BRANCH LINE BACK ON TRACK?

Train passengers could once again be travelling by rail from Sudbury to Cambridge following a report which opens up the possibility of scrapped branch lines being restored.
Dr Beeching put a stop to anyone travelling from Sudbury through Long Melford, Haverhill and across the countryside to Cambridge more than 42 years ago.
But last week the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) produced a detailed document with a strong case for opening up old track and stations. The report was welcomed by the Cambridge–Sudbury Rail Renewal Association which has campaigned for many years to see the line re-open.
The Rev Malcolm Hill, chairman of the group, said he was buoyed to see Haverhill ranked 27th on a list of 35 towns in England that are under consideration for reintroducing a rail link.
He said: “We have great hopes that if any railways were reinstated we would be high on the list. Haverhill and Sudbury have grown so much since the closure of the railway and there’s so much more industry. The case would be pretty high to reinstate the railway link.”
He said they would be sending a report to the ATOC giving as much detail as possible to back its case. Town clerk, Sue Brotherwood, said in theory the Town Council was fully behind any rail improvements but in reality the finance of such a scheme would be vast.
“When you look at the congestion on our roads there is no doubt the line being scrapped was dreadfully short sighted. It would have been a great asset to the region if we were still connected to Cambridge,” she said.
“The practicalities of reinstating the line would be huge but if there was ever a possibility of getting around this we would definitely support it.” she added.

Reproduced from the Suffolk Free Press 25th June2009

Webmaster:- it seems this story never seems to lie down and gracefully die.
Personally, I think the Haverhill to Cambridge section may stand a chance of being restored but the Sudbury section has to many obstacles in the way. For instance "Claire Country Park" straddles the old track bed.

National Express Loses Second U.K. Rail Franchise

The U.K. government onNov 15th 2009 said it was stripping U.K. rail and bus operator National Express PLC of its East Anglia rail franchise from 2011, just months after the company lost its East Coast franchise for failing to meet its financial commitments.

The Department for Transport said the termination of the East Coast franchise -- which was two weeks ago taken over by a state-run company -- was a default under the East Anglia franchise deal, and the East Anglia franchise would be taken from the company on March 31, 2011, and wouldn't be extended to 2014.

The government is allowing National Express to run its other franchise, C2C, until the end of the fixed term in May, 2011, but it won't be allowed to re-bid for the franchise at the end of the period, a spokesman at the Department for Transport said. C2C runs commuter routes into London.

East Anglia services run between London's Liverpool Street station and eastern England destinations, including Peterborough and Norwich and of course our Sudbury Line.

Presumably we can look forward to another colour scheme for the 156 Rolling Stock. NXEA didnt even get around to changing some of the current carriages, which in one case still carries the green livery of Central Trains

Nov 2009