Here are the 10 most used train stations in Suffolk including Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket, Ipswich and Lowestoft
New figures have revealed the most used train stations in Suffolk.
SuffolkNews has already compiled the 10 least used stops in our county, with one station having just 562 entries and exits across April 2022 to March 2023.
And now, using the ‘all entries’ statistic in the new figures released by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), here are the top 10 most used stations in Suffolk.
10: Beccles – 111,814 entries and exits:
This list starts with the East Suffolk line, with Beccles ranking as the 10th most used station in Suffolk with more than 111,000 entries and exits.
It is situated between Oulton Broad South and Brampton, both of which featured on the 10 least used stations, of which it carried two and 11 times more passengers respectively.
The figures show an increase of nearly 15,000 rail users compared to the previous year.
The station originally opened in 1854.
9: Saxmundham – 157,214 entries and exits:
An increase of 45,000, compared to Beccles, makes Saxmundham the ninth most used station.
Also on the East Suffolk line and four stops down from Beccles, more than 157,000 passengers passed through the station in the last period.
It is situated between Wickham Market and Darsham, making it similar to Beccles in that both of its neighbouring stops feature among the 10 least used stations.
Around 18,000 more passengers used Saxmundham than the previous year.
8: Woodbridge – 189,784 entries and exits
Woodbridge ranks as the eighth most used station in Suffolk, beating Saxmundham by around 32,000 more passengers.
One stop down from county town Ipswich, the station is also on the East Suffolk Line.
It also continues the same structure as its preceding two stations, as with Melton and Wickham Market either side of it, it is situated between two of the least used stations in the county.
Woodbridge experienced a passenger rise of around 21,000 year on year.
7: Felixstowe – 218,542 entries and exits:
The seventh most used station in Suffolk marks the first single-platformer of the list in Felixstowe.
The eastern terminus of the Felixstowe Branch line, it is preceded by Trimley St Mary, which features among the 10 least used stations in the county.
Trains from the station run to Ipswich, with the aforementioned Trimley followed by Westerfield and Derby Road.
There were 25,470 more rail users out of Felixstowe in the last period, with more than 218,000 in total.
6: Sudbury – 278,534 entries and exits:
Another single platformer in Sudbury follows Felixstowe as the sixth most used station in Suffolk.
Trains from the town run to Marks Tey to form part of the Great Eastern Main Line, with commuters able to get to Norwich and London from there.
Sudbury is the northern terminus of the Gainsborough line, with trains going on to and coming from Bures.
It doubles the year on year increase of its fellow single platformer Felixstowe, with more than 54,000 more passengers in the last period.
5: Newmarket – 303,332 entries and exits:
This list’s trio of single platformers concludes with fifth placed Newmarket, boasting over 300,000 entries and exits in the last period.
First opening in 1902, the station encompasses services from Ipswich to Cambridge.
Situated between Dullingham and Kennett, it has a slight decrease compared to Sudbury in year on year passenger numbers, but still a general increase with over 47,000 more passengers.
It is just over 700 metres south of the original Newmarket railway station, which opened in 1848.
4: Lowestoft – 396,618 entries and exits:
A sharp increase of nearly 100,000, compared to the previous entry, makes Lowestoft the fourth most used station in Suffolk.
The easternmost station on the National Rail network in the UK, it saw just under 400,000 entries and exits in the last period.
It acts as the eastern terminus of the East Suffolk line, as well as one of two eastern termini for the Wherry Lines, with the other being Great Yarmouth.
Lowestoft saw a slightly lower passenger increase than Newmarket, with around 41,500 more entries and exits than the previous period.
3: Bury St Edmunds – 698,282 entries and exits:
Third place on this list goes to Bury St Edmunds, with over 300,000 more entries and exits than preceding Lowestoft.
Just under 700,000 passengers passed through the West Suffolk hub in the last period, the largest year on year increase so far of over 133,000.
The station encompasses both the Ipswich to Cambridge and Ipswich to Peterborough lines.
It opened in 1847.
2: Stowmarket – 764,522 entries and exits:
Three stops down from Bury St Edmunds sees this list’s silver medallist of Stowmarket.
The station saw around 764,000 entries and exits in the last period, an increase of around 65,000 on third placed Bury.
On the Great Eastern Main Line, the stop operates on services from Ipswich to Cambridge and Peterborough, as well as Ipswich and Norwich to London Liverpool Street.
Stowmarket saw an increase of around 150,000 rail users year on year.
1: Ipswich – 2,682,574
The only seven-figure entry on this list, Suffolk’s most used train station is Ipswich.
Boasting entry and exit figures nearly four times higher than Stowmarket, more than 2,680,000 users passed through the station in the last period.
Two stops down from Stowmarket on the Ipswich to Cambridge line, the station offers a plethora of services, including Norwich to London Liverpool Street, its own service to Liverpool Street and services to Lowestoft, Peterborough and Felixstowe.
Ipswich saw an increase of over 550,000 rail passengers in the last period.
