Further Rail Improvements in East of England: More Trains between Ipswich and Lowestoft

Abellio train operator Greater Anglia today, Monday, 10th December 2012, introduced a new hourly service between Ipswich and Lowestoft after work to install a passing loop was completed at Beccles. The £4m scheme, jointly funded by Network Rail and Suffolk County Council, has brought a previously disused platform at Beccles station back into use.

Before this major upgrade, train services between Ipswich and Lowestoft ran every two hours because there was a single track between Halesworth and Oulton Broad, meaning that trains could not pass each other for more than 16 miles. Track and signalling works have also been carried out, as part of a wider £21m project to resignal the East Suffolk Line, to improve reliability and performance.

Peter Meades of Greater Anglia said, "The hourly timetable will make the route more attractive for people who are considering taking journeys by rail."

Continued investment by the Coalition Government, spurred on by Liberal Democrat pressure, will add to the prosperity of the East of England Region.