Train use
From HalesworthTownPlan
Contents |
Agencies
National Express East Anglia
Publications
- Transforming Suffolk : Suffolk’s Community Strategy
- Get on Board - Suffolk County Council
Halesworth Railway Stations
Present Situation
When compared to similarly populated and located Market Town in the United Kingdom, Halesworth fares very well in terms of accessibility to rail services - it boasts it’s own railway station providing a range of regular services to Ipswich, Lowestoft and further afield, i.e. Colchester and London Liverpool Street. One local resident during consultation noted that you can travel to any place worldwide from Halesworth.
The railway service and station is managed by National Express East Coast under the charge of one area Manager.
Currently, rail use is increasing by approximately 10% per annum. This is encouraging news for the rail management who are developing strategies for service improvement.
On weekdays and Saturdays there are 9 trains to Ipswich between 0603 and 2130 hrs. 5 of these go direct through to London Liverpool Street. On Sundays there are 7 trains to Ipswich but none directly through to London. A change at Ipswich is required for onward journeys.
On weekdays thee are 10 trains to Lowestoft between 0742 and 21.30 hrs. There are 7 on Saturdays. On Sundays there are also 7 trains to Lowestoft.
All this provides an acceptable service for both commuters, shoppers and domestic users alike. As one would expect, the trains are well used during peak commuter hours and quiet at other times.
Halesworth station is unmanned and so payment has to be made either on the train or by using the National Express website for advance tickets which are then posted or made available for pick up. In the main, regular commuters are season ticket holders.
There are two railway time table notice boards in Halesworth. One is at the station and the other in the Thoroughfare opposite the Angel Hotel.
A guide to bus and rail services entitled ‘Get on Board’ and produced by Suffolk County Council is readily available at a number of locations within the town, i.e. The Library, the Old Book Shop and the Town Council offices in London Road.
The railway station has it’s own car park which has 20 marked parking spaces and 3 disabled places. There is currently no charge for parking raising the issue about who is parking there, for how long and for what purpose. Part of the car park is used by the Community bus service to park the Community Buses.
The station is a 10 minute walk from the Town shopping area (Thoroughfare) and even less by pedal cycle. There are no bus or taxi services at the station other than the 601 bus service from Halesworth to Lowestoft. (See the bus objective).
Associated Issues
Good rail link and service is crucial to the success of the local tourist industry.
Draft Target
The rail service is generally very good but often underused at Halesworth. To support the ideals of the Regional Transport Strategy to encourage the use of public transport and thus reduce the need for car use, every effort needs to be made to make rail use more attractive.
To this end more effort needs to be made by the station management to modernise and improve the visual impact of the station. Some excellent work is already undertaken by volunteers to maintain flower planters on the platforms.
Consultation showed that there ought to be toilet and possibly refreshment facilities. Station Management claim that this has been considered but would have to see double or even treble the current usage to consider it further.
Also, there are currently no plans to update the platforms or facilities and look to much higher usage. A weed killing train is deployed occasionally so as to keep the track in good running and visual order.
Although the car parking area could benefit from some upgrading, there are no plans for any re - surfacing or line painting. Passenger usage must significantly increase before this could be done.
There are no plans for car park charging.
The fact that rail services are relatively sound must not be grounds for complacency. For many people, fares are still seen as excessive, despite the facility of purchasing advanced tickets and Senior Railcards. For many, the car still seems to be the cheapest and most convenient alternative. Efforts must centre on retaining and improving services.
Action
Excellent work on maintaining services is already done by the East Suffolk Travellers Association (E.S.T.A.) who hold regular meetings involving the rail management. Also very active in representing local people is the Waveney Partnership Transport Group.
A representative from this group to liaise with the above and other voluntary groups with a view to lobbying the Rail Management Authorities to retain and improve rail services and condition of rail facilities.
David Bouette Transport Group
