Great Eastern Main Line

"GEML" redirects here. For the Spanish airport, see Melilla Airport.

Great Eastern Main Line
Greater Anglia class 360 at Marks Tey.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London East of England
Termini	London Liverpool Street 51.5188°N 0.0815°W / 51.5188; -0.0815 (Great Eastern Main Line, London terminus) Norwich 52.6267°N 1.3067°E / 52.6267; 1.3067 (Great Eastern Main Line, Norwich terminus)
Stations	27
Service
Type	Inter City, Commuter rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Greater Anglia c2c Crossrail from 2015
Depot(s)	Norwich Crown Point Clacton-on-Sea Ilford
Rolling stock	Class 90/Mark 3 Class 170 "Turbostar" Class 315 until 2017 Class 317 Class 321 Class 345 from 2017 Class 357 "Electrostar" Liv St - Forest Gate only Class 360 "Desiro" Class 379 "Electrostar" (small section)
History
Opened	1862
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	5 ft (1,524 mm) until 1844
Operating speed	100 mph (160 km/h)
Route map Great Eastern main line mi-ch from London Liverpool Street 114-40 Norwich Bittern line to Sheringham and Wherry lines via Brundall Trowse swing bridge over River Wensum Trowse Norwich Victoria Breckland line to Cambridge River Yare Swainsthorpe Flordon to Wymondham Forncett Tivetshall Waveney Valley line to Beccles Burston Scole 94-43 Diss River Waveney Branch line to Eye Mellis Finningham Mid-Suffolk Light Rly Branch line to Ely Haughley 80-09 Stowmarket River Gipping 77-07 Needham Market Claydon River Gipping Bramford River Gipping East Suffolk line to Lowestoft Ipswich Goods Yard to Lower Yard and Ipswich Docks Ipswich depot 68-59 Ipswich Stoke Tunnel ( 16 ch 320 m ) Ipswich Stoke Hill Griffin Wharf branch (goods only) Hadleigh Rly to Hadleigh Bentley River Stour Mayflower line to Harwich Town 59-35 Manningtree Ardleigh Sunshine Coast Line to Clacton and Walton 51-52 Colchester Colchester depot River Colne 46-49 Marks Tey Gainsborough line to Sudbury River Blackwater Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Rly to Tollesbury Pier 42-18 Kelvedon Maldon branch line Branch line to Braintree 38-48 Witham River Brain 35-74 Hatfield Peverel Beaulieu Park (planned) River Chelmer 29-60 Chelmsford Chelmsford Viaduct A12 road 23-50 Ingatestone Shenfield–Southend line to Southend Victoria Shenfield Junction 20-16 Shenfield 18-16 Brentwood M25 motorway 14-76 Harold Wood A127 road Gidea Park carriage sidings 13-41 Gidea Park Branch line to Upminster 12-30 Romford Romford OHL depot Crowlands 9-79 Chadwell Heath 9-23 Goodmayes 8-46 Seven Kings Fairlop Loop (now site of Ilford depot) 7-29 Ilford River Roding North Circular Road Ilford flyover 6-20 Manor Park to Barking Forest Gate Junction Gospel Oak to Barking line 5-21 Forest Gate 4-39 Maryland Temple Mills branch line to West Anglia Main Line 4-03 Stratford North London line to Richmond Waterworks River Thornton Fields carriage sidings City Mill River Bow Midland Yard Elizabeth line   River Lea Bryant and May works Temple Mills line Bow Junction Bow Curve to London Fenchurch Street Coborn Road Regent's Canal Globe Road & Devonshire Street Bethnal Green East Junction West Anglia Main Line and Lea Valley lines 1-10 Bethnal Green Bethnal Green West Junction East London line Bishopsgate Wheler Street Junction 0-00 London Liverpool Street 1 2 3 1 Suburban line 2 Main line 3 Electric line Connection to Metropolitan Railway

The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a 133 mile major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. The main markets are commuter travel to London, particularly to the City of London and Docklands, and business and leisure travellers. The route also provides the main artery for substantial freight traffic between the Port of Felixstowe, Harwich International Port and the rest of Great Britain, via London.

