Beccles railway station
Beccles railway station is on the East Suffolk Line in the east of England, serving the town of Beccles, Suffolk. It is 40 miles 34 chains (65.1 km) down the line from Ipswich and 109 miles 11 chains (175.6 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; it is situated between Brampton and Oulton Broad South stations. Its three-letter station code is BCC.
Beccles  | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Beccles, East Suffolk England |
| Coordinates | 52.4586°N 1.5697°E |
| Grid reference | TM426904 |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Managed by | Abellio Greater Anglia |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | BCC |
| Classification | DfT category F1 |
| History | |
| Original company | East Suffolk Railway[1] |
| Pre-grouping | Great Eastern Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 4 December 1854 | Opened[1] |
| 31 January 1968 | Closed to freight |
| 10 December 2012 | Passing loop opened[2] |
| Passengers | |
| 2015/16 |  0.109 million |
| 2016/17 | 0.110 million |
| 2017/18 | 0.111 million |
| 2018/19 | 0.114 million |
| 2019/20 |  0.110 million |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
It is managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains that call.
History
The East Suffolk Railway opened in 1854, operating as far as Halesworth, and the line was then extended to Ipswich and Yarmouth South Town in 1859. The Beccles to Lowestoft line opened in the same year. The Waveney Valley Line from Tivetshall on the Great Eastern Main Line reached Beccles in 1863, making the town an important junction on the expanding Great Eastern Railway network.
The Waveney Valley Line closed to passengers in 1954 and the Yarmouth-Beccles Line closed to passengers in 1959. The Waveney Valley Line was then closed to freight traffic in 1963. The engine shed was demolished in 2006.
Passing loop development
Work began in early 2010 to develop a passing loop at Beccles to allow services to operate hourly on the single-track line. The lack of a double-track to allow trains to pass north of Saxmundham had previously made this frequency of service impossible.
By March 2010, the single track at Beccles was renewed with continuously welded rail and concrete sleepers. The track was also realigned from the southern approach to the station to allow room for the loop. The old track was lifted and placed alongside the disused platform and disposed of in late 2010. By March 2012, work had started to build the passing loop and, by May of that year, new turnout points were in place and work had begun on redeveloping the disused island platform. The old trackbed had also been removed.
Work was completed by December 2012 and enhanced services began on 10 December 2012.[3] The £4 million scheme was jointly funded by Network Rail and Suffolk County Council.
Facilities
There is a café in the original station building adjoining the Lowestoft-bound platform.
There is a footbridge with quite steep ramps connecting the platforms, and passenger information screens on both platforms.
Services
As of December 2016 the typical Monday-Saturday off-peak service at Beccles is as follows:
| Operator | Route | Rolling stock | Typical frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abellio Greater Anglia | Lowestoft - Oulton Broad South - Beccles - Brampton (on request) - Halesworth - Darsham - Saxmundham - Wickham Market - Melton - Woodbridge - Ipswich | Class 755 | 1x per hour in each direction |
On Sundays frequency reduces to one train every two hours in each direction. Trains direct to and from London Liverpool Street were withdrawn in 2010.
One weekday early-morning train is extended through to Harwich International and there is a return from there in the evening.[4]
References
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7220/New-hourly-service-on-East-Suffolk-line. Retrieved 10 December 2012. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - Geater, Paul (10 December 2012). "Suffolk: Problems remain as Beccles rail loop opens on East Suffolk line". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- Table 13 National Rail timetable, May 2016
External links
- Train times and station information for Beccles railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abellio Greater Anglia | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
Line and station closed | Great Eastern Railway | Terminus | ||
Line and station closed | Great Eastern Railway | Terminus | ||