Felixstowe railway station is the eastern passenger terminus of the Felixstowe Branch Line, in the east of England and is the only surviving station serving the coastal town of Felixstowe, Suffolk. It is down the line from and measured from London Liverpool Street; the preceding station on the line is . Its three-letter station code is FLX.

It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1898 as Felixstowe Town to distinguish it from the other stations at and , both of which have since closed.

The station is owned by Network Rail and is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it.

History

The railway from Westerfield to Felixstowe was opened by the Felixstowe Pier and Railway Company on 1 May 1877. The first railway station was at and a second was soon added at . The railway's principal promoter, Colonel George Tomline, was criticised in the Suffolk Chronicle for building the stations where he "thinks people ought to be, rather than where people actually live". It is also claimed that the Beach station was sited there to be away from the Ordnance Hotel, owned by his rival John Chevalier Cobbold.

On 13 July 1891 Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and a relative of Queen Victoria, arrived on a train at Felixstowe Beach station. She and five of her children stayed in the town on holiday until 6 August. This gave the town a boost as a holiday resort. Although the population of the town in 1891 was only 3,507 development was increasing along the higher ground north of the Beach station. By now the railway line had been purchased by the GER which set about obtaining powers in the Great Eastern Railway (General Powers) Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. lii) in June 1893 to divert the railway to Hamilton Road and build a station there. The new Town station was opened on 1 July 1898 by Lord Claud Hamilton, the chairman of the railway company. The direct line from Trimley to Felixstowe Beach was closed and all trains then had to reverse at the Town station before continuing their journey.

A new Orwell Hotel was opened in 1898 opposite the station entrance. More hotels opened in the town around this time, including the luxury Felix Hotel on the sea front in 1903, which was purchased by the GER in 1919 and operated as a railway hotel until it was sold in 1952.

In 1923 the Great Eastern Railway became a part of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). Fewer through trains were run from London than before World War I, but from 1929 until 1939 there was a regular Eastern Belle Pullman service. This train had been operating as the Clacton Pullman but in 1929 was rescheduled to run from London to different LNER resorts in East Anglia each weekday, which resulted in it coming to Felixstowe once a fortnight. It left Liverpool Street at 11:00, took less than two hours to reach Felixstowe, and returned at 19:35. The fare was five shillings.

In 1938 the LNER received new powers to double the Felixstowe Branch Line and enlarge the station. An additional platform was provided at Felixstowe in 1939, but the second track along the branch failed to materialise due to the outbreak of World War II. Bombs fell near the station during the war resulting in some damage to the signal box.

In 1948 the LNER became the Eastern Region of British Railways. Felixstowe Pier station closed on 2 July 1951 and daily services to Felixstowe Beach ceased on 2 November 1959, thereafter running only during summer months. Felixstowe Beach closed in 1967.

thumb|A train for Ipswich leaves the one remaining and shortened platform, with the old station buildings in the right background.

An accelerated passenger service using diesel multiple units was introduced on 15 June 1959. The time from Ipswich to Felixstowe Town was reduced from 35 to 24 minutes which allowed a train to work there and back within an hour. Three Pullman camping coaches were positioned here by the Eastern Region from 1960 to 1965. Freight traffic ended on 5 December 1966. A few months later the branch was converted to "Pay Train" operation, which meant that all fares were collected by the guard, so staff were no longer needed at the station other than a signalman.

The station buildings were listed Grade II on 23 December 1980. They were converted into the Great Eastern Square shopping centre, which opened on 14 March 1985.

On 19 July 1933 a signalling error caused a locomotive to run back into a rake of carriages after it had uncoupled from them. Thirteen people were injured.

Services

thumb|Passengers boarding a train for Ipswich

Trains are operated by Greater Anglia and run throughout the day between Ipswich and Felixstowe, calling at all stations. They run every hour for most of the day, but they start later on Sundays.

References

  • Felixstowe Travel Watch