Beccles railway station

Beccles railway station is on the East Suffolk Line in the east of England, serving the town of Beccles, Suffolk. It is 40 miles 34 chains (65.1 km) down the line from Ipswich and 109 miles 11 chains (175.6 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; it is situated between Brampton and Oulton Broad South stations. Its three-letter station code is BCC.

Beccles
Location	Beccles, East Suffolk England
Coordinates	52.4586°N 1.5697°E
Grid reference	TM426904
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BCC
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	East Suffolk Railway[1]
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
4 December 1854	Opened[1]
31 January 1968	Closed to freight
10 December 2012	Passing loop opened[2]
Passengers
2015/16	0.109 million
2016/17	0.110 million
2017/18	0.111 million
2018/19	0.114 million
2019/20	0.110 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Beccles railway station in 1963

View southward, towards Ipswich

It is managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains that call.

History

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

Passing loop development

Work began in early 2010 to develop a passing loop at Beccles to allow services to operate hourly on the single-track 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 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.[3] The £4 million scheme was jointly funded by Network Rail and Suffolk County Council.

Facilities

There is a café in the original station building adjoining the Lowestoft-bound platform.

There is a footbridge with quite steep ramps connecting the platforms, and passenger information screens on both platforms.

Services

As of December 2016 the typical Monday-Saturday off-peak service at Beccles is as follows:

Operator	Route	Rolling stock	Typical frequency
Abellio Greater Anglia	Lowestoft - Oulton Broad South - Beccles - Brampton (on request) - Halesworth - Darsham - Saxmundham - Wickham Market - Melton - Woodbridge - Ipswich	Class 755	1x per hour in each direction

On Sundays frequency reduces to one train every two hours in each direction. Trains direct to and from London Liverpool Street were withdrawn in 2010.

One weekday early-morning train is extended through to Harwich International and there is a return from there in the evening.[4]

References

1. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
2. https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7220/New-hourly-service-on-East-Suffolk-line. Retrieved 10 December 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. Geater, Paul (10 December 2012). "Suffolk: Problems remain as Beccles rail loop opens on East Suffolk line". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
4. Table 13 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

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