Woodbridge railway station

Woodbridge railway station is on the East Suffolk Line in the east of England, serving the town of Woodbridge, Suffolk. It is 10 miles 19 chains (16.5 km) down the line from Ipswich and 79 miles (127 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; it is situated between Westerfield and Melton. Its three-letter station code is WDB.

Woodbridge
Location
Place	Woodbridge
Local authority	East Suffolk
Coordinates	52.090°N 1.318°E / 52.090; 1.318
Grid reference	TM273487
Operations
Station code	WDB
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.204 million
2015/16	0.203 million
2016/17	0.205 million
2017/18	0.206 million
2018/19	0.210 million
History
Original company	East Suffolk Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
1 June 1859	Opened
18 April 1966	Closed to freight
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Woodbridge from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station was opened in 1859. Today it is managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains that call.

History

The railway line connecting the East Suffolk Railway (ESR) at Halesworth with the Eastern Union Railway (EUR) (although since 1854 this had been leased by the Eastern Counties Railway) at Ipswich was built in two parts: the portion of this line south of Woodbridge was built by the EUR; Woodbridge station and the portion of line north of there was built by the ESR.[1] The line opened on 1 June 1859,[1] and Woodbridge station opened with the line.[2] The ESR was absorbed by the ECR on opening day.[1] The station buildings were designed by Frederick Barnes, who also designed other Suffolk stations such as Thurston, Elmswell and Bealings.[3]

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

On 1 January 1927 there was a train crash at Woodbridge station. A wagon coupling had broken at Bealings and when the engine stopped at Woodbridge, the rear portion running downhill smashed into the back of the stationary train. Only one minor injury was recorded.[6]

The station's goods yard closed on 18 April 1966.[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 branding 'one', which was renamed National Express East Anglia in 2008. In 2012, the franchise passed to the current operator, Abellio Greater Anglia.

On 28 January 2003 a train collided with a car on the ungated level crossing leading to the marina.[8]

On 13 December 2010 a train hit a car on a level crossing close to Woodbridge station.[9]

Services

As of December 2019 the typical Monday-Sunday off-peak service at Woodbridge 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.[10]

Notes

1. Allen 1956, p. 216.
2. Butt 1995, p. 253.
3. Robertson, Alic (January 2017). "Focus on Woodbridge (letter)". Great Eastern Journal. 169: 45.
4. Allen 1956, p. 46.
5. Allen 1956, p. 199.
6. Cooper 1982, p. 33.
7. McCarthy, McCarthy & Cobb 2007, p. 112.
8. BBC 2003.
9. Adwent 2011.
10. Table 13 National Rail timetable, May 2016

References

• Adwent, Colin (11 April 2011). "Woodbridge: Driver to face court after rail crash probe". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 1 September 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Allen, Cecil J. (1956) [1955]. The Great Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). Hampton Court: Ian Allan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Car and train collide at crossing". BBC News. 28 January 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Cooper, John M (1982). East Suffolk Railway. Oakwood Press. ISBN 085361 285 4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Train times and station information for Woodbridge railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Melton		Abellio Greater Anglia East Suffolk Line		Westerfield
Historical railways
Melton Line and station open		Great Eastern Railway East Suffolk Railway		Bealings Line open, station closed