History

See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain

The earliest section of the line operated between Devonshire Street railway station (Mile End) and Romford from 1839 and was built by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). The London terminus was then moved to Bishopsgate railway station (initially known as Shoreditch) on 1 July 1840 and the line was extended out to Brentwood in the same year. A further 51 miles of route was added to link London with Colchester by 1843. The original gauge for the line was 5 ft (1,524 mm), but this was converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge in 1844.

The section of line between Colchester and Ipswich was built by the Eastern Union Railway to standard gauge and opened for passenger traffic on 15 June 1846 and the route to Norwich (Norwich Victoria railway station) opened in 1849.

Eastern Counties Railway and Eastern Union Railways and others were amalgamated to form the Great Eastern Railway in 1862.

The London terminus was again moved, this time to Liverpool Street on 2 February 1872.

The line was 'grouped' into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923 and from 1948 formed part of the Eastern Region of British Railways.

In the 1930s a flyover was constructed just west of Ilford to switch the main and electric lines over, to enable main line trains to utilise Liverpool St's longer west side platforms without having to cross east side suburban traffic in the station throat. The new arrangement also facilitated cross-platform interchange with the Central line at Stratford, services commencing in 1946. Either side of Ilford Flyover, there are single-track connections between the slow and fast pairs of lines, with the westbound track extending to Manor Park railway station and just beyond. A short fifth platform face serves the track at Manor Park, but it sees no normal use. The eastbound track extends as far as Ilford, connecting with that station's fifth (bay) platform, which does see frequent rush hour services. It was also envisaged that a flyover would be built at the country end of Gidea Park Carriage Sidings to allow Southend Victoria trains to change from the fast line to the slow line, instead of at the London end of Shenfield as they do now.

Plans were drawn up in the 1930s to electrify the suburban lines from Liverpool Street to Shenfield at 1500 V DC and work was started on implementing this. However, the outbreak of the Second World War brought the project to a temporary halt and it was not until 1949 that the scheme was completed with electrification being extended to Chelmsford in 1956.

The British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan called for overhead line systems in Great Britain to be standardised at 25 kV AC. However, due to low clearances under bridges the route was electrified at 6.25 kV AC. The section between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria was completed in November 1960. Extensive testing showed that smaller electrical clearances could be tolerated for the 25 kV system than originally thought necessary. As a result it was now possible to increase the voltage without having to either raise bridges or lower the tracks along the route to obtain larger clearances. The route between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria was converted to 25 kV AC between 1976 and 1980 Electrification was extended Colchester in 1961 by BR's Eastern Region and finally to Norwich by 1987.

In 1986 it became part of Network SouthEast. Between 5 January 1997 and 31 March 2004, suburban and medium distance services were operated by First Great Eastern, while fast mainline services were operated by Anglia Railways. All services are now operated by Greater Anglia.

Liverpool Street IECC replaced signal boxes at Bethnal Green (closed 1997), Bow (closed 1996), Stratford (GE panel closed 1997), Ilford (closed 1996), Romford (closed 1998), Gidea Park (closed 1998), Shenfield (closed 1992) and Chelmsford (closed 1994). The system uses BR Mark 3 solid state interlockings, predominantly four-aspect signals and a combination of Smiths clamp-lock and GEC-Alsthom HW2000 point machines.

The first signalbox to be closed and transferred to Liverpool Street IECC was Shenfield, which had only opened in 1982. The last boxes to be transferred were at Romford and Gidea Park, and were the oldest of those being transferred, having been opened under the GER/LNER 1924 resignalling scheme.

Accidents

• 1840 - Brentwood bank; 4 killed
• 1850 - Brentwood station; 9 workman killed in dense fog Brentwood railway station
• 1905 - Witham rail crash; 11 killed, 71 injured
• 1915 - Ilford rail crash; 10 killed, 500 injured
• 1944 - Ilford rail crash: 9 killed, 38 injured
• 1947 - Gidea Park 7 killed, 45 injured

Infrastructure

The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail. It is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, is composed of SRS's 07.01, 07.02 and 07.03, and is classified as a primary line. The line has a loading gauge of W10 between Liverpool Street and Haughley junction and from there is W9 to Norwich. It has a line speed of between 80-100 mph.

