Wickham Market
National Rail
General information
LocationCampsea Ashe, East Suffolk
England
Coordinates52°09′04″N 1°23′55″E / 52.1510°N 1.3987°E / 52.1510; 1.3987
Grid referenceTM326557
Managed byAbellio Greater Anglia
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeWCM
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companyEast Suffolk Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Eastern Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 June 1859Opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 50,932
2019/20Increase 55,266
2020/21Decrease 11,570
2021/22Increase 47,570
2022/23Increase 57,274
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Wickham Market railway station is on the East Suffolk Line in the east of England, located in Campsea Ashe, Suffolk, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Wickham Market itself. The station is 15 miles 64 chains (25.4 km) down the line from Ipswich and 84 miles 43 chains (136 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; it is situated between Melton and Saxmundham. Its three-letter station code is WCM.

It is managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains that call.

Wickham Market was formerly a junction for the Framlingham branch line. The branch closed to passenger services in November 1952, and to freight in April 1965.[1]

History

The railway line connecting the East Suffolk Railway (ESR) at Halesworth to an extension of the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) at Woodbridge was built by the ESR, as was the Framlingham branch.[2] The main line and the Framlingham branch both opened on 1 June 1859,[2] and Wickham Market station opened at the same time.[3] The ESR was absorbed by the ECR on opening day.[2]

On 1 July 1862, the ECR and other small railway companies were amalgamated to form the Great Eastern Railway (GER).[4] Upon the 1923 Grouping, the GER was combined with other railways into the London and North Eastern Railway;[5] this in turn was a constituent of British Railways at the start of 1948.

The Framlingham branch closed to passenger trains in November 1952; it retained freight services until April 1965.[6] In the meantime, the goods yard at Wickham Market closed in July 1964.[7]

With the privatisation of British Rail, ownership of the line and station passed to Railtrack on 1 April 1994. The franchise to operate the passenger services on this route was won by Anglia Railways in 1997; in 2004 National Express won the franchise and operated services using the brand name 'one', which was renamed National Express East Anglia in 2008. In February 2012, the operation of the train service was taken over by Abellio Greater Anglia, a company run by Abellio, the trading name of Dutch railways.

Services

As of December 2020 the typical Monday-Sunday off-peak service at Wickham Market is as follows:

Operator Route Rolling stock Typical frequency
Abellio Greater Anglia Lowestoft - Oulton Broad South - Beccles - Brampton (on request) - Halesworth - Darsham - Saxmundham - Wickham Market - Melton - Woodbridge - Ipswich Class 755 1x per hour in each direction

Trains direct to and from London Liverpool Street were withdrawn in 2010.

One weekday early-morning train is extended through to Harwich International and there is a return from there in the evening.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Framlingham summary from Suffolk CAMRA". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Allen 1956, p. 216.
  3. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 250.
  4. ↑ Allen 1956, p. 46.
  5. ↑ Allen 1956, p. 199.
  6. ↑ McCarthy, McCarthy & Cobb 2007, p. 13.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, McCarthy & Cobb 2007, p. 112.
  8. ↑ Table 13 National Rail timetable, May 2016

References

  • Allen, Cecil J. (1956) [1955]. The Great Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). Hampton Court: Ian Allan.
  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  • McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David; Cobb, Michael (August 2007). Waller, Peter (ed.). Norfolk and Suffolk. Railways of Britain. Hersham: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3223-1. 0708/c1.
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Abellio Greater Anglia
Disused railways
TerminusGreat Eastern Railway
Line and station closed
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