Published on: Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Record numbers of passengers travelled onAbellio Greater Anglia’s East Suffolk Line train services last year, with theline recording its highest ever number of passengers.
An additional 25,000 passenger journeys were made in 2014 on the line whichruns from Ipswich to Lowestoft – bringing the annual total to a new high of675,000 passenger journeys.
The passenger growth continues after Abellio Greater Anglia completed a £3 million refurbishment of the two-carriageClass 156 vehicles that operate on the line in 2014. The fleet of nine trainsreceived a complete interior overhaul, including new carpets, dado panels, seatcovers and a deep clean as well as the installation of a new passengerinformation system which delivers automatic announcements and a universalaccess toilet.
The fleet upgrade follows the introduction ofan hourly service on the line in December 2012 (following work to install apassing loop was completed at Beccles) which heralded a wider programme ofcustomer-focused enhancements such as new ticket machines, station repaintingand the introduction of print-at-home and mobile ticketing facilities.
The focus on improving the line is set to continuewith Abellio Greater Anglia announcing last week that, in partnership withSuffolk County Council and the DesignatedCommunity Rail Development Fund, anew automatic ticket vending machine and CCTV will be installed at Halesworthrail station.
The line will also continue to benefit fromthe support of the East Suffolk Line Community Rail Partnership which recentlywelcomed a new Chairman, Aaron Taffera.
Abellio Greater Anglia’s Area CustomerService Manager, Neil Grabham, said, "By working together with partnerswho share an interest in the success of the East Suffolk line, we are committedto making the Ipswich to Lowestoft route even more successful and an even morevaluable asset to the communities it serves, supporting tourism and the localeconomy."