Sudbury Branch Line

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Sudbury Branch Line

Principal stations

for East Anglian Railway Museum

The Sudbury Branch Line is the railway line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. All passenger services on the line are operated by 'one', The service runs hourly, seven days a week, as a shuttle from Marks Tey to Sudbury. The first and last trains of the day normally run from and to Colchester, as the branch train is stabled overnight there. (The junction at Marks Tey faces towards Colchester.) The line is single track throughout.

Trains at Marks Tey allow easy connections to London, Colchester and various destinations in East Anglia. Trains are currently formed of either Class 156 on weekdays or Class 153 diesel multiple units at the weekends.

During July 2005 the line received around £3 million investment, which saw around 5 miles of old jointed track replaced with new continuous welded rail.

The Sudbury Line is part of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership. For marketing purposes, the line is named the Gainsborough Line, after the painter Thomas Gainsborough who was born in Sudbury. It was previously named the Lovejoy line, after the BBC television series filmed in the Sudbury area.

The Suffolk County Council Public Transport Strategy of February 2006 proposed the creation of an additional station for the line, at Great Cornard, approximately 1 mile from Sudbury station.

The line is not electrified, unlike other branch lines in the area, such as the Braintree branch.

There is an impressive viaduct at Chappel, and the East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne, alongside the station.

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edit Railway lines in the East of England:
Main lines:	East Coast Main Line Great Eastern Main Line Cambridge-King's Lynn "Fen" Line Cambridge-Norwich "Breckland" Line Colchester-Clacton Line Ely-Peterborough Line Ipswich-Ely Line London-Cambridge Line London, Tilbury & Southend Line Manningtree-Harwich "Mayflower" Line Thameslink West Anglia Main Line
Commuter lines:	Hertford Loop Line Lea Valley Lines Northern City Line Romford-Upminster Line Shenfield-Southend Victoria Line Witham-Braintree Line
Rural lines:	Cambridge-Ipswich Line Crouch Valley Line East Suffolk Line Grantham-Skegness Line Ipswich-Felixstowe Line Marks Tey-Sudbury Line Norwich-Sheringham "Bittern" Line Peterborough-Lincoln Line Thorpe le Soken-Walton Line Wherry Lines