Park & Ride terminal, Norwich Airport - geograph

Transport in East Anglia consists of extensive road and rail networks as well as one of England's key regional airports and the country's busiest container port. Despite having very little motorway within their borders, the counties of Suffolk,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

have modern transport links with the rest of the country.

Airports

Norwich Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England, north of Norwich. In 2017, Norwich Airport was the 28th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in the East Anglia region. Norwich Airport has a CAA Public Use Aero ...

is the major passenger airport within East Anglia. In 2011 it was the 25th busiest airport in the United Kingdom and deals with over 400,000 passengers a year.Airport will benefit from extra Amsterdam flights
, ''Eastern Daily Press'', 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-02-12. Airlines operating from the airport include

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline based at Glasgow Airport near Paisley, Scotland. It is the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size. In addition to its main base at Glasgow, it has hubs at Aberdeen, Edinb ...

and

TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The airline is t ...

. Destinations served by the airport include Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, a major European and world hub airport, and domestic locations such as Exeter and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

as well as locations in countries such as Spain, Turkey and Greece. There are a number of other private airfields in the region, including heliports servicing the North Sea oil and gas industry such as at Great Yarmouth – North Denes Airport and at Norwich Airport. Regular flights from

Cambridge Airport Cambridge City Airport , previously Marshall Airport Cambridge UK, is a regional airport in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the eastern outskirts of Cambridge, south of Newmarket Road and west of the village of Teversham, from the ...

operated to destinations such as

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

with occasional flights to other European destinations.Cambridge Airport reinstates scheduled flights
BBC news website, 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2013-05-20.Cambridge Airport Europe business routes announced
BBC news website, 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-05-20.Darwin's Cambridge international flights halted 'temporarily'
BBC news website, 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
''Cambridge News'', 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2014-03-29. All scheduled and charter flights were halted at the end of January 2016 due to a lack of passenger numbers.
'' Cambridge News'', 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2016-02-02.

Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

is located just outside the region in north-west Essex. This is the third busiest airport in the UK and the closest major airport to East Anglia.

Rail

The East Coast Main Line passes through the region with some express trains stopping at

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. Local services on this line also stop at St Neots and

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

. The other Inter City route in the region is the Great Eastern Main Line which has

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

as its terminus. Major stations in the region on this route include

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...

and Diss. Major commuter lines in the region include the

West Anglia Main Line The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...

which connects

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

with

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

and the Cambridge Line which connects the city with London King's Cross. These routes all run north-south and connect the region with London and, in the case of the East Coast Main Line, with cities in the north of Britain. Routes running east-west in the region include connections between Ipswich and Cambridge and onward towards

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

and the line connecting Norwich and

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...

via the Midlands. More local routes include the East Suffolk Line, the

Wherry Lines The Wherry Lines are railway branch lines in the East of England, linking to and . There are 14 stations including the three termini. They form part of Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11 and are classified as a rural line. The line ...

and Bittern Line around Norwich, the Felixstowe Branch Line and the Fen Line connecting Cambridge with

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

. The majority of services in the region are operated by

Abellio Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the J ...

, including all services from London to Norwich. London North Eastern Railway operates services on the East Coast Main Line and

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

operates local services on this line and some services through Cambridge. East Midlands Railway operates services from Norwich to Liverpool and CrossCountry runs trains west from the Cambridge area. The

Dutchflyer ''Dutchflyer'' is an integrated passenger service between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Formerly known as ''Amsterdam Express'', ''Dutchflyer'' is a rail/sea/rail service operated jointly by Stena Line, the Dutch state railway operato ...

service runs from Cambridge and Lowestoft to the port of Harwich to link with the Stena Line ferry service to

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

. A variety of rail freight services run throughout the region. The

Port of Felixstowe The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, is the United Kingdom's busiest containerization, container port, dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2017, it was ranked as 43rd List of busiest container ports, busiest contain ...

is a major focus for these with around 830,000 containers travelling by rail in 2013.Ipswich Chord rail link opens for Felixstowe freight
BBC news website, 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2014-03-29. This equates to over a quarter of all container traffic leaving the port as of early 2013. in June 2013 a new nine track container terminal opened, expanding the number of lines available to 20.Felixstowe port opens new £40m rail terminal
BBC Suffolk news website, 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2013-06-06. The new terminal is the third at the port and the first in the country to be capable of handling 30-wagon trains.Felixstowe: New rail terminal at port officially opened by Duke
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-06-26. Freightliner have a depot at Ipswich station. The Ipswich Railway Chord opened in March 2014. This links the East Suffolk Line with the Great Eastern Main Line at Ipswich, allowing easier access to the national rail network for rail freight from Felixstowe.Ipswich: Work progresses on new freight chord
''Ipswich Star'', 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2013-06-08.Felixstowe rail link gets green light
Railway Strategies, 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-06-08.Felixstowe: Work starts on new rail line to take containers off the A14
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2013-06-08.

