Gainsborough Line

Gainsborough Line
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
Locale	Essex, Suffolk
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Greater Anglia
Technical
Track gauge	Standard gauge

Gainsborough Line
Legend miles/chains from London Liverpool Street Stour Valley Railway (closed) 58m 34ch Sudbury 53m 45ch Bures Colne Valley and Halstead Railway (closed) 50m 18ch Chappel and Wakes Colne Chappel viaduct To Colchester 46m 55ch Marks Tey Jn 46m 49ch Marks Tey Great Eastern Main Line to London

The Gainsborough Line is the marketing name of the Sudbury Branch Line, a single track railway line running through the rural area between Sudbury and Marks Tey in England with connecting trains from Marks Tey station to London, Colchester and other destinations. Prior to the Beeching Axe the line, known as the Stour Valley Railway also served Cambridge, Long Melford, Clare and Haverhill. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.10 and is classified as a rural line.

History

See also: Stour Valley Railway

The Stour Valley Railway opened on 9 August 1865 running from Cambridge via Shelford, Long Melford, Clare and Haverhill to join the current line from Sudbury to Marks Tey. The Shelford to Sudbury section was closed on 6 March 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe.

In December 2006 the line was designated as a "Community Railway" by the Transport Minister, and is part of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership. The line is presently named after the painter Thomas Gainsborough who was born in Sudbury, and was previously named the Lovejoy Line, after the BBC television series filmed in the Sudbury area. All passenger services on the line are operated by Greater Anglia, which runs an approximately hourly shuttle service seven days a week. The first and last trains of the day run from and to Colchester, and one train each weekday morning runs to and from Colchester after the peak commuter services.

During July 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. August 2006 saw further investment, 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 July 2007.

The Suffolk County Council Public Transport Strategy of February 2006 proposed the creation of an additional station for the line, at Great Cornard, approximately 1 mile (2 km) from Sudbury station.

It was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in November 2006.

Official posters appeared at all stations on the line shortly before the Summer 2008 timetable came in to effect on Sunday 18 May, advising travellers that the 1922 and 2008 services from Sudbury would be request stop at the intermediate statons.

On 17 August 2010, the 17:31 Sudbury - Marks Tey collided with a slurry tanker near Little Cornard; this incident has launched an inquest into the safety of telephone-activated level-crossings all over Britain.^{[citation needed]}

The train that runs along the Gainsborough Line is often referred to as the Slug, especially by city commuters.^{[citation needed]}

Notable Sights

Viaduct at Chappel

There is an impressive viaduct at Chappel, and the East Anglian Railway Museum is located alongside the station at Chappel & Wakes Colne.

Infrastructure

The line is single track for its whole length, has a loading gauge of W6, and a line speed of 50 mph.

Unlike other branch lines in the area, such as the Braintree branch, the Gainsborough Line is not electrified and so trains are currently formed of diesel multiple units. Specifically, Class 156 on weekdays and Class 153 at the weekends.

External links

• Complete history of the branch line from 1849 Bures web site