- Breckland Line
-
Breckland Line 
Overview Type Heavy rail Locale Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk Operation Opened 1845 Owner Network Rail Operator(s) National Express East Anglia
CrossCountry
East Midlands TrainsRolling stock Class 158
Class 170Technical Track gauge Standard gauge Loading gauge W10 Electrification 25 kV AC (between Cambridge and Ely) Operating speed 80-105mph Route map 
Breckland Line Legend
Norwich 
Wherry Lines/Bittern Line 
River Wensum 
Norwich Victoria 
Great Eastern Main Line 
A47 A11 
to Ashwellthorpe 
Wymondham 
Mid-Norfolk Railway to Dereham A11 
Spooner Row (closed Sundays) Attleborough Eccles Road (closed Sundays) Harling Road (closed Sundays) River Thet A134 
to Holme Hale & Swaffham 
Roudham Junction former Thetford to Bury St Edmunds line Thetford A11 Brandon River Little Ouse Cut-off Channel Lakenheath (closed weekdays) Shippea Hill (closed Sundays) River Lark River Great Ouse 
Fen Line to King's Lynn Ely to Peterborough Line to Peterborough Ely Ipswich to Ely Line to Ipswich 
former Ely and St Ives Railway Waterbeach 
Ipswich to Cambridge Line Cambridge Hitchin-Cambridge Line 
West Anglia Main Line
The Breckland Line runs from Cambridge in Cambridgeshire to Norwich in Norfolk, in East Anglia, England. It is so called because it runs through the Breckland region of Norfolk. The line also passes through Thetford Forest. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.09 and part of SRS 05.05. It is classified as a secondary line except between Ely and Cambridge which is classified as London and South East commuter line.[1]
Preserved British_Railways Standard 7MT 70013 Oliver Cromwell at speed heading down the Ely-Norwich line near Hethersett on 11 March 2010 hauling a special train bound for the North Norfolk Railway.
Contents
History
The Norwich & Brandon Railway was incorporated in 1844 and backed by George & Robert Stephenson. It was opened as the Norfolk Railway on the 30th July 1845 and Eastern Counties Railway opened a route from Cambridge via Ely to Brandon on the same day.[2]
Infrastructure
The line is double track throughout but is only electrified between Cambridge and Ely, at 25 kV AC. It 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, and has a line speed of between 80-105 mph.[1]
With its well preserved stations, semaphore signalling and prior to Spring 2009 lineside telegraph poles, along with sections of jointed rail on wooden sleepers (gradually being replaced) the line has a very historical feel to it, although many sections are cleared for 90 mph running, with 100 mph being feasible.
Route
The towns and villages served by the route are listed below (Ordnance Survey grid references for stations):
Places Grid references Norwich TG239083 Wymondham TG114009 Spooner Row TM094974 Attleborough TM051950 Quidenham (Eccles Road) TM018900 East Harling (Harling Road) TL977879 Thetford TL867836 Brandon TL784872 Lakenheath TL723863 Shippea Hill TL641841 Ely TL543793 Cambridge TL461572 Services
Some of the stations it serves see just one stopping train in each direction per day, mostly in the Norwich direction in the morning and from Norwich in the evening.
Passenger services are operated by several operators.
- National Express East Anglia operate an hourly service between Cambridge and Norwich using Class 170 diesel multiple units.
- East Midlands Trains operate services between Ely and Norwich, as part of the Norwich-Liverpool route. Services are operated by Class 158 diesel multiple units.
- CrossCountry operate services between Ely and Cambridge as part of the Birmingham New Street-Stansted Airport route. Services are operated by Class 170 diesel multiple units.
- First Capital Connect operate services between Cambridge and Ely as part of their Fen Line service to King's Lynn. Services are usually operated by Class 365 electrical multiple units.
The line between Cambridge and Ely, part of the Fen Line to King's Lynn, is electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires. The rest of the route between Ely and Norwich is not electrified, other than the final section into Norwich station, after joining with the electrified line from London.
References
- ^ a b "Route 5 - West Anglia". Network Rail. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%205%20-%20West%20Anglia.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Station history". Wymondham Station. http://www.wymondham-station.com/index.php?f=data_station_history&a=0. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
Railway lines in the East of England Primary 
Secondary Local Abbey Line · Birmingham to Peterborough Line · Bittern Line · Braintree Branch Line · Breckland Line · Crouch Valley Line · East Suffolk Line · Ely to Peterborough Line · Felixstowe Branch Line · Fen Line · Gainsborough Line · Hertford East Branch Line · Hitchin–Cambridge Line · Ipswich to Ely Line · Marston Vale Line · Mayflower Line · Peterborough to Lincoln Line · Shenfield to Southend Line · Sunshine Coast Line · Wherry Lines
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