55-502: The Aldeburgh branch line was a railway branch line linking the town of Saxmundham on the East Suffolk line and the seaside resort of Aldeburgh . There were intermediate stops at Leiston and Thorpeness . Part of the line remains in use for nuclear flask trains servicing Sizewell nuclear power station . The line opened as far as Leiston on 1 June 1859 and was extended by four miles to Aldeburgh on 12 April 1860. The line
110-877: A base at the nuclear reprocessing plant in Sellafield, but in 1998 moved into Carlisle Kingmoor depot which had been disused since 1987. A second depot was opened at Crewe Gresty Bridge in March 2007. This is on the site of a former wagon works. It also operates the Motherwell depot , where it carries out inspection work and re-fuelling. The initial fleet of locomotives were five Class 20/3s which were overhauled at Brush Traction , Loughborough for their new duties. In 1997, six Class 37/6s were purchased from international high speed passenger operator Eurostar . DRS would later build up an extensive fleet of Class 37 and 47 locomotives from various sources. In 2001,
165-674: A carriage(s) dropped off the Lowestoft express services and operated between 1906 and 1939. In the Winter 1951/52 timetable, there were six trains per day each way. In the September 1964 timetable, there were seven trains each way with three through trains to Ipswich one of which continued to Colchester (Mondays to Fridays only). In the opposite direction, only one service originated at Ipswich. No Sunday services. The final 1965/66 timetable showed seven trains each way. The final passenger train
220-553: A certain industrial site such as a power station either because of a location away from the main line or to reduce congestion. They were typically built to lower standards, using lighter rail and shallow roadbeds when compared to main lines. Much of Canada's branch line history relates to large rail transport conglomerates (such as the Grand Trunk , Canadian National , or Canadian Pacific ) which would acquire formerly independent short line railways for use as branch lines, with
275-527: A five-year contract under which it provided Class 47 locomotives to haul the Northern Belle , a luxury passenger train. By 2013, the company was operating 140 passenger charters annually, roughly 100 of which were for the Northern Belle. By April 2018, the train was being hauled by Class 57s operated by West Coast Railways , the owner of the Northern Belle, instead. On 9 January 2012,
330-411: A larger yard, where these railcars are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with other cars destined to similar locations. Because industrial spurs generally have less capacity and traffic than a mainline, they tend to have lower maintenance and signaling (train control) standards. Before the rise of the long-distance trucking in the early 1930s, railroads were the primary means of transportation around
385-485: A location to load and unload railcars without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and railcar capacity depending on the requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of railcars and delivering them to
440-537: A new 2-mile-59-chain (4.4 km) branch to the north of the Sizewell complex, with four sidings, and the creation of an ancillary works yard just east of Leiston. During this time, the existing offloading gantry at the end of the current branch will be mothballed, but brought back into use when all construction works are completed. Locomotives known to have worked the branch include: These locomotives would have most likely been allocated to Ipswich engine shed and it
495-790: A newly created NDA division, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS). During 2006, DRS started a new service, the Tesco Express , on behalf of the Eddie Stobart Group in partnership with Tesco , the UK's largest food retailer, to move containers from Daventry north to Mossend and Inverness using a new dedicated low-emission Class 66 locomotive in Eddie Stobart livery, 66411 Eddie the Engine . A daily service from Grangemouth to Inverness followed in 2009, with another Class 66 in
550-581: A number of Class 33s were purchased. During 2004, three Class 87s were trialed, but returned to their leasing company after six months. During 2008, DRS initiated efforts to acquire Class 57 locomotives; by 2013, it operated nine former Freightliner 57/0s as well as 12 former Virgin Trains 57/3s. On 12 September 2013, it was announced that DRS would be the launch customer for the new Vossloh Euro Dual dual-mode freight locomotive by Vossloh España . These would become Class 88 . DRS took delivery of
605-531: A promotional livery, this time 66414 James the Engine . The Daventry – Scotland Stobart contract transferred to DB Schenker in January 2010, along with the onward daily service to Inverness, though this reverted to DRS operation in summer 2011. In January 2022, DRS and Tesco signed a three-year extension deal; by this point, the company was transporting roughly 12,000 containers for Tesco per month. As of 2021, DRS has stated its intention to grow its presence in
