New stations between Ipswich and Felixstowe

[HST43257]

The scenario itself isn’t up for debate here, just want thoughts on the main question

Imagine Ipswich to Felixstowe was wired for the purpose of freight, but passengers could make use of it. Then also imagine a semi fast service from London that got extended to Felixstowe (calling at places like Shenfield, Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham, Colchester, Manningtree and Ipswich). It would replace the existing regional service.

My question is: Would you add or move any stations between Ipswich and Felixstowe?

I would wonder about areas like Castle Hill and Warren Heath, but I’m not sure if this would:
1) help anyone
2) this impact Westerfield (in the case of Castle Hill)
3) impact freight

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A possible Warren Heath station alongside the A1156 Felixstowe Road somewhere near Futura Park presumably?

Would there ever be sufficient patronage to make such a station viable?

Also, what effect would opening/reopening an intermediate station between Derby Road and Trimley have on existing freight and passenger services?

The little-used Orwell station (near Nacton) was closed in the late 1950s ostensibly so as to allow a general speeding up of trains on the line and to allow the one Ipswich - Felixstowe DMU unit to operate a more or less clockface service (hourly round trip) during the day.

 

[Tobbes]

I'm struggling to see what the point is. If it is to make Warren Heath an attractive place to commute to London, then extending the all-shacks service to do so isn't going to provide very attractive journey times (I'd terminate this at Colchester anyway). More likely, you'd get a better return from improving the service to the stations north of Ipswich which are still anticipating significant housing growth over the next 20 years - and reinstating Claydon (formerly proposed for the abortive SnOasis project) would be a good place to start.

 

[Ianno87]

Capacity on the existing single lines to Felixstowe is already tight with the amount of freight. I doubt new stations are likely to be feasible without pretty much full double tracking of the route.

 

[A0]

Capacity on the existing single lines to Felixstowe is already tight with the amount of freight. I doubt new stations are likely to be feasible without pretty much full double tracking of the route.

It would probably need extra rolling stock and somewhere for that to hide at Ipswich (the bay platform is also used by the Lowestoft and some Cambridge services) - currently in most hours the service runs:

Departing Ipswich xx.58 arriving at Felixstowe xx.24
Departing Felixstowe xx.28 arriiving at Ipswich xx.54

An additional stop would pretty much wipe-out that turnaround time.

 

[Tobbes]

It would probably need extra rolling stock and somewhere for that to hide at Ipswich (the bay platform is also used by the Lowestoft and some Cambridge services) - currently in most hours the service runs:

Departing Ipswich xx.58 arriving at Felixstowe xx.24
Departing Felixstowe xx.28 arriiving at Ipswich xx.54

An additional stop would pretty much wipe-out that turnaround time.

If you wanted to, you could add another bay on the town side of the existing bay (Platform 1) to increase capacity and flexibility. Whether this is value for money is another question entirely.

 

[Ianno87]

If you wanted to, you could add another bay on the town side of the existing bay (Platform 1) to increase capacity and flexibility. Whether this is value for money is another question entirely.

It would be very wasteful of rolling stock. You'd almost be better using it to project the service through to somewhere like Harwich or something

 

[A0]

It would be very wasteful of rolling stock. You'd almost be better using it to project the service through to somewhere like Harwich or something

Wouldn't that create the same problem though?

Currently Felixstowe can be run on one unit - running onto Harwich would be circa 8 - 10 mins to Manningtree (with a reversal if you're going to serve Manningtree station) as well as a further ~22 mins from Manningtree to Harwich.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Conversely, the Lowestoft unit has a long turnaround at Ipswich. Would it work for the extra stop, I wonder, if the Felixstowe unit was no longer treated as a shuttle with an early afternoon swap but instead swapped on every working? If the unit was not returning straight down the branch it would no longer have to get to Ipswich at xx.54 would it? You could still have an hourly clockface timetable, it just wouldn't be with a captive diagram.

 

[JonathanH]

Conversely, the Lowestoft unit has a long turnaround at Ipswich. Would it work for the extra stop, I wonder, if the Felixstowe unit was no longer treated as a shuttle with an early afternoon swap but instead swapped on every working? If the unit was not returning straight down the branch it would no longer have to get to Ipswich at xx.54 would it? You could still have an hourly clockface timetable, it just wouldn't be with a captive diagram.

The cyclic nature of the diagrams however means that some Lowestoft arrivals go to Cambridge or Peterborough to allow units to get to and from Crown Point without having to go empty on the main line. Introducing Felixstowe to that mix complicates it further.

 

[superjohn]

If the service was only hourly, and I can’t imagine there would be paths for any more, it would never compete with the multiple bus routes that serve both Warren Heath and Futura Park. The circuitous rail route to Ipswich station means the train would probably take just as long as well.

 

[HST43257]

If the service was only hourly, and I can’t imagine there would be paths for any more, it would never compete with the multiple bus routes that serve both Warren Heath and Futura Park. The circuitous rail route to Ipswich station means the train would probably take just as long as well.

But Derby Road is surely a similar situation, but by my estimates it’s got about 100 passengers per working day (I’m aware leisure probably exists) travelling - nothing massive but not tiny.

 

[Tobbes]

But Derby Road is surely a similar situation, but by my estimates it’s got about 100 passengers per working day (I’m aware leisure probably exists) travelling - nothing massive but not tiny.

It's worth having as I'd expect Derbt Road and Westerfield to both be largely passengers connecting to other trains as Ipswich Station is quite inconvenient for the centre of town.

 

[HST43257]

It's worth having as I'd expect Derbt Road and Westerfield to both be largely passengers connecting to other trains as Ipswich Station is quite inconvenient for the centre of town.

So, yes, I see Warren Heath as feasible.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The cyclic nature of the diagrams however means that some Lowestoft arrivals go to Cambridge or Peterborough to allow units to get to and from Crown Point without having to go empty on the main line. Introducing Felixstowe to that mix complicates it further.

It shouldn't be that much more difficult to still do this, though?

 

[CW2]

From another viewpoint, perhaps the thing to do with passenger services on the Felixstowe line is to reduce them to a bare minimum, to allow priority for the revenue earning freight services. A rail replacement bus service would do the job.

 

[Tobbes]

From another viewpoint, perhaps the thing to do with passenger services on the Felixstowe line is to reduce them to a bare minimum, to allow priority for the revenue earning freight services. A rail replacement bus service would do the job.

This is basically the case already. Further doubling of the route (though presumably minus Spring Rd viaduct) would certainly help. I'm also surprised that Westerfield remains a single lead.