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Fen Line
365537 passing through Runcton Holme, Norfolk
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleEast of England
Termini
Stations7
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)Great Northern
Abellio Greater Anglia
CrossCountry
Rolling stockClass 317
Class 365 "Networker"
Class 379 "Electrostar"[1]
Class 170 "Turbostar"[2]
Technical
CharacterSecondary\London & South-East[2]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed90 mph (145 km/h) maximum[3]
Fen line
Legend
 King's Lynn
96 mi 75 ch
156.01 km
to Hunstanton
to Middleton Towers
to King's Lynn Harbour
Harbour Junction
Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway
to Sutton Bridge & Melton Constable
 St Germain's
Watlington
90 mi 70 ch
146.25 km
to Wisbech East
 Holme
Stow Bardolph
Downham Market
86 mi 8 ch
138.56 km
 Denver
Downham & Stoke Ferry Railway
to Stoke Ferry
Cut-off Channel
River Wissey
River Little Ouse
 Ouse Bridge
Hilgay
Littleport
76 mi 0 ch
122.31 km
Breckland line
to Norwich
Ely–Peterborough line
to Peterborough
Queen Adelaide loop
River Great Ouse
 Ely
70 mi 30 ch
113.26 km
Ipswich–Ely line
 Waterbeach
61 mi 1 ch
98.19 km
 Cambridge North
Cambridge & St Ives branch line
to St Ives
River Cam
Cambridge–Mildenhall line
Ipswich–Ely line
 Cambridge
55 mi 52 ch
89.56 km
Varsity Line
 Cambridge South
(opening in 2025)
Shepreth Branch Junction
Cambridge line
to Hitchin
West Anglia Main Line
to London Liverpool Street
Mileage from London Liverpool Street

The Fen Line is a railway in the United Kingdom that runs between the cities of Cambridge and Ely Cambridgeshire and the town of King's Lynn, Norfolk; the line is so called because it runs through The Fens. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and comprises SRS 05.06 and part of 05.05. It is classified as a secondary line except between Cambridge and Ely which is classified as a London and South East commuter line.[2]

Services

Great Northern

Great Northern operate through services to London King's Cross (via the Cambridge Line). These services operate non-stop between London and Cambridge for most of the day, as part of the half-hourly "Cambridge Express" service. One train an hour is extended beyond Cambridge to serve all stations to King's Lynn.

These services usually use Class 365 electric multiple units. Three Class 365 EMUs have received names associated with the line:

  • The Fenman (365 518) - previously a "named train" that used to operate on this line, consisting of locomotive-hauled InterCity (British Rail) trains;
  • Robert Stripe Passengers' Champion (365 527) was named on 10 March 2006, after the 21st Anniversary of the Fen Line Users Association;
  • Nelson's County (365 531) had a special livery applied to the outside which shows various scenes of West Norfolk.

Abellio Greater Anglia

Abellio Greater Anglia regularly runs services between Cambridge and Norwich on an hourly basis via the Breckland Line, running non-stop between Ely and Cambridge. Class 170 units are typically used for this service.

In addition to this, Abellio Greater Anglia operate a few direct services between London Liverpool Street and King's Lynn or Ely (via the West Anglia Main Line). These services operate only run during the morning and evening peaks, and use Class 317 and Class 379[1] units.

CrossCountry

The section between Cambridge and Ely is also used non-stop by CrossCountry services to Stansted Airport. (and onward to Birmingham New Street via Peterborough)

Signalling

The line is double tracked except between Littleport and Downham Market and between Watlington and King's Lynn where it is bi-directionally signalled single track. In the Down direction, the entrance to the single line sections is protected additionally by SPAD indicators.

Signal boxes controlling the line are;

  • Cambridge power box
  • Littleport
  • Downham Market
  • Magdalen Road (Watlington)
  • King's Lynn

The signalling system is Track circuit block with multiple aspect colour light signals- with the exception of:

Infrastructure

Traction current for electric trains is provided by 25 kV AC OHLE controlled by Romford Electrical Control Room.[5] There are Neutral Sections at Shepreth Branch junction, Milton Fen and just north of Littleport bypass. The line has a loading gauge of W8 except for the section connecting the Ipswich to Ely Line to the Ely to Peterborough Line which is W10.[2]

Passenger volume

These are the statistics of the numbers of passengers on the line from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2013. Comparing each station between the first and last years, King's Lynn has increased by 53%, Watlington by 105%, Downham Market by 85%, Littleport by 138%, Ely by 90%, Waterbeach by 95% and Cambridge by 79%.[6]

Station usage
Station name 2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
King's Lynn 593,675 641,668 622,034 656,624 680,230 739,282 750,738 821,772 869,006 879,836 913,458
Watlington 64,091 85,231 85,423 91,250 100,665 111,612 107,956 113,898 129,146 137,874 131,742
Downham Market 248,368 277,744 276,900 307,013 361,433 365,612 360,032 406,690 432,014 452,674 460,056
Littleport 94,363 119,198 122,655 146,218 148,836 156,124 149,428 178,254 199,804 206,596 225,024
Ely 1,038,708 1,255,362 1,278,724 1,420,734 1,505,730 1,583,246 1,579,948 1,731,956 1,824,036 1,878,426 1,976,134
Waterbeach 176,639 197,594 213,500 227,281 250,039 277,470 266,020 301,376 312,216 335,660 344,722
Cambridge 5,478,112 6,060,475 6,137,423 6,522,309 6,997,887 7,571,838 7,661,146 8,245,416 8,823,236 9,168,938 9,824,859
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

References

  1. ^ a b Rail Magazine. 673 Page 37. June 29 – July 12, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d "Route 5 - West Anglia" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  3. ^ Network Rail (August 2006). East Anglia Route Sectional Appendix. Vol. Module EA. p. 109 LOR EA1162 Seq007. NR30018/02.
  4. ^ Network Rail (August 2006). East Anglia Route Sectional Appendix. Vol. Module EA. p. 110 LOR EA1270 Seq001. NR30018/02.
  5. ^ Network Rail (August 2006). East Anglia Route Sectional Appendix. Vol. Module EA. p. 110 LOR EA1161 Seq008. NR30018/02.
  6. ^ "Station Usage". Rail Statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 2 September 2015.

Further reading

  • Perren, Brian (19 October – 1 November 1989). "Electrification to King's Lynn". RAIL. No. 107. EMAP National Publications. pp. 40–43. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
  • Adderson & Kenworthy (December 2008). Eastern Main Lines - Ely to King's Lynn. Middleton Press. ISBN 9781901706536.

Media related to Fen Line at Wikimedia Commons

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