Gainsborough line

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Gainsborough line
Chappel Viaduct and Class 755 aerial photograph 2021.jpg
A section of the line carried by Chappel Viaduct
Overview
Owner Network Rail
Locale Essex and Suffolk
Service
Type Community rail
System National Rail
Operator(s) Greater Anglia
Rolling stock Class 755 "FLIRT"
Technical
Line length11  miles 53  chains (18.77 km)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loading gauge W6
Route map
Gainsborough line.png
(Click to expand)
Gainsborough line

Miles from London Liverpool Street

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58½
Sudbury
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53½
Bures
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50¼
Chappel & Wakes Colne
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46¾
Marks Tey
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Marks Tey junction
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The Gainsborough line is the current marketing name of the Sudbury branch line, a railway branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line in the east of England, that links Marks Tey in Essex with Sudbury in Suffolk. It is 11  miles 53  chains (18.77 km) in length and single-track throughout. The line's Engineer's Line Reference is SUD. [1]

Contents

Prior to the Beeching cuts initiated in the 1960s, the line, then known as the Stour Valley Railway, continued beyond Sudbury to Shelford in Cambridgeshire. Today the line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.10, and is classified as a rural line. [2]

As of December 2016 the stations and all trains serving them are operated by Greater Anglia. The typical service frequency is one train per hour in each direction, with a timetabled journey time between one terminus and the other of 19 minutes.

History

The Stour Valley Railway opened on 9 August 1865, linking Shelford near Cambridge with Marks Tey in Essex, with 13 intermediate stations along the line.

The section between Shelford and Sudbury was closed on 6 March 1967 following the Beeching cuts, leaving Bures and Chappel & Wakes Colne as the only stops between the termini.

In 2005 the line received around £3 million of investment, which saw around 5 miles (8 km) of old jointed track replaced with new continuous welded rail. Further investment was made in 2006 to replace around 6 miles (10 km) of track, leaving just the Chappel viaduct and Lamarsh to Sudbury sections in need of modernisation. This work was completed in 2007.

In 2006 the line was designated as a community railway [3] by the transport minister and is part of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership. [4]

The current name of the line commemorates the painter Thomas Gainsborough, who was born in Sudbury; the previous name was the Lovejoy line, after the television series Lovejoy , which was filmed in the Sudbury area.

All passenger services on the line are currently operated by Greater Anglia, which runs an hourly service in each direction. The last departure from Sudbury at the end of each day is extended to Colchester.

Notable sight

The line runs across the Chappel viaduct, which has 30 arches each with a 35-foot (11 m) span, with a maximum height of 75 feet (23 m), and was the longest viaduct on the Great Eastern Railway. [5]

The East Anglian Railway Museum is located alongside the station at Chappel & Wakes Colne.

Infrastructure

The line is single track throughout, has a loading gauge of W6, and a maximum speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). [2] Unlike other branches in the area, such as the Braintree branch line and Mayflower line to Harwich Town, the Gainsborough line is not electrified. New Class 755 bi-mode trains started operating on the line in January 2020.

Stations

The following table summarises the line's four stations, their distance measured from London Liverpool Street, and estimated number of passenger entries/exits in 2018–19:

StationLocationLocal authorityMileagePatronage
Marks Tey Marks Tey City of Colchester 46+12604,902
Chappel & Wakes Colne Chappel, Wakes Colne City of Colchester 50+1439,360
Bures Bures District of Braintree 53+1260,432
Sudbury Sudbury District of Babergh 58+12334,274

Accidents and incidents

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Anglian Railway Museum</span> Industrial railway museum in Essex, England

The East Anglian Railway Museum is a museum located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marks Tey</span> Village in Essex, England

Marks Tey is a large village and electoral ward in Essex, England; it is located six miles west of Colchester. It is one in a group of villages called The Teys, including Great Tey and Little Tey.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marks Tey railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Marks Tey railway station is a stop on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the large village of Marks Tey, Essex. It is 46 miles 49 chains (75.02 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the GEML, is situated between Kelvedon to the west and Colchester to the east. Marks Tey is also the southern terminus of the Gainsborough Line to Sudbury. The station is operated by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it, as part of the East Anglia franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudbury railway station</span> Railway station in Sudbury, Suffolk

Sudbury railway station is the northern terminus of the Gainsborough Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Sudbury, Suffolk. It is 11 miles 67 chains (19.05 km) down the line from the southern terminus of Marks Tey and 58 miles 32 chains (93.99 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; the preceding station on the branch is Bures. Its three-letter station code is SUY. The platform has an operational length for two-coach trains.

