Ipswich station & yards

About Ipswich station & yards

This group is about and for the Ipswich station in England.
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Ipswich railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line 68¾ miles east of London Liverpool Street towards Norwich. Ipswich station to the South East of the junction between the main line and the East Suffolk Line to Lowestoft (and to Felixstowe via the Felixstowe Branch Line).

HISTORY
The Eastern Union Railway opened its first terminus in Ipswich in 1846 on Station Road at the other end of the present-day tunnel close to the old quay for the Steamboats and the aptly named 'Steamboat Tavern'. The Ipswich Steam Navigation Company had been formed in 1824/1825 during a period of 'steamship mania' and briefly offered services from the quay between Ipswich and London calling at Walton-on-the-Naze.

The current station is just to the north of Stoke tunnel which was constructed as part of the Ipswich to Ely Line which opened as far as St Edmunds in late 1846.

The station moved to its present location in 1860, the main building is thought to be principally the work of Peter Bruff. The island platform was added by the Great Eastern Railway in 1883.

The original lifts were removed in 1993 when the line was electrified.

Following the Privatisation of British Rail services from Ipswich Station were operated by Anglia Railways from 1997 until April 2004 after which the franchise was won by National Express East Anglia (operating under the 'one' brand until 2008).

In the five years between 2004/05 and 2008/09 patronage rose by 50% from 2 million per year to 3 million per year.

Ticket barriers were installed in the station building in May 2009 and the exit gate on Platform 2 closed permanently.

DESCRIPTION
* Platform 1 is a bay platform where trains to/from Felixstowe terminate. Trains to Cambridge also run from this platform (or from platform 4); some trains to Lowestoft and Peterborough also use platform 1 (or platform 4).
* Platform 2 is used for through trains to London from Norwich and trains starting at Ipswich.
* Platform 3 is used for through trains to Norwich, Lowestoft and Peterborough from London.
* Platform 4 (4A,4B, 4C) is used for some services to Cambridge, and some starting services to London. Also at peak times, some trains from London to Norwich stop here instead of platform 3.

Platforms 3 and 4 are only accessible using the foot bridge or by being escorted over the tracks. A lift is still under construction at present and is due to be finished by Spring.

Opposite Platform 4 at Ipswich Station is a stabling point used by Freightliner diesel and electric locomotives. Classes 66, 70, 86 and 90 are the most common, although locomotives of other companies have been known to use the point in the past. For railway photographers, Platforms 3 and 4 offer the best views of the stabling point.

The station has extensive facilities including self-service ticket machines, ticket counters, a WHSmith convencience store, 2 cafes, a multi-storey car park, taxi stand, bus station and ATMs. The footbridge connecting the platforms is inaccessible to wheelchair users, so disabled-access to platforms 3 & 4 is via a foot crossing at the London end of the platforms (passengers using the crossing must be accompanied by a member of station staff), although it is also common for Norwich-bound trains carrying disabled persons to be re-routed via Platform 2 if necessary.



The new footbridge under construction in November 2010.


Information sourced from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich_railway_station

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