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Breckland Line
The Breckland line is a secondary railway line in the east of England that links in the west to in the east. The line runs through three counties: Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. It takes its name from the Breckland region of Norfolk, and passes through Thetford Forest. The line is in length from where it branches off the Fen line north of to where it joins the Great Eastern Main Line south of Norwich. There are 12 stations on the line including the termini. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.09 and part of SRS 05.05. It is classified as a secondary line, except between Cambridge and , which is classified as a London and South East commuter line. Passenger services on the Breckland line are operated by Greater Anglia (which manages all of the stations), CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, and Great Northern. History Following the successful opening of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway, the Norwich & Brandon Railway was incorporated in 1 ...
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Heavy Rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleration. It uses passenger railcars operating singly or in multiple unit trains on fixed rails. It operates on separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded (i.e. is fully grade-separated from other traffic). It uses sophisticated signaling systems, and high platform loading. Originally, the term ''rapid transit'' was used in the 1800s to describe new forms of quick urban public transportation that had a right-of-way separated from street traffic. This set rapid transit apart from horsecars, trams, streetcars, omnibuses, and other forms of public transport. A variant of the term, ''mass rapid transit (MRT)'', is also used for metro systems in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Though the term was almost alway ...
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Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, and Felixstowe which has one of the largest container ports in Europe. The county is low-lying but can be quite hilly, especially towards the west. It is also known for its extensive farming and has largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast & Heaths and Dedham Vale are both nationally designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History Administration The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Suffolk, and East Anglia generally, occurred on a large scale, possibly following a period of depopulation by the previous inhabitants, the Romanised descendants of the Iceni. By the fifth century, they had established control of the region. The Anglo-Saxon inhabitants later b ...
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Norwich Railway Station
Norwich railway station (formerly Norwich Thorpe) is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the city of Norwich, Norfolk. It is down the main line (measured via Ipswich) from London Liverpool Street, the western terminus. It is also the terminus of numerous secondary lines: the Breckland Line to ; the Bittern Line to ; and the Wherry Lines to and . The station is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates the majority of the trains that serve the station. East Midlands Railway operates the services to via , and . History At one time, there were three railway stations in Norwich. Norwich Thorpe is the current and only remaining station and still known locally as "Thorpe station". was the terminus for some passenger services from London until 1916, as well as being a goods station until its demolition in the 1970s. was the terminus of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line from until it was clo ...
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Trowse Bridge
Trowse Bridge is a single-track railway bridge which carries the Great Eastern Main Line over the River Wensum just outside Norwich in England at . The bridge was originally built in 1845 by George Parker Bidder, was rebuilt in 1905 and again in 1987. Like many swing bridges, the structure first lifts on hydraulic jacks before swinging open to allow the passage of water traffic. The bridge has frequently caused problems with navigation on the river due to its unreliability, leaving it unable to open. It is notable for being the only swing bridge in the United Kingdom to carry an overhead Railway electrification system, electrified railway track (25 kV AC, 25 kV 50 Hz). Other examples can be found along the Northeast Corridor in the United States; see for instance Portal Bridge, and the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul. The power supply to trains is provided by an overhead conductor rail instead of a wire, and there are short lengths of overhead conductor rail eith ...
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Norfolk Railway
The Norfolk Railway was an early railway company that controlled a network of 94 miles around Norwich, England. It was formed in 1845 by the amalgamation of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway opened in 1844, and the Norwich and Brandon Railway, not yet opened. These lines were built out of frustration that the Eastern Counties Railway line that was expected to connect Norwich to London failed to be completed. The Norfolk Railway also leased the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour company, and built a branch to Dereham and Fakenham, opened in 1846 and 1849 respectively. It was successful in connecting Norwich to the emerging railway network, by connecting at Brandon with a line from London via Cambridge and also a line from the Midlands through Peterborough. However as a local line it was dependent on bigger partners, and it was threatened by new competing lines, so that its independence was always at risk. In 1848 it agreed with the larger Eastern Counties Railway that the ECR would ope ...