Road

Two small stretches of motorway run through East Anglia, with the end of the M11 south of

and sections of the A1 in

and around

being classed as motorway. Main trunk routes maintained by

Highways England National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all f ...

in the region include the A1, A11, A12, A14 and A47. A variety of other major roads run through the region, maintained by county councils. The A14 is particularly significant as an east-west route, linking the

with the Midlands and the national motorway network through Cambridgeshire.Scheme to improve the A14 is confirmed
BBC news website, 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2013-06-12.A14 Cambridgeshire: lower toll favoured by study
BBC news website, 2012-11-12. It has been described as "one of most important and clogged up arteries in Great Britain" and as a key route with "strategic national importance".A14 toll road between Huntingdon and Cambridge gets government backing
BBC new website, 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-06-27. Proposals to upgrade the route were put forward in 2012 and received government backing in June 2013.A14 toll in Cambridgeshire proposed by government
BBC news website, 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-06-12.A14 upgrade to be toll road paid for by motorists
BBC news website, 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2013-06-12. The project was originally planned to include a toll section between Cambridge and the A1. Local authorities and businesses pledged to contribute at least £100 million towards the improved route,A14 upgrade: Meeting discusses "innovative" funding
BBC news website, 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2013-06-27.A14 upgrade: Treasury to announce decision on Thursday
BBC news website, 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2013-06-27.A14 toll road could be bad for ports, businesses say
BBC news website, 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2013-06-28. although concerns were raised that the toll would discourage haulage companies off using the route and isolate ports on the Suffolk coast.A14 toll road would 'uniquely affect' Suffolk
BBC news website, 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-03. In December 2013 the plan to fund the road through tolls was dropped with the developments to be funded from general taxation.Plan to use tolls to fund A14 improvements abandoned
BBC news website, 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-03-29.A14 toll charge plan rejection 'victory for common sense'
BBC news website, 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2014-03-29.Plans for A14 toll road in East Anglia 'to be dropped'
''The Guardian'', 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-03-29. Work on the project is expected to begin in 2016 and cost £1.5 billion.

Bus services

Bus services in East Anglia are run by a number of operators.

First Eastern Counties First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...

is the main operator in Suffolk and Norfolk, while

Stagecoach East Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England. History Under the control of the National Bus Company, ''Cambus Ltd.'' was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was split in ...

are the main operator in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

coach services run from London to major cities in the region including Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Cambridge. A large number of other bus companies run local services throughout the region. The

Cambridgeshire Guided Busway The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, known locally as The Busway, connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is the longest guided busway in the world, overtaking the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Au ...

opened in August 2011 as a dedicated bus route linking the centre of Cambridge with

Cambridge Science Park The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge. ...

, St Ives and

.Cambridgeshire guided busway opens to passengers
BBC Cambridgeshire news website, 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2013-02-12. The route is believed to be the longest guided busway in the world.

Cycle routes

East Anglia is well suited to cycling with a generally flat landscape. A number of

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

routes run through the region, including

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal , Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. Leaves Dover passing Dover Castle. S ...

. Provision for cyclists is good in some of the major towns within the region with

having the highest level of cycle use in the UK with between 18% and 25% of residents travelling to work by bicycleCambridge announced as national cycling town
, Press release, Cambridgeshire County Council, 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2013-02-12.Cambridge 'barometer' could count city's bike journeys
BBC Cambridgeshire news website, 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-17. and nearly 50% of residents cycling at least once a week - the highest figure of any town or city in the UK - in a Sport England survey published in 2012.Cambridge beats Oxford in DfT cycling survey
BBC news website, 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-06-17.

Ports

Aerial view of the dock at the Port of Felixstowe

The

is the busiest container port in the United Kingdom and is a key gateway for container traffic into the country dealing with over 40% of container traffic.Felixstowe plays down London Gateway threat
''Daily Telegraph'', 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2013-06-26. The port is operated by

Hutchison Ports Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH; ), trading as Hutchison Ports (), is a private holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The port operator group is a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings (formerly Hutchison Whampoa). Some ...

, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, and employs over 2500 people as of 2013.Port of Felixstowe
, ''Eastern Daily Press''. Retrieved 2013-06-26. A £300 million expansion to the port was completed in 2011 and a new rail terminal opened in June 2013.The Port of Felixstowe is getting a £300m extension
BBC Suffolk news website, 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2013-06-06.Port of Felixstowe's new crane should ease congestion
BBC Suffolk news website, 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2013-06-06. The A14 provides road links to the port. Other significant ports in the region include

Ipswich dock The Ipswich Docks, Ipswich wet dock and the wet dock,) are a series docks in Port of Ipswich located at a bend of the River Orwell which has been used for trade since at least the 8th Century. A wet dock was constructed in 1842 which was 'the big ...

s, the

Port of Lowestoft The Port of Lowestoft is a harbour in Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk owned by Associated British Ports. It is the most easterly harbour in the United Kingdom and has direct sea access to the North Sea. The harbour is made up of two ...

, Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour,

King's Lynn Docks King's Lynn Docks are located to the north of the town of King's Lynn in the English county of Norfolk.''OS Explorer Map 23” (Edition A 1997) – “Norfolk Coast West''. . They are on the River Great Ouse which provides access to the North S ...

and Wisbech Port. Ipswich deals with more than two million tonnes of cargo a year and has freight rail links on site.ABP short sea ports
Associated British Ports. Retrieved 2013-02-12. King's Lynn and Wisbeach are focussed on dealing with agricultural products from the surrounding farmland, whilst Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth play an important role in servicing the North Sea energy industries, including the growing offshore wind energy industry.Wisbech Port
, Fenland District Council. Retrieved 2013-02-12. A number of smaller ports and leisure harbours, such as at

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

and

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

operate around the region's coast. The major freight and passenger port of

Harwich International Port Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite the Port of Felixstowe. The port was formerly kn ...

is located just to the south of Felixstowe in Essex. Ferry services run from here to

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

. Within the region a number of local vehicle and passenger ferry services remain in service, including the Reedham Ferry across the

River Yare The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network. The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the vil ...

in Norfolk and the King's Lynn passenger ferry across the River Great Ouse.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Transport in England by locality East Anglia Transport in the East of England