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#1732779902356660-823: A section of the West Rail line . Discontinued services include the Sha Tau Kok Railway and the Wo Hop Shek Branch . A spur line to Siu Sai Wan has been proposed. Delhi On the Delhi Metro , the Blue Line has a Branch Line with 8 Stations, linking Yamuna Bank to Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar ISBT and terminating at Vaishali. The first section of the Branch opened on 8 January 2010 with Anand Vihar as its terminal with six stations. It
715-491: A single track, the journey is 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometres) long and the train takes around two and a half minutes to complete its journey. In North America, little-used branch lines are often sold by large railroads to become new common carrier short-line railroads of their own. Throughout the United States and Canada, branch lines link smaller towns too distant from the main line to be served efficiently, or to serve
770-531: A subsidy for grain transport, and instead allowed railways to absorb branch line subsidies freely without making effort to improve the profitability of the lines. The term "grain-dependent branch lines" began being used as early as 1978 to refer to the special case of these branch lines in agricultural areas whose viability depended on the economics of grain transport. The Western Grain Transportation Act of 1983 addressed this case specifically, but
825-502: A trial service was introduced for six weeks by the NDA for its workers, with DRS supplying a Class 37 to haul four Mark 2 carriages between Carlisle and Sellafield . Although the trial was reported to have been a success, plans to introduce regular services from December 2012 did not materialise until May 2015. To operate these services, DRS purchased a fleet of Mark 2 carriages and had these overhauled at Eastleigh Works . In May 2015,
880-516: Is possible that other smaller classes of engine from that depot would have worked the line. As mentioned Aldeburgh had a small engine shed which was a sub-shed of Ipswich and used to stable the branch locomotive overnight. In the diesel era the following locomotive classes worked freight services: Ipswich shed was one of the first depots to convert to diesel only power and as a result operation of passenger services passed to Diesel Multiple Units based at Norwich. DMU types that are known to have worked
935-454: Is still extant as Leiston Works Railway . 16 chains east of the station was a siding on the north side of the line, to the south of Carr Avenue, east of what is now the Jehovah's Witnesses Hall. It originally served the town gasworks, but was later in service as a coal siding until the 1960s. There was another industrial siding at Sizewell which was originally provided for cattle traffic from
990-532: The Bay of Plenty Region , lines were built inland to provide rail access to large logging operations. Today, many of the branch lines have been closed, including almost all of the general-purpose country lines. Those that remain serve ports or industries far from main lines such as coal mines, logging operations, large dairying factories, and steelworks . In Auckland and Wellington , two branch lines in each city exist solely for commuter passenger trains. For more, see
1045-549: The Class 57 and Class 88 locomotives, have been acquired by DRS during the 2010s. In 2005, DRS was transferred from BNFL to the newly created Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). During early 2021, further restructuring led to DRS, along with sibling subsidiaries Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) and International Nuclear Services (INS), falling under a new NDA division, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS). The origins of Direct Rail Services (DRS) can be traced back to
1100-545: The East Suffolk line to Saxmundham Junction where the Aldeburgh branch diverged eastwards across fields towards Leiston. The line climbs sharply over a ridge of higher ground before falling gently towards the coast. The first station is Leiston ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) which, in addition to having goods sidings, also had the branch line to the south serving the Richard Garrett & Sons works. Part of that line
1155-753: The Gladstone Branch in New Jersey; as well as the New Canaan Branch , Danbury Branch , and Waterbury Branch in Connecticut . The Long Island Rail Road also refers to its services as "branches". In Chile, there are a lot of branch lines on its main line, of only a few remain operational. Most only operating in turistic services (like the Antilhue-Valdivia branch line), others have been taken over by other railways (like
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#17327799023561210-788: The North South Line between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations was operated as a separate line, known as the Branch line . It was merged into the North–South Line with the opening of the Woodlands Extension in 1996. The future Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will also have branch lines. New Zealand once had a very extensive network of branch lines, especially in the South Island regions of Canterbury , Otago , and Southland . Many were built in
