All aboard the Antwerp express - from Ipswich station
Stick-on artists impression of Ipswich station refurbishment - Credit: Archant
Passengers waiting to board trains at Ipswich may have noticed hoardings depicting the station’s soon-to-be refurbished ticket office.
But eagle-eyed travellers will be surprised to see plans apparently include an ambitious continental expansion – for a closer look at banners covering the Upper Crust cafe shows departures for stations in Belgium.
Rail user John Alborough noticed the overseas anomaly while awaiting a train on platform two.
“The stuck-on photos are just for effect,” he said.
“But looking more closely at them, you can see you are actually standing on the platform at Bruges station, with the first train being an inter-city service to Antwerp Central.”
Mr Alborough wondered what was planned for Ipswich station.
“Is there something we should know?” he asked. “A new direct service to Antwerp perhaps?”
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Train operator Abellio Greater Anglia said there were no plans to relocate the station 300 miles away.
An Abellio spokesman said: “This image is an artist’s impression which is for illustrative purposes only.”
Work on the refurbishment of Ipswich railway station is set to continue until August next year. It includes a joint £850,000 project between Abellio Greater Anglia, Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council to rebuild the forecourt.
New barriers will separate the area with direct access to the platform from the ticket office, which will continue to sell seats on trains bound for stations in the East of England – not Belgium.
For the foreseeable future, at least, passengers will still be required to take the Eurostar.
