East Suffolk Line Closed 24 October: Nine Days of Buses

Trains will not run between Ipswich and Halesworth for nine days from Saturday 24 October, while Network Rail rebuilds the junction at Saxmundham that connects the East Suffolk line to the Leiston branch.

That means buses instead of trains at Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market, Saxmundham and Darsham for the whole of October half term, which in Suffolk runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October.

Network Rail set out the closure in an announcement about the work, which splits into two parts:

• Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October: buses replace trains between Lowestoft and Ipswich. A separate shuttle bus runs for passengers travelling to and from Beccles, who will need to change bus at Halesworth.
• Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November: trains run between Lowestoft and Halesworth, and buses replace trains between Halesworth and Ipswich.

Every station on this coast is in the southern section. Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market, Saxmundham and Darsham lose their trains for all nine days.

What is being replaced

The junction at Saxmundham is worked by hand. Network Rail is replacing it with a powered crossover, letting trains move between the branch line and the East Suffolk line under an integrated signalling system operated from Saxmundham signal box.

Engineers will use the same nine days for two other jobs on the same stretch of railway:

• installing signalling equipment and systems between Westerfield and Halesworth
• installing new safety equipment at Bealings crossing, near Woodbridge

Why now: the Sizewell C freight route

The Leiston branch is the designated rail route for heavy freight to Sizewell C, and Network Rail is explicit that the Saxmundham work is being done to prepare for it. The Sizewell transport strategy aims to move up to 60 per cent of the construction materials for the power station by rail and sea rather than by road.

Those trains are already running. Sizewell C construction services pass through Woodbridge and Melton in the middle of the night, on a timetable that currently starts with a train passing Ipswich at 22:19 and ends with one passing at about 05:45. We have set out the full night train timetable and what it means for people living near the line.

What we could not confirm

Greater Anglia’s service alterations page was still listing only early September when we checked on 9 September, so there is no published replacement bus timetable yet. Network Rail asks passengers to check that page before travelling.

Two things also remain open on the roads. Sizewell C’s works tracker bulletin of 4 September lists no A12 night closures during the rail closure week, but it also says further Darsham dates “will be required” and are still being coordinated. The B1122 night closures between Yoxford and Title Road run to 6 November, which covers the whole of the rail closure.

What it means for you

If you use the train from Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market or Saxmundham, you have six weeks to plan around this. Four things are worth doing now.

• Do not book anything time-critical from these stations between 24 October and 1 November. That includes flights and connections at Ipswich, because a replacement bus adds time and is not held for a missed connection.
• Expect the half term week to be the hard one. The whole southern half of the line is on buses for all seven days of it, not just the weekend.
• Watch for the bus timetable. It is not out yet. When it appears it will be on Greater Anglia’s service alterations page.
• Check the roads too. The bus route down the A12 runs through a corridor that is a Sizewell C worksite from Darsham to Marlesford. Our Woodbridge roadworks and travel page is updated against the county’s orders and the works tracker.

Network Rail’s helpline for passengers and residents is 03457 11 41 41.

For everyday journeys outside those dates, our Woodbridge train times to London page sets out the normal service, and the roadworks and travel page carries every current closure on this coast.