1265-564: The Pisa-Rome railway mainline at Roma San Pietro railway station , to Vatican City station . Many British railway branch lines were closed as a result of the " Beeching cuts " in the 1960s, although some have been re-opened as heritage railways . The smallest branch line that is still in operation in the UK is the Stourbridge Town Branch Line from Stourbridge Junction going to Stourbridge Town . Operating on
1320-704: The South Tseung Kwan O Spur Line to LOHAS Park station , opened in 2009. Earlier, a spur line was built in 1985 on the East Rail line to serve Racecourse station , bypassing Fo Tan station . Also, the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension [ yue ] was built in 2004 on the East Rail line to serve East Tsim Sha Tsui station . However, after the Kowloon Southern Link was completed in 2009, this spur line turns into
1375-578: The list of New Zealand railway lines . Direct Rail Services Direct Rail Services ( DRS ) is a rail freight company in Great Britain , and is one of the publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom. DRS was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) during late 1994 with the primary purpose of taking over the rail-based handling of nuclear material from British Rail . As early as 1997,
1430-444: The privatisation of British Rail during the 1990s; British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) had a long-standing arrangement with British Rail for the latter to undertake the haulage of nuclear flask traffic, but the pending dissolution of British Rail led to BNFL considering other options. In October 1994, it was announced that BNFL had decided to perform rail transport and other railway-related services internally. For this purpose, DRS
1485-414: The 1960s. The goods yard there was still open in 1972, when it was recorded as handling military traffic. During the 1920s, a concrete factory existed at Thorpeness and was served by the siding. Building materials for both Sizewell A in the 1960s and Sizewell B power stations between 1987 and 1990 were brought in by rail. Today, trains servicing the power station are the only regular source of traffic on
1540-655: The Daventry Freight Terminal and Mossend Yard, outside Glasgow . The ownership of DRS was transferred from BNFL to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), following the creation of the NDA on 1 April 2005 under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 . Since April 2021, DRS, as well as its sibling NDA subsidiaries Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) and International Nuclear Services (INS), have been operated by
1595-695: The San Rosendo-Talcahuano branch line, which has been taken over by Biotrén and the Laja-Talcahuano train service) however, there is one branch line that still remains as fully operative. The Talca-Constitución branch line, which uses trains with bus motors. Two extensions to the MTR rapid transit network were built as branches of existing lines: the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line to Lok Ma Chau station , which opened in 2007; and
1650-560: The U.S. state of New Jersey . The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line , running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line", at 2.9 mi (4.7 km) it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include
1705-626: The Wherry Lines under contract to Abellio Greater Anglia . It was operated by top and tailed Class 47s hauling Mark 2s, top and tail Class 37s were introduced in mid-2015. Between 30 November 2009 and 28 May 2010, DRS ran a service on the Cumbrian Coast Line between Maryport and Workington following a road bridge being destroyed by floods. The trains were made up of Class 37s , Class 47s and Class 57s top and tailing DRS' Mark 3 carriages. During April 2011, DRS commenced
Aldeburgh branch line - Misplaced Pages Continue
1760-454: The branch include: Branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line . A very short branch line may be called a spur line . Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. An industrial spur is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at
1815-641: The branch, and these are operated by Direct Rail Services who have a depot at nearby Stowmarket . On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that Sizewell was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations. The UK Government confirmed that Sizewell C will go ahead and the branch to the power station will be upgraded. The line will be upgraded with full signalling, new track, ballast and sleepers, and all traincrew operated level crossings (TMO) upgraded to automatic barrier crossings (ABCL). The new works will also involve building
1870-441: The company began diversification into other operations, initially bidding for contracts to haul freight traffic for other companies such as Tesco and Eddie Stobart Group . Furthermore, DRS has branched into passenger services, these have included charters , such as the Northern Belle , and contracts with operators such as National Express East Anglia , Chiltern Railways , and Arriva Rail North . Additional rolling stock, such as