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Eastern Counties Railway
The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on the first nine miles at the London end. Construction was beset by engineering and other problems, leading to severe financial difficulties. As a result, the project was truncated at Colchester in 1843 but through a series of acquisitions (including the Eastern Union Railway who completed the link between Colchester and Norwich) and opening of other lines, the ECR became the largest of the East Anglian railways. In 1862 ECR was merged with a number of other companies to form the Great Eastern Railway. Opening In 1835 a surveyor called Henry Sayer presented a plan for a new railway from London to York via Cambridge to London solicitors Dimes & Boyman. Together with John Clinton Robertson who was to become the first secretary of the ECR and e ...
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Norwich & Brandon Railway
The Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) was the second railway in Norfolk, England, after the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR). Its Act of Parliament on 10 May 1844 authorised it to build a line between Norwich and the small town of Brandon, actually just across the border in Suffolk. Construction and opening The line from Norwich to Brandon was constructed by Messrs Grissell & Peto, and the engineers were Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) and George Parker Bidder (1806-1878). It is likely that it was Bidder, rather than Stephenson, who was closely involved with the project on a day-to-day basis. Construction of the 40 miles were completed with a ceremonial opening on 29 July 1845, at the same time as the Eastern Counties Railway celebrated their through route from Shoreditch, London, to Brandon, albeit via the leased Northern & Eastern Railway line from Stratford, London to Newport; the regular passenger service followed on 30 July 1845. The first temporary terminus was just west of th ...
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Yarmouth And Norwich Railway
The Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR) was the earliest railway in Norfolk, England. It was formed after it became apparent that it would be a number of years before the Eastern Counties Railway would extend their railway into Norfolk. Its Act of Parliament of 18 June 1842 authorised the issue of £200,000 worth of shares to build a line between the two towns in its name, via Reedham and the Yare valley. The act laid out fees for the carriage of coal (which would arrive at Yarmouth by sea), bricks, iron, stone,fish and cotton as well as passengers. People The chairman was George Stephenson and the chief engineer was his son Robert assisted by George Parker Bidder whilst the main contractor was Morton Peto. Shareholders included Sir Edmund Henry Knowles Lacon, John Edward Lacon (banker), Charles John Palmer (solicitor) and William Hurry Palmer (shipbuilder). Opening Robert Stephenson calculated the line would take around 18 months to build at a cost of £7,000 per mile. Constr ...
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Thameslink And Great Northern
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern route, Great Northern, Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway), Southern and Gatwick Express services. GTR is a subsidiary of Govia, which is itself a joint venture between the British Go-Ahead Group (65%) and French company Keolis (35%). The franchise was awarded, after repeated delays, to Govia Thameslink Railway on 23 May 2014. On 14 September 2014, GTR took over operations for the prior franchisee First Capital Connect; during July 2015, both Southern and Gatwick Express operations were integrated into GTR. This change made it the largest rail franchise in terms of passengers, staff and fleet in the UK. The franchise has an unusual structure involving a management contract that sees all fare revenues going straight to the Department for Transport (DfT), which in tur ...
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Network Rail Route 5 (West Anglia)
Strategic Route 5 - West Anglia was the designation given by Network Rail, from 2004 to 2009, to a grouping of railway lines in the East of England that encompassed the West Anglia Main Line and its various branch lines. The route provided key services to Cambridge and Stansted Airport as well as supporting suburban services in North London and rural services in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. In 2010, Network Rail restructured its route categorisation. Routes 5 and 7 were merged into Strategic Route D: East Anglia. Strategic route sections The Route was divided into a number of separate Strategic Route Sections (SRS's) that were defined based on route use, infrastructure and historical lines. Railway planning As part of Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan a Route Plan for each route, including Route 5, was published annually. The Route 5 plans for 2008 and 2009 are made available online. Together with Route 7 - Great Eastern and Route 6 - North London Line and ...
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Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including , , , and . Its numerous branches also connect the main line to , , , Harwich and a number of coastal towns including Southend-on-Sea, , and .National Rail, ''Rail Services Around London & the South East'', (2006) Its main users are commuters travelling to and from London, particularly the City of London, which is served by Liverpool Street, and areas in east London, including the Docklands financial district via the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway connections at Stratford. The line is also heavily used by leisure travellers, as it and its branches serve a number of seaside resorts, shopping areas and countryside destinations. The route also provides the main artery for substantial freight ...
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