The main line is electrified at 25 kV AC using overhead wires and comes under the control of Romford Electrical Control Room. The branches to Upminster, Southend Victoria, Southminster, Braintree, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich Town are also electrified.

In between Romford and Chadwell Heath there is a small Network Rail OLE depot adjacent to the Jutsums Lane overbridge. In addition at the London end of the depot is Network Rail's Electrical Control Room that controls the supply and switching of the OHL system for the whole of the former Anglia Region.

Signalling is controlled by two main signalling centres, Liverpool Street IECC (opened in 1992) and Colchester PSB (opened in December 1983). Liverpool Street IECC controls signalling up to Marks Tey, where it fringes with Colchester PSB, which has control to Norwich. There are also several small signal boxes that control local infrastructure, such as Ingatestone box, which has jurisdiction over several local level crossings.

Track layout

On leaving Liverpool Street, the route comprises two pairs of tracks, known as the Mains and the Electrics, with a further pair of tracks, the 'Suburbans', which carry the West Anglia Main Line alongside the GE to Bethnal Green Junction. It is possible for GE trains to use the 'Suburbans', but this is extremely rare because of the platform allocations at Liverpool Street.

From Bethnal Green the GE has four lines to Bow Junction, where there is a complex set of switches and crossings. A line from the LTS route joins the up electric and there are a further two lines, the up and down Temple Mills, giving access to the North London line and Temple Mills. The GE is six tracks up to the London end of Stratford and the junction to Temple Mills, and there are five lines through the station dropping to four at the country end.

A flyover just west of Ilford enables main line trains to utilise Liverpool St's longer west side platforms without having to cross east side suburban traffic in the station throat. This arrangement also facilitated cross-platform interchange with the Central line at Stratford. Either side of Ilford Flyover, there are single-track connections between the slow and fast pairs of lines, with the westbound track extending to Manor Park railway station and just beyond. A short fifth platform face serves the track at Manor Park, but it sees no normal use. The eastbound track extends as far as Ilford, connecting with that station's fifth (bay) platform, which does see frequent rush hour services.

At Shenfield the line to Southend Victoria diverges and the main line route drops from four lines to two; this arrangement continues for the vast majority of the way to Norwich. There are several locations where the route has more than two lines, predominantly through stations such as Colchester and Ipswich, along with goods loops, such as at the London end of Ingatestone.

Stoke tunnel

The only railway tunnel on the Great Eastern Main Line is just to the south of the current Ipswich railway station. The 361 yd (330 m) long tunnel was built by Peter Bruff as part of the Ipswich to Ely Line. It was completed in 1846 and it is thought to be the earliest driven on a sharp continuous curve. During the excavation of the tunnel many important fossils were uncovered, including rhinoceros, lion, and, mammoth; the site was known as the 'Stoke Bone Beds'. The finds are considered important in understanding climate change during the Ice Age. This tunnel had the trackbed lowered so the line could accommodate higher container trains.

Rolling stock

Electric locomotive-hauled inter-city trains on Norwich to London service. From 2004 onward, these were updated with refurbished ex-West Coast Main Line locomotives and coaches following the introduction of the Class 390 Pendolino stock on that route.

Electric multiple units for inner and outer suburban passenger trains and diesel multiple units for non-electrified lines. Electric and diesel hauled freight services.

• Class 315 - 318 seats across four cars. Maximum speed 75 mph (121 km/h)
• Class 321 - 307 seats across four cars per trainset, 100 mph (161 km/h)
• Class 360 (Desiro) - four cars per trainset, 100 mph (161 km/h)
• Class 90 with Mark 3 coaches - Inter-city express passenger trains, Maximum speed 110 mph, Running speed 100-105 mph

Current developments

2011 DLR extension

In summer 2011, the DLR extension from Template:LUL stations to Stratford Regional and Stratford International was completed. It is using the former North London Line alignment that runs beside the Jubilee line and will directly link Stratford Regional to its international counterpart, local stations to the south and existing DLR branches in the Royal Docks.

