Beccles railway station

Beccles
Location
Place	Beccles
Local authority	Waveney, Suffolk
Coordinates	52°27′31″N 1°34′11″E / 52.4586°N 1.5697°E / 52.4586; 1.5697Coordinates: 52°27′31″N 1°34′11″E / 52.4586°N 1.5697°E / 52.4586; 1.5697
Grid reference	TM426904
Operations
Station code	BCC
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Owned by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	83,762
2011/12	78,822
2012/13	85,040
2013/14	101,280
2014/15	105,254
History
Original company	East Suffolk Railway[1]
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
4 December 1854	Opened[1]
31 January 1968	Closed to freight
10 December 2012	Passing loop opened[2]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Beccles from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Beccles station in 1963

View southward, towards Ipswich and London

Beccles is a railway station on the East Suffolk Line and serves the town of Beccles in Suffolk, England. There is now an hourly service to both Lowestoft and Ipswich, all direct trains to London having been withdrawn since December 2010.

History

The East Suffolk Railway, opened in 1854 operating as far as Halesworth and the line was then extended to Ipswich and Great Yarmouth 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.

The island platform underwent restoration in 2012 in order to bring it back into use as part of a development to build a passing loop at the station. The loop and platform began operation on 10 December 2012.

Services

The following services currently call at Beccles:

• 1 train per hour local service between Ipswich and Lowestoft

From 9 December 2012, Beccles is served by an hourly service Monday to Saturday and service every 2 hours on a Sunday. Beccles is also the passing point for train services from this date.^[3] This significant improvement in services has been key in increasing patronage at the station.

Beccles loop development

Work began in early 2010 to develop a passing loop at Beccles to allow hourly services to operate on the 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 Beccles 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.^[4] The £4m scheme was jointly funded by Network Rail and Suffolk County Council.

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Beccles railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Brampton		Abellio Greater Anglia East Suffolk Line		Oulton Broad South
Disused railways
Geldeston Line and station closed		Great Eastern Railway Waveney Valley Line		Terminus
Aldeby Line and station closed		Great Eastern Railway Yarmouth to Beccles Line		Terminus