Published on: Friday, 17 June 2016
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
This Summer marks fifty years since therailway which runs between Lowestoft and Ipswich was saved from closure as hadbeen recommended in the notorious Beeching Report. To mark the fiftiethanniversary of the lines reprieve, the East Suffolk Lines Community RailPartnership has teamed up with train operator Abellio Greater Anglia to offer achance to explore the line with a special anniversary ticket.
On Saturday 2 July, passengers can enjoyunlimited travel between Lowestoft and Ipswich for just £8 for adults withaccompanying children priced at just £2. The special ticket allows theopportunity to hop on and off trains throughout the day enabling passengers toexplore many of the market towns’, heritage and attractions along the route.
The East Suffolk Line runs through thehistoric market towns of Beccles, Halesworth, Saxmundham and Woodbridge. Thestation at Melton is a short distance from the Saxon Burial Site at Sutton Hooand Oulton Broad South Station is perfect for exploring the Carlton MarshesNature Reserve and the southern gateway to the Broads National Park. AtLowestoft, the station is located at the heart of the shopping centre and justa few minutes walk from the beach. In Ipswich, both the historic waterfront andtown centre are not far away. Each market town which the line runs through hasa variety of independent shops, museums, galleries and eateries, all close totheir respective stations.
The Beeching Report resulted in thousandsof miles of railway being closed, leaving entire communities without a railservice. Following a major local campaign, the East Suffolk Line was eventuallyreprieved in the Summer of 1966 and fifty years later continues to provide avital transport artery through the East of the county. The more recentintroduction of a Mon-Sat hourly service has seen passenger numbers soar by 99%with additional services now added on Sundays to help cope with demand.
Aaron Taffera, Chair of the East SuffolkLines Community Rail Partnership said: “We are delighted to have teamed up withAbellio Greater Anglia to offer this very special anniversary explorer ticket,the line running between Lowestoft and Ipswich has so much for people to seeand do and this special ticket will enable them to do just that.”
“For many communities that saw their railservice withdrawn in the 1960s the loss is still keenly felt today, thankfullyhere in East Suffolk the service was saved and fifty years on, this specialexplorer ticket is a great way to celebrate such a momentous decision.”
Jonathan Denby, Abellio Greater Anglia'sHead of Corporate Affairs, said: "We're delighted to join with the EastSuffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership (CRP) to mark the 50th anniversary ofthe East Suffolk Line's reprieve from closure.
"Over the intervening years the linehas gone from strength to strength, especially in the last 5 years followingintroduction of an hourly service from Mondays to Saturdays, plus additionalSunday services, resulting in a doubling of passenger numbers. At the same timea proactive partnership between the East Suffolk Lines Community RailPartnership, local authorities and ourselves as train operator has resulted ina range of station improvements including installation of ticket machines, realtime travel information and platform refurbishments. We are continuing toinvest in improvements for the route and have recently increased our financialsupport for the East Suffolk Lines CRP, to ensure the route's renaissanceextends forward over the years ahead.
"We hope this special anniversarytravel offer will encourage people to explore the many historic towns andvillages on this attractive, scenic route."
Availability of the special AnniversaryExplorer Ticket is [MH1] limitedand is exclusively available online at http://www.greenrailtravel.co.uk/specialon a first come, first served basis.