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The origins of our line go back to 1845 when the Norfolk Railway
opened its line from Norwich Thorpe to Brandon
linking up with the Eastern Counties Railway’s line from Newport (Essex)
through Cambridge and
Ely to Brandon. This
connected Norwich with London for
the first time as today’s direct route via Ipswich was
not opened until four years later. In the Norfolk Railway’s timetable there
were four trains each way between Norwich and London via
Ely and Cambridge with
an extra journey in each direction between Norwich and
Ely.
In 1847 the Eastern Counties Railway opened a line west from Ely to
March and Peterborough. It was not until 1890 that a curve opened
to the north of Ely allowing some trains to run between Peterborough and Norwich
without calling at Ely station. Freight was the main beneficiary although
over the years some holiday trains used this curve.
Through working between Norwich and London via
Ely declined after the late 1950s. By 1961 diesel multiple units provided a
local service between Norwich and
Ely which fell just short of hourly. Most called at all stations and had
connections for Peterborough at
Ely. A local diesel unit service also ran between Ely, March and Peterborough with
many running to and from Cambridge.
Later in the 1960s the Norwich to Peterborough line
was the subject of economies seen on so many lines in East
Anglia. Ticket offices were
closed at intermediate stations (except Thetford, Ely and March) and
passengers bought their tickets on the train. Hethersett
and three fenland stations - Chettisham, Black Bank
and Stonea closed completely. Branch lines such as
Wymondham–Dereham, Thetford-Swaffham
and March-Wisbech also closed.
By 1974 British Rail was marketing the Norwich – Ely
– Cambridge
service as the ‘Breckland Line’ but there were also
five trains a day between Norwich and Birmingham and
four to Peterborough. In 1977 there were still five
Norwich-Birmingham trains but in an attempt to speed them up they ceased to
call at Ely, taking instead the avoiding curve to the north of the station.
On the Birmingham
service diesel unit working eventually gave way to locomotive hauled trains
and in 1978 refreshment facilities were advertised for the first time on two
return trips.
By the early 1980s the railways had plunged into a difficult period.
Reports of widespread closure plans filled the press and the March-Spalding
line did close. Economies were mooted
such as closing the Ely – Norwich line
overnight and singling part of the route whilst industrial action brought the
network to a standstill. Passenger accommodation was removed from the 2315 Norwich to Liverpool
Street mail train preventing a night
out in Norwich using
the train. Eastern Counties buses began a service
between Norwich,
Thetford and Cambridge but it
was short lived.
It was still supposedly ‘the age of the train’ and Jimmy Saville’s adverts publicised a Norwich-Peterborough away
day return for just £6 while for the same price passengers at Brandon, Lakenheath and Shippea Hill
could purchase a return in advance to London.
In the late 1980s some attempt was made to improve Cambridge-Norwich
services by reducing the number of stops and extending trains to Yarmouth.
The big shake-up came in 1988 with the introduction of regular
‘express’ trains linking East
Anglia with the Midlands, Sheffield, Liverpool and Blackpool. There
were seven trains a day from Norwich to Birmingham and,
for the first time, six trains a day from Norwich to Liverpool. All
now called at Ely which opened up considerable scope for connections. These
trains were two car sprinter units which were then new to the region.
Refreshment trolleys were advertised. For a while these cross country
services ran alongside stopping services operated by ageing diesel units
until these were gradually withdrawn leaving the long distance expresses to
maintain peak time stops at the smaller stations.
Under privatisation Central Trains took over Norwich – Peterborough
services from the Regional Railways sector of British Rail. By this time
services had been standardised with two distinct routes: Norwich to Liverpool and Stansted Airport/Cambridge to Birmingham, both
operating via Ely and Peterborough. Anglia Railways, later ‘one’, provided a
service from Peterborough to
March, Ely, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.
In 2002 Anglia Railways introduced a direct service between Norwich and Cambridge
following £9.2m funding from the Strategic Rail Authority. There were 15
journeys each way. The service was taken over by ‘one’ in 2004 as part of the
new Greater Anglia franchise.
Further rail franchise
changes in November 2007 saw the Norwich-Liverpool service pass to Stagecoach
as part of its East Midlands Trains operation. At the same time the Stansted
Airport-Birmingham service passed to Cross Country Trains.
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