International services from Stratford

Stratford International station opened on 30 November 2009, and is connected to Stratford station by the Docklands Light Railway extension which was completed on 31 August 2011. Stratford International was originally built to serve Eurostar trains to mainland Europe, however these plans never came to fruition.

There are several other potential operators that may use the station for International services including Deutsche Bahn's proposed London-Frankfurt service and the "Transmanche Metro" project to Calais via local stations.

Crossrail

In May 2015, Crossrail will take over the Shenfield metro service and (after 2018) take it via a tunnel through central London and link up with the Great Western Main Line as far as Maidenhead and Heathrow Airport. However, the Crossrail rolling stock is expected to enter service on the GEML in May 2017. The Crossrail service will interchange with remaining Great Eastern Main Line services at Template:LUL stations (via new underground platforms), Template:LUL stations, Romford and Shenfield.

Proposed developments

The Greater Anglia RUS, published in December 2007 outlines a number of developments intended for the Great Eastern route. Other proposals have been announced separately.

• 68 additional carriages to provide longer trains will be introduced between December 2009 and December 2011.
• Extension of platform 10A at Stratford to increase peak flow and capacity during the period 2009-2014.
• Additional path on the Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend routes during the period 2009-2014.
• A turn-back facility at Chadwell Heath during the period 2009-2014.
• A new station at Great Blakenham as part of the SnOasis development near Ipswich, which received its final go-ahead on 6 November 2008.
• In 2015 the 'Shenfield Metro' service will be absorbed by Crossrail and it will form part of its cross-London service from 2018.

Services

Nearly all trains are operated by the Greater Anglia, however as of May 2007 a small number of c2c services operate on the line. This is a throwback to BR days when London Fenchurch Street closed early in the evening as a cost-saving exercise and all services operated from Liverpool Street. c2c also operates from Liverpool Street when engineering work prevents access to Fenchurch Street.

Liverpool Street is the principal passenger destination, although Stratford, with connections to Canary Wharf and its proximity to the 2012 Olympic Park, has grown in significance.

Main line

Fast services utilise the main lines between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. Branch lines diverge at Romford, Shenfield, Witham, Marks Tey, Colchester, Ipswich, Stowmarket and Norwich.

Station	District	Branches
London Liverpool Street	City of London
Stratford	Newham
Romford	Havering	Romford to Upminster Line: Upminster
Shenfield	Brentwood	Shenfield to Southend Line: Southend Victoria / Southminster
Ingatestone	Brentwood
Chelmsford	Chelmsford
Hatfield Peverel	Braintree
Witham	Braintree	Braintree Branch Line: Braintree
Kelvedon	Braintree
Marks Tey	Colchester	Gainsborough Line: Sudbury
Colchester	Colchester	Sunshine Coast Line: Colchester Town / Clacton-on-Sea / Walton-on-the-Naze
Manningtree	Tendring	Mayflower Line: Harwich Town
Ipswich	Ipswich	Felixstowe Branch Line: Felixstowe East Suffolk Line: Lowestoft
Needham Market	Mid Suffolk
Stowmarket	Mid Suffolk	Ipswich to Ely Line: Ely / Cambridge
Diss	South Norfolk
Norwich	Norwich	Wherry Lines: Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft Bittern Line: Sheringham Breckland Line: Cambridge

The section between Stratford and Gidea Park follows the same route as the A118 road.

Slow Line

A high-frequency service operates on the slow lines between Liverpool Street and Shenfield serving all stations. The off-peak service consists of six trains an hour. Some peak trains are scheduled to start or terminate at Ilford and Gidea Park. A limited number of trains also terminate at Stratford and Romford. The line is mostly within Greater London, with two stations in the Brentwood borough of Essex. This line is mostly operated by Class 315s.

