Wherry Lines

Wherry Lines
Legend
0m 00ch Norwich 0m 29ch Great Eastern Main Line   River Yare (Original course)   Whitlingham 1m 69ch Bittern Line 4m 66ch Brundall Gardens 5m 60ch Brundall 5m 73ch Brundall Junction 7m 62ch Buckenham 7m 78ch Lingwood 10m 00ch Cantley 10m 34ch Acle 12m 13ch Reedham 12m 34ch Reedham Junction 15m 71ch Berney Arms Breydon Junction ↑ 18m 29ch ↖ 20m 45ch Great Yarmouth River Yare Haddiscoe(original) 16m 11ch Haddiscoe Haddiscoe Junction Yarmouth-Beccles Line River Waveney 18m 00ch Somerleyton 22m 01ch 22m 04ch Oulton Broad North 22m 14ch East Suffolk Line Yarmouth-Lowestoft Line 23m 41ch Lowestoft

The Wherry Lines are railway lines in England, from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. These lines pass through The Broads. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11 and is classified as a rural line.^[1] The name of the line is taken from the Norfolk wherries, which played an important role in the transport of goods and people around the broads before road and rail transport became widespread.

History

The line was first opened from Norwich to Great Yarmouth by the Norwich and Yarmouth Railway in 1844, running via Reedham. The link from Reedham to Lowestoft was added in 1847 by Samuel Morton Peto as part of the Norfolk Railway. Finally, the northern route from Norwich to Great Yarmouth was added in 1882 by the Great Eastern Railway.

Community rail

On 1 February 2007, the services operating on the line were designated community rail services^[2] as part of The Community Rail Development Strategy which aims to increase passenger numbers and income, improve the management of costs, and develop a greater sense of community involvement.^[3]

Infrastructure

The lines from Norwich to Brundall and on to Lowestoft are double track with the lines between Brundall and Great Yarmouth and Reedham and Great Yarmouth being single track. The line is not electrified, has a loading gauge of W8 except between Lowestoft and Oulton Broad North junction where it is W6, and has a line speed of between 40-60 mph.

Rolling stock

Passenger services are provided by Abellio Greater Anglia, using Class 153 "Super Sprinter", Class 156 "Super Sprinter" or Class 170 "Turbostar" diesel multiple units in 2015 as a stop gap measure Abellio Greater Anglia introduced DRS class 37 locomotive hauled services due to a shortage of rolling stock. As the routes are not electrified. Nearly all services on the line run to/from Norwich. But some summer Saturday services are extended to/from Liverpool Street via Norwich which run to/from Great Yarmouth, these are formed of British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives with Mk3 Coaching Stock, which are dragged from Norwich by a British Rail Class 47 diesel locomotive.

References

1. ↑ "Route 7 - Great Eastern" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
2. ↑ "Community rail - new life for local lines". Department for Transport. 
3. ↑ "Community Rail Development Strategy". Department for Transport. 

External links

• The Wherry Lines
• YARMOUTH AND NORWICH RAILWAY - Parliamentary debate - 1842 Hansard
• A Map with the locations of the stations

Railway lines in the East of England Primary North–South East Coast Main Line Hertford North Stevenage Peterborough Midland Main Line Luton Airport Parkway Luton Bedford West Coast Main Line Watford Junction London–Norwich Great Eastern Main Line Shenfield Chelmsford Witham Marks Tey Colchester Manningtree Ipswich Norwich Secondary Hertford Loop Line Lea Valley Lines London, Tilbury and Southend Line Thameslink Watford DC Line West Anglia Main Line Cambridge Others Abbey Line Birmingham to Peterborough Line Bittern Line Braintree Branch Line Breckland Line Crouch Valley Line East Suffolk Line Ely to Peterborough Line Felixstowe Branch Line Fen Line Gainsborough Line Hertford East Branch Line Hitchin–Cambridge Line Ipswich to Ely Line Marston Vale Line Mayflower Line Peterborough to Lincoln Line Shenfield to Southend Line Sunshine Coast Line Wherry Lines Heritage Colne Valley Railway Epping Ongar Railway Lincolnshire Wolds Railway Mid-Norfolk Railway North Norfolk Railway Mangapps Farm Railway Mid-Suffolk Light Railway