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Bures St Mary is a civil parish in the Babergh district of the English county of Suffolk. In 2005 it had a population of 940, reducing to 918 at the 2011 Census. The parish covers the eastern part of the village of Bures, the western part being in the Bures Hamlet parish in Essex divided by the River Stour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bures railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Bures railway station is on the Gainsborough Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line to Sudbury, in the East of England, serving the village of Bures, which straddles the counties of Essex and Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chappel & Wakes Colne railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Chappel & Wakes Colne railway station is on the Gainsborough Line, a branch to Sudbury off the Great Eastern Main Line, in the East of England, serving the village of Wakes Colne and the neighbouring Chappel. It is 3 miles 49 chains (5.81 km) down the line from Marks Tey and 50 miles 18 chains (80.83 km) measured from London Liverpool Street. It is situated between Marks Tey and Bures. Its three-letter station code is CWC. Platform 1 has an operational length for five-coach trains. Platforms 2 and 3 are used by the East Anglian Railway Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelford railway station</span> Railway station in Cambridgeshire, England

Shelford railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line serving the villages of Great Shelford, Little Shelford and Stapleford in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 52 miles 36 chains (84.4 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Whittlesford Parkway and Cambridge. Its three-letter station code is SED.

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Hythe railway station in Essex is on the Sunshine Coast Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving Hythe and other eastern areas of Colchester. It is 53 miles 49 chains (86.3 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street. Its three-letter station code is HYH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chappel</span> Village in Essex, England

Chappel is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. The River Colne flows through the village. It is significant for its Victorian viaduct, which crosses the Colne valley.

The Colne Valley and Halstead Railway (CVHR) is a closed railway between Haverhill, Suffolk and Chappel and Wakes Colne, Essex, in England.

The Stour Valley Railway is a partially closed railway line that ran between Shelford, near Cambridge, and Marks Tey in Essex, England. The line opened in sections between 1849 and 1865. The route from Shelford to Sudbury closed on 6 March 1967 leaving only the section from Sudbury to Marks Tey, known as the Gainsborough Line, in operation.

The Long Melford–Bury St Edmunds branch line was a railway between Long Melford on the Stour Valley Railway and Bury St Edmunds on the Ipswich to Ely Line. The line opened on 9 August 1865 and closed to passengers on 10 April 1961 and freight on 19 April 1965.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Cornard derailment</span> 2010 train collision with lorry in Suffolk, England

The Little Cornard derailment occurred on 17 August 2010 when a passenger train collided with a road vehicle on a level crossing on the Gainsborough Line near Little Cornard, Suffolk, and partly derailed. The vehicle, a tanker lorry, had begun crossing over the track when the Class 156 train from Sudbury destined for Marks Tey struck it whilst travelling at a speed of approximately 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chappel Viaduct</span> Railway viaduct in Essex, England

The Chappel Viaduct is a railway viaduct that crosses the River Colne in the Colne Valley in Essex, England. It carries the Gainsborough Line which now is a short branch linking Marks Tey in Essex to Sudbury in Suffolk. The line previously, however, extended to Shelford in Cambridgeshire.

References

  1. "Engineer's line reference".
  2. 1 2 "Route 7 – Great Eastern" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  3. "Community Railways". Network Rail.
  4. "Home". Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership.
  5. Allen, Cecil J. (1955). The Great Eastern Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 61. ISBN   0-7110-0659-8.
  6. "Accident at Bures on 12th July 1887". Railways Archive.
  7. "Rail Accident Report: Collision between train and buffer stops at Sudbury, 27 January 2006" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Department for Transport. December 2006 via Railways Archive.