1925-554: The company started to operate some services on the Cumbrian Coast Line under contract to Northern Rail (later Arriva Rail North ) using top and tail Class 37s which hauled Mark 2 coaches. On 27 July 2015, one of the Class 37s was replaced by a DBSO , with the other replaced at a later date. On 29 January 2018, one set was made to be Top and Tail Class 68s, while the other stayed a Class 37 and DBSO. On 21 May 2018, there
1980-788: The first of 15 new Class 68s in February 2014; these are diesel-only versions of the Class 88s which would arrive later. During October 2014, a further ten were ordered followed by another seven in July 2015. In April 2015, two Class 68s commenced operating Fife Circle Line services for Abellio ScotRail . A further batch of six Class 68s (68020–68025) were delivered by on 5 April 2016. On 8 January 2016, DRS announced it would sell 12 of its older locomotives, including one Class 20 locomotive (20312), six Class 37 locomotives (37503/510/521/608/611/670) and five Class 47 locomotives (47810/13/18/28/53) along with two of its Mark 2 coaches. By January 2022,
2035-569: The first president of the Canadian National Railway , said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are even essential to make main lines pay. In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the Staggers Act . The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in
2090-416: The greater flexibility and economic savings of trucking. Today, railroads remain the most economical way to ship large quantities of material, a fact that is reflected in industrial spurs. Most modern day spurs serve very large industries that require hundreds, if not thousands, of carloads a year. There is an international branch line between Italy and Vatican: the 300-metre Vatican Railway , connecting from
2145-588: The haulage of other traffic, having secured a contract to operate milk traffic from Penrith to Cricklewood . In 2002, it commenced running intermodal freight trains from Grangemouth to the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal using Class 66/4 locomotives ; it carries containers for both the Malcolm Group and Asda . In May 2020, DRS announced it had launched a new electrified freight route between
2200-546: The late 19th century to open up inland regions for farming and other economic activities. The branches in the South Island regions were often general-purpose lines that carried predominantly agricultural traffic, but lines elsewhere were often built to serve a specific resource: on the West Coast , an extensive network of branch lines was built in rugged terrain to serve coal mines, while in the central North Island and
2255-460: The latter to provide six of its Class 68 locomotives to haul express passenger services, replacing Class 67s hired from DBS. On 15 December 2014, the first of DRS-hauled Chiltern service departed Marylebone station ; Chiltern noted that the Class 68s will be capable of hauling extended trains in the future. In addition to the locomotives themselves, DRS provided commissioning and maintenance services. Direct Rail Services initially operated from
Aldeburgh branch line - Misplaced Pages Continue
2310-448: The local marshes, and this location (to the east of Sizewell Sports Club, south of King George's Avenue) is the present day terminus of the line. It is believed this siding was opened in 1860. Thorpeness station ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) was a single platform affair, and in latter years its station buildings consisted of three former carriage bodies supported at the back by concrete sleepers. The three carriages were recorded as: There
2365-439: The power station. Whether this would mean the re-opening of Leiston station or a new station is currently unclear. Initial freight services would have included agricultural produce and coal. Up until 1914, there was a good trade in fish, but when Aldeburgh harbour became blocked by shingle banks this traffic ceased. From the line's opening, Garrett's establishment was responsible for significant freight traffic, which lasted until
2420-719: The rail freight sector, particular in Scotland . In 2007, seven Mark 3 carriages from Virgin Trains were refurbished at the Oxley depot . The following year saw the coaches used to operate charter services under the Stobart Rail banner, however, the Stobart Rail operation ceased in July 2008. In June 2009, DRS commenced operating rescue locomotive duties on the Great Eastern Main Line for
2475-572: The railways had owned. However, by the mid-20th century, railways began neglecting lines in western agricultural regions. This was historically driven by factors such as the Crow Rate , which regulated the price railways could charge for shipping grain. Railways had little incentive to invest in rural Prairie branch lines, but were legally unable to abandon them under the National Transportation Act , which also did not provide