Station	Zone	District
London Liverpool Street	1	City of London
Stratford	3	Newham
Maryland	3	Newham
Forest Gate	3	Newham
Manor Park	3/4	Newham
Ilford	4	Redbridge
Seven Kings	4	Redbridge
Goodmayes	4	Redbridge
Chadwell Heath	5	Redbridge
Romford	6	Havering
Gidea Park	6	Havering
Harold Wood	6	Havering
Brentwood	n/a	Brentwood
Shenfield	n/a	Brentwood

Passenger volume

These are the passenger usage statistics from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2010. Please note that Needham Market is the only station on the line that is not served by trains from London.

Station usage
Station name	2002–03	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23
Norwich	2,351,236	2,421,607	2,527,760	2,711,910	3,449,930	3,568,618	3,496,082	3,749,474
Diss	328,606	314,136	325,553	417,857	551,781	559,544	539,234	600,904
Stowmarket	367,331	417,729	453,271	545,670	705,682	751,802	756,484	855,692
Needham Market	12,014	16,237	25,472	37,074	43,987	52,782	58,054	67,056
Ipswich	2,022,546	2,017,300	2,144,935	2,402,852	2,807,395	2,825,352	2,774,536	3,004,678
Manningtree	574,633	719,792	707,782	865,217	910,384	833,888	799,776	890,624
Colchester	4,005,869	4,305,315	4,287,601	4,337,926	4,516,616	4,502,739	4,218,622	4,362,914
Marks Tey	364,979	384,337	400,155	432,073	459,980	443,724	428,804	428,816
Kelvedon	789,487	774,972	759,680	787,033	799,439	797,236	763,240	791,312
Witham	2,173,543	2,261,186	2,307,269	2,342,618	2,341,123	2,277,436	2,076,532	2,159,090
Hatfield Peverel	419,144	418,145	412,523	416,083	398,255	394,420	357,382	357,458
Chelmsford	6,445,365	6,698,243	6,801,193	7,113,065	7,447,696	7,375,452	6,934,970	7,335,952
Ingatestone	554,235	606,007	628,220	630,362	649,324	637,918	596,310	636,170
Shenfield	2,701,210	2,861,253	2,907,917	2,965,886	3,024,519	3,008,422	2,825,598	2,936,428
Brentwood	2,361,639	2,475,272	2,535,139	2,479,150	2,520,143	2,557,092	2,322,842	2,420,930
Harold Wood	1,879,400	1,770,874	1,773,086	3,014,836	3,476,002	3,042,946	2,808,636	2,552,716
Gidea Park	1,838,172	1,689,192	1,670,663	2,703,604	3,172,538	2,587,398	2,401,226	2,467,414
Romford	5,208,851	5,118,900	4,823,860	7,363,378	8,372,672	7,310,172	6,736,060	6,817,246
Chadwell Heath	1,836,872	1,607,729	1,556,568	2,208,567	2,352,716	2,246,672	1,977,616	2,144,996
Goodmayes	1,472,318	1,155,770	1,070,419	1,961,690	2,092,464	1,929,478	1,792,694	2,069,248
Seven Kings	1,694,399	1,174,319	1,095,940	1,567,157	1,764,774	1,657,658	1,528,296	1,708,550
Ilford	3,679,035	2,931,960	2,623,618	5,075,338	6,119,745	5,559,414	5,363,400	6,286,174
Manor Park	875,206	694,315	656,895	1,291,690	1,443,311	1,232,484	1,160,120	1,424,914
Forest Gate	1,209,066	956,231	915,549	1,891,875	2,037,387	1,706,018	1,598,816	1,914,054
Maryland	265,274	197,259	196,927	450,314	503,987	431,350	425,176	501,956
Stratford	2,597,390	7,914,419	7,699,178	13,089,922	13,368,783	12,303,033	12,370,245	17,479,020
London Liverpool Street	38,968,814	50,469,209	47,271,234	55,265,748	57,759,809	55,103,416	51,596,155	55,769,423
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic