Trimley Railway Station
13/11/18 17:29 Filed in:Public Transport
I have been asked on several occasions if the trains still stop at Trimley station. Some people were under the impression that the station was closed but it is very much alive providing hourly passenger services to Felixstowe and Ipswich. From Ipswich, there are onward connections to London, Cambridge, Peterborough, Norwich and Lowestoft.
Recently, the service has suffered from delays and cancellations due to train faults, signalling problems and congestion. However, next year all of these problems should disappear when the present works being undertaken by Network Rail are completed in the autumn. These include the installation of 1.25 km of double track from the station up to the foot crossing at Grimston Lane. The signalling system on the branch is also being upgraded and both of these improvements should result in increased capacity for the container trains to/from the Port of Felixstowe. The changes will also allow the passenger trains to operate more effectively. Furthermore, next year heralds the arrival of brand new bi-mode 3-coach trains by the train operating company, Greater Anglia. The current passenger trains are quite old and the new ones will provide improved comfort and journey times.
The shelter was replaced earlier this year and there is a new ticket machine although it is still possible to purchase a ticket from the guard on board the train. I understand that CCTV may be coming soon. For residents of Kirton and Falkenham, this is our local station and has free parking. The Kirton ‘BLOKES’ have used the train from Trimley on a few of our trips where the destination is rail connected and I think all of us were quite happy with the service, avoiding the hassle of driving to Ipswich, sitting in traffic and paying for parking there. We were able to take advantage of the discounted fares for group travel.
The future certainly looks bright and it’s probably fair to say that rail travel in our region will be transformed in 2019. At present though, to enable the contractors to proceed, they take possession of the branch from Westerfield to Felixstowe at weekends and there are no trains running from approximately 6.30pm on Saturdays until Monday mornings. There is a replacement bus service but this is, of course, just a temporary arrangement. If you would like to keep up to date with future developments, I would suggest having a look at the website of Felixstowe Travel Watch.
The derelict former station building was closed and taken out of use in the 1960s but in 2012, a Group, Trimley Station Community Trust was formed to save it from demolition. There are plans to repair and refurbish it for community use. This project has nothing to do with the actual rail service.
Tom Hatrick
Recently, the service has suffered from delays and cancellations due to train faults, signalling problems and congestion. However, next year all of these problems should disappear when the present works being undertaken by Network Rail are completed in the autumn. These include the installation of 1.25 km of double track from the station up to the foot crossing at Grimston Lane. The signalling system on the branch is also being upgraded and both of these improvements should result in increased capacity for the container trains to/from the Port of Felixstowe. The changes will also allow the passenger trains to operate more effectively. Furthermore, next year heralds the arrival of brand new bi-mode 3-coach trains by the train operating company, Greater Anglia. The current passenger trains are quite old and the new ones will provide improved comfort and journey times.
The shelter was replaced earlier this year and there is a new ticket machine although it is still possible to purchase a ticket from the guard on board the train. I understand that CCTV may be coming soon. For residents of Kirton and Falkenham, this is our local station and has free parking. The Kirton ‘BLOKES’ have used the train from Trimley on a few of our trips where the destination is rail connected and I think all of us were quite happy with the service, avoiding the hassle of driving to Ipswich, sitting in traffic and paying for parking there. We were able to take advantage of the discounted fares for group travel.
The future certainly looks bright and it’s probably fair to say that rail travel in our region will be transformed in 2019. At present though, to enable the contractors to proceed, they take possession of the branch from Westerfield to Felixstowe at weekends and there are no trains running from approximately 6.30pm on Saturdays until Monday mornings. There is a replacement bus service but this is, of course, just a temporary arrangement. If you would like to keep up to date with future developments, I would suggest having a look at the website of Felixstowe Travel Watch.
The derelict former station building was closed and taken out of use in the 1960s but in 2012, a Group, Trimley Station Community Trust was formed to save it from demolition. There are plans to repair and refurbish it for community use. This project has nothing to do with the actual rail service.
Tom Hatrick