2530-833: The short line often continuing to exist as a subsidiary. For example, when the Canadian Pacific acquired the Algoma Eastern Railway (a short line) in 1930, it soon after abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline, but retained sections close to Algoma Eastern–Canadian Pacific junctions as short branch lines or spurs. The National Transportation Act of 1967 provided government subsidies for branch lines. Western railway development in Canada worked in concert with land settlement and cultivation, as pioneers were settled near railway lines, often on land
2585-472: The train operator National Express East Anglia , as well as hauling Class 90 electric locomotives from Norwich to Great Yarmouth on summer Saturdays. This included Summer Saturday Wherry Lines services. DRS have periodically operated services on the Wherry Lines during periods of diesel multiple unit shortage. During October 2014, it commenced operating a two-year contract to operate services on
2640-467: The world. Industries of the era were commonly built along railroad lines specifically to allow for easy access to shipping. Short (under a mile, oftentimes only several hundred yards) industrial spurs with very small (under ten car) capacities were a common sight along railroads in industrial and rural cities alike. As automobile and roadway technology improved throughout the early and mid-20th century, most low volume industry spurs were abandoned in favor of
2695-848: Was a siding provided here from 1921 for goods traffic. The terminus of the line at Aldeburgh consisted of a single platform with an attractive overall roof – quite an unusual feature for the Great Eastern . The station building was a two-storey affair. There was a small goods shed as well as a small engine shed at this location. A hotel (The Railway Hotel) was built at the same time next to the station; it later became The Railway Tavern and exists today as The Railway Inn. In April 1860, there were 5 trains each way between Aldeburgh and Saxmundham. In October 1921, there were 8 services each way, two of which were shown as mixed. In 1922, there were direct services to Aldeburgh from London Liverpool Street Station (journey time 3 hours 33 minutes). These consisted of
2750-504: Was further extended to Vaishali in 2011. The line is planned to be extended from Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via Sahibabad Station to link with the main line. The East West Line of the MRT system in Singapore has a two-station branch to Changi Airport . The first station, Expo , opened in 2001. It was extended to Changi Airport station the next year. From 1990 to 1996, the section of
2805-468: Was only one set out, which was the Top and Tail Class 68s only running between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. This service was ultimately replaced by Class 156 Diesel Multiple Units (transferred from ScotRail ) on 28 December 2018, with special commemorative 'farewell' service being run for charity on 11 January 2019. In June 2014, it was announced that Chiltern Railways had signed a contract with DRS for
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#17327799023562860-563: Was proposed by Samuel Morton Peto and supported by local agricultural machine manufacturer Richard Garrett . The Leiston Works Railway operated to link the line to Garrett's Leiston works. Operated initially by the Eastern Counties Railway , it was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. Most trains started their journey at Saxmundham railway station and travelled half a mile northwards along
2915-502: Was repealed in 1994 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement and budget-balancing initiatives in favour of a one-time payout by the federal government directly to farmers, to arrange transport of grain themselves. From the mid-1970s to the late 2010s, more than 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Prairie branch lines were abandoned or had a discontinuance of service. David Blyth Hanna ,
2970-609: Was set up as a wholly-owned rail freight subsidiary of BNFL, initially using a small fleet of five Class 20/3 locomotives. Prior to 1998, DRS's nuclear haulage activities were exclusively related to the transporting of nuclear fuel rods from overseas to Sellafield for processing. During 1998, DRS took over the movement of fuel rods from various nuclear power stations across Britain , such as Heysham , Valley (for Wylfa) , Bridgwater (for Hinkley Point) , Berkeley (for Oldbury) , Hunterston , Torness , Seaton Carew , Dungeness and Sizewell . During 1997, DRS began to diversify into
3025-567: Was worked over the branch by British Rail Metro-Cammell diesel multiple units numbers 79066 and 79282. Driver Skeels from Ipswich engine shed was at the controls. The event was filmed. In September 2011, Suffolk County Council investigated the possibility of running train services between Saxmundham and Leiston Stations using a Parry People Mover light railcar. In connection with the construction of Sizewell C power station, train operator DRS were in June 2012 considering passenger services to serve
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