New rail services unveiled

DETAILS of the new rail services between East Anglia and London to start in December have today been unveiled by train company 'one.'

During off-peak times the number of trains between Ipswich and London will be cut from four to three an hour – but there will be more trains to Cambridge.

And services to Peterborough and Lowestoft will be run by high quality "Turbostar" diesel units rather than the single-car units which currently operate them.

There will be through services from London to Peterborough via Ipswich and from London to Lowestoft every two hours – giving a regular through service from the capital to Bury St Edmunds, Woodbridge, and Saxmundham.

Almost all the train services on the East Suffolk line will go through to London – although evening peak-hour services will operate from Ipswich.

The train company will also operate an hourly service between Ipswich and Cambridge throughout the day.

"The big winners in this shake-up are people in Bury St Edmunds. Not only do they get an hourly service to both Ipswich and Cambridge, they also get a two-hourly through service to London and Peterborough in much better trains," said 'one' spokesman Peter Meades.

The new timetable comes into operation on December 12.

Tim Clarke, managing director, 'one' said: "The new December timetable offers improvements for rail passengers across the region through a major step-change in service with more direct trains and new journey opportunities.

"The increase in direct train services will provide an economic boost to many areas and encourage more people to consider the train as the logical choice.

"A tremendous amount of work has gone into planning the fine detail of the timetable, which is designed to offer passengers a more reliable and punctual service on all routes."

What do you think of the new timetable? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk