Newer Trains For East Suffolk Line
A newer fleet of diesel trains for services between Lowestoft and Ipswich will be deployed by train operator ‘one’ Railway between now and the Autumn. Known as Super Sprinters, these two-car class 156 diesel multiple units will be used on non-through services; they will replace class 150 two-car trains which have been used on the line since 1994. The Class 156 fleet was built two years later than the 150s. The trains feature 8 additional seats, more spacious 2+2 seating, and tables at many seats. Each Class 156 unit will be refurbished with new carpets and seat covers before entering service.
Class 156 units will also be used on the Wherry Lines from Norwich to Lowestoft and Norwich to Great Yarmouth, the Bittern Line between Norwich and Sheringham, from Ipswich to Felixstowe, Ipswich to Cambridge, and the Sudbury Branchline from Marks Tey to Sudbury.
The introduction of Class 156 trains is the second upgrade to services on the East Suffolk Line in just over a month; on 12 December 2004 a new timetable came into effect; it expanded through services to London from one per day to more than half a dozen. At the same time, modern Class 170 trains were put into service on the additional Lowestoft to London direct services.