.
8. The first train from London Liverpool Street would get you to Darsham at 11:00.
9. This is not a bad train service but it could be improved.

Direct Trains Between London Liverpool Street And Lowestoft

In 2016, I wrote Making Sense Of The New East Anglia Franchise.

I wrote the following about Greater Anglia’s plans to run four trains per day between London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft.

There are going to be four direct services between London and Lowestoft each day. This probably initially means two trains to London in the morning peak and two trains back in the evening one.

When, I first moved back to Suffolk in the 1970s, I regularly caught a diesel-hauled train from Wickham Market to London for the day.

This is all motherhood and apple pie for those in Lowestoft wanting to go to London, but I suspect it isn’t the easiest service for a train operator to schedule efficiently and make money.

Would a train operator really want to start a full train at Lowestoft at say six in the morning and then have it wait around all day in London before returning in the evening?

The East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Lowestoft has the following characteristics.

• It is fifty miles long.
• It is not electrified.
• It has a speed limit of 40-55 mph.
• There are nine intermediate stations. Many are just a single platform, and car parking is fairly limited.
• It has enough double-track and a passing loop at Beccles station to run a train in both directions at the same time.
• As it ran long trains in the past, I suspect, that most of the stations have platforms that can handle at least six-carriage trains.
• Trains would appear to take around ninety minutes for the whole journey

But the most important characteristic, is that every time the line is improved, more passengers come rushing out of the woodwork.

There would certainly be no problem with running bi-mode Flirts on this route, as London-Lowestoft is just the type of route for which they are designed.

• They would use their on-board diesel engines on the East Suffolk Line.
• As some would work along the busy lines to London, I suspect their top speed under electric power would be the same as the EMUs.
• Services to and from London, once on the Great Eastern Main Line, would join the high-speed race to and from the capital.
• At the start and finish of the day, the trains could use the electrified main line to position between Ipswich and Crown Point depot at around 100 mph.
• Abellio could use either a single three- or four-car train or perhaps two trains coupled together.

This service would pass through Darsham station, so it could provide a direct link between London and the Park-and-Ride.

It might also stop at stations like Manningtree, Colchester, Chelmsford and Stratford.

I am fairly certain, that a London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft services, that stopped at Darsham station, would improve labour availability and construction efficiency at Sizewell C.

A Connection To Yarmouth

There used to be a direct Yarmouth to Lowestoft Line, but now it is possible to use the Wherry Lines, with a reverse at Reedham station.

So will we be seeing the direct London-Lowestoft trains being extended to Yarmouth?

As Yarmouth hasn’t had a direct connection to London for years and there are lots of fast, capable new trains, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Especially, as Network Rail are talking about reinstating the Reedham Chord to create a more direct route between East Anglia’s largest North-Eastern towns. This is said about the Reedham Chord in Direct Yarmouth Services in the Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft station.

In January 2015, a Network Rail study proposed the reintroduction of direct services between Lowestoft and Yarmouth by reinstating a spur at Reedham. Services could once again travel between two East Coast towns, with an estimated journey time of 33 minutes, via a reconstructed 34-chain (680 m) north-to-south arm of the former triangular junction at Reedham, which had been removed in c. 1880. The plans also involve relocating Reedham station nearer the junction, an idea which attracted criticism.

If we take these current approximate timings.

• Ipswich to Lowestoft takes 90 minutes.
• Lowestoft to Reedham takes 27 minutes.
• Reedham to Yarmouth takes 16 minutes.

That means the service today would take 133 minutes, with a train reverse at Reedham station.

Note.

1. Modern three-car bi-mode Flirt trains, with better speed, acceleration and braking than the current Class 170 trains.
2. The short-cut along the Reedham Chord, which could save as much as ten minutes.
3. A few selective improvements to save a minute here and there.
4. Lowestoft station is redeveloped forty metres to the West and eighty metres to the South, as detailed in Wikipedia under Relocation Of The Station.
5. I think it would be possible for an Ipswich-Yarmouth service to do the trip in around two hours.

The service would have the following characteristics.

• It would be timetabled for under the all-important two hours.
• Trains would turnround efficiently in a few minutes at either end of the line.
• It could be hourly with four trains or two-hourly with just two, used to run the service.
• All stops would be at the same minutes past each hour at each station.
• Trains would always leave Ipswich and Yarmouth at the same number of minutes past the hour.
• Lowestoft and Yarmouth get a regular hourly direct train service in just thirty-three minutes.
• Intriguingly if the trains left Ipswich and Yarmouth at the same time, they would pass each other at Beccles station, which incorporates a passing loop.
• As Beccles and its passing loop, fits so well into this schedule, I suspect that it was designed with the Reedham Chord and this type of service in mind.
• There would be no prizes for guessing the beer, that should be served on a train on this route.

I don’t think any better than an hourly service, could be run, without some extra passing loops or double-track.

This extension would make commuting between Sizewell and Yarmouth easier.

Bus Route Between Darsham And Sizewell

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the buses and the route.

There would be a maximum of 100 daily bus arrivals and 100 daily bus
departures from the proposed development to the Sizewell C main
development site.

Bus services between the proposed development and the Sizewell C main
development site would travel south on the A12 and use the new A12/B1122
roundabout (Yoxford Roundabout – see Volume 7 of the ES) to access the
B1122 and the Sizewell link road (once operational – see Volume 6 of the
ES) towards the Sizewell C main development site.

This Google Map shows Darsham station and the Sizewell site, as it exists today.

Note.

1. The Sizewell site is in the South-East corner of the map.
2. Darsham station is in the North-West corner of the map.

This second Google Map shows the A 12 between Darsham station and Yoxford.

Note.

1. Darsham station is at the top of the map on the A 12.
2. The village of Yoxford is on an S-bend of the A 12.
3. A B& B is marked by a pink arrow.

The B 1122 connects Yoxford to the South-East corner of the map.

This third Google Map shows the route between Yoxford and Sizewell.

Note.

1. Yoxford is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Sizewell is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. Leiston Abbey is indicated by the arrow to the North of Leiston.

The B 1122 can be picked out through Middleton Moor and Theberton and then as it skirts Leiston Abbey.

Sizewell C seem to have made a good effort to get the workers to the site.

Why Isn’t A Passenger Train Run Between Ipswich And The Sizewell Site?

In Network Rail Prepares To Send Four Trains A Night Through Suffolk To Sizewell, I came to this conclusion.

I am fairly certain, that it is possible to move four freight trains in and out of the Sizewell site during the night, without doing any major works to the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham junction.

• Adding extra track at Wickham Market would probably cause major disruption.
• Some level crossings will probably be improved.

But without a full double track between Ipswich and Saxmundham junction, I doubt there could be any increase in passenger services.

But with those track works, it might be possible to run an hourly service between Ipswich and Aldeburgh with calls at Westerfield, Woodbridge, Wickham Market, Saxmundham, Sizewell and Leiston.

This would give a two tph service between Saxmundham and Ipswich.

Objections To The Park-and-Ride

This document from Darsham Parish Council is entitled Consultation Response To Sizewell C.

This is the first paragraph.

Darsham Parish Council (Darsham PC) continues to oppose the proposed location of the Northern Park and Ride (NPR). We believe its location on an already busy single carriageway section of the A12 just north of the level crossing at Darsham Station, coupled with proposed roundabouts at Willow Marsh Lane and the A1120 junction in Yoxford are a recipe for traffic chaos extending northwards up the A12. We have no confidence in the traffic estimates submitted by EDF, which we believe underestimate the amount of local, through, agricultural and tourist traffic. This will be exacerbated by the proposed motel and further proposed development south of the station. We believe that traffic congestion on this main artery into Suffolk will adversely impact tourism throughout the AONB, which generates more than £360 million pa to the local economy (2018 figure). Further, we believe these volumes of traffic will generate excessive noise, vibration and pollution with serious negative impacts on those living alongside or close to the A12. Most significantly, Darsham PC has been advised that location of the NPR on this site could pose a significant flood risk to the railway (see below).

The Parish Council is also worried about flood risk to the railway.

The site of the NPR slopes down from Willow Marsh Lane towards the railway. A consulting engineer has advised us that the heavy clay soil here could pose a drainage and flood risk problem when compacted during the construction period. An appropriate sustainable semi-permeable surface could be utilised for car parking spaces to reduce run-off, with suitable drainage and reservoir capacity at the southern end to protect the railway from flooding. We submitted this evidence to EDF during the consultation period, but it has been ignored.

I suspect as with the opposition to Sizewell B, the opposition is led by second home owners, worried about the value of their investment.

April 6, 2024 Posted by AnonW | Energy, Transport/Travel | Construction, Darsham Station, East Suffolk Line, Greater Anglia, Hydrogen-Powered Buses, Ipswich Station, Lowestoft Station, Sizewell C Construction, Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, Sizewell C Park-and-Ride, Wrightbus, Yoxford | 2 Comments