Great Eastern Main Line

"GEML" redirects here. For the airport with this ICAO code, see Melilla Airport.

The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a 114.5-mile (184.3 km) 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 Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. Its numerous branches also connect the main line to Southminster, Braintree, Sudbury, Harwich and a number of coastal towns including Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Lowestoft.^[1]

Great Eastern Main Line
Class 745 at Colchester in 2020
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London East of England
Termini	London Liverpool Street 51°31′08″N 0°04′53″W / 51.5188°N 0.0815°W / 51.5188; -0.0815 (Great Eastern Main Line, London terminus) Norwich 52°37′36″N 1°18′24″E / 52.6267°N 1.3067°E / 52.6267; 1.3067 (Great Eastern Main Line, Norwich terminus)
Stations	27
Service
Type	Intercity, commuter rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Greater Anglia Elizabeth line c2c (limited services)
Depot(s)	Norwich Crown Point Clacton-on-Sea Ilford Colchester
Rolling stock	Class 345 "Aventra" Class 357 "Electrostar" Class 745 "FLIRT" Class 720 "Aventra"
History
Opened	1862
Technical
Line length	114 miles 40 chains (184.3 km)
Number of tracks	1–6
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	5 ft (1,524 mm) until 1844
Electrification	Mk1 and GEFF 25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Operating speed	100 mph (160 km/h)
Route map

v t e Great Eastern main line
Legend
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 Forest Gate Junction to Gospel Oak to Barking line 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

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 traffic to and from Felixstowe and Harwich, via their respective branch lines. Trains from Southend Airport also run into London via the GEML.^[2]

The Elizabeth line, which fully opened in November 2022, operates services from Shenfield to London Paddington via Liverpool Street, connecting Essex with Central London and West London. Additionally, it provides a direct rail link between the GEML and the Great Western Main Line.

History

See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain

Eastern Counties and Eastern Union Railways (1839–1862)

The first section of the line, built by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR), opened in June 1839 between a short-lived temporary terminus at Devonshire Street in the East End of London and Romford, then in the Havering Liberty in Essex. The London terminus was moved in July 1840 to Shoreditch (later renamed Bishopsgate), after 1900 in the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green, and at the eastern end the line was extended 6 miles (9.7 km) out to Brentwood in the same year. A further 34 miles (55 km) of track was added out to Colchester by 1843.^[3] 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 (EUR) to standard gauge and opened to passenger traffic in June 1846. Its sister company, the Ipswich and Bury Railway, built a line to Bury St Edmunds and this was completed in November 1846. Both companies shared the same office, many directors and key staff, and started operating as a unified company with the EUR name from 1 January 1847. An extension from a new junction at Haughley to Norwich Victoria opened in December 1849, although the position of the latter station was poor and a spur to allow some trains to operate into Norwich (Thorpe) station was opened to regular traffic in November 1851.^[4]

In the late 19th century, the double-track main line was expanded with additional tracks being added to cope with more traffic. In 1854, a third track was added between Bow Junction and Stratford to help accommodate London, Tilbury and Southend Railway services which at that time were operating via Stratford.

Until 1860, trains serving the town of Ipswich used a station called Ipswich Stoke Hill which was located south of the Stoke tunnel. The town's current station is located to the north of the tunnel.

The ECR had leased the EUR from 1854 but by the 1860s, the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble and most were leased to the ECR; they wished to amalgamate formally, but could not obtain government agreement for this until 1862, when the Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed out of the consolidation.^[5]

Great Eastern Railway (1862–1922)

From November 1872, Bishopsgate (Low Level) became a temporary terminus to relieve the main high level Bishopsgate station while the GER was building its new permanent terminus at Liverpool Street. The latter opened in stages from February 1874, beginning with the first four platforms, until it was fully open from November 1875. At that time the original 1840 Bishopsgate station closed to passengers and was converted into a goods yard.

By the 1870s, suburbia in the Forest Gate area was developing quickly and in 1872 suburban trains (this was the first distinctive suburban service on the main line as previously main line trains had performed this duty) terminated at a bay platform at Forest Gate. These were followed by trains from Fenchurch Street in 1877.^{[Note 1]} By 1882, these services had been extended and were terminating at Ilford, Romford or Brentwood.

In 1877, a fourth track was added between Bow Junction and Stratford and two goods-only tracks were added between Stratford and Maryland Point. The four-track Bow Junction to Stratford section was extended back to James Street Junction (near Globe Road station which opened the same year) in 1884, but Bethnal Green to James Street did not follow until 1891. It was also in this year that two extra tracks were added between Bethnal Green and Liverpool Street which were for the use of West Anglia Main Line services. These tracks were built through the basement warehousing associated with Bishopsgate station located above.

The line was quadrupled to Ilford in 1895, and in 1899 out to Seven Kings.

In 1902, the quadruple track was extended from Seven Kings to Romford, but it wasn't until 1913 that four-tracking out to Shenfield was suggested and the First World War caused delay to this plan.^[6] In 1903, the Fairlop Loop opened and a number of services that had previously terminated at Ilford were extended onto it. These services generally looped round and back to the GEML at Stratford (on the Cambridge line platforms).

London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947)

The GER was grouped in 1923 into the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). In 1931–32, the LNER quadrupled the tracks to Shenfield which became the terminus for inner-suburban operation.

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 Street'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, with services commencing in 1946. Either side of the Ilford flyover there are single-track connections between each pair of lines, with the westbound track extending to Manor Park and just beyond. The eastbound track extends as far as Ilford station. It was also envisaged that a flyover would be built at the country-end of the carriage sidings at Gidea Park to allow trains bound for the Southend line to change from the main line to the electric 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 1,500 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.^[7]

During World War II, the long-distance named trains were withdrawn, and these returned after the war with the reintroduction of the "Hook Continental" and "Scandinavian" boat trains to Harwich Parkeston Quay in 1945. The East Anglian (Liverpool Street – Norwich) was restored in October 1946, and in 1947 the "Day Continental" which pre-war had operated as the "Flushing Continental", recommenced operation.^[8]

British Railways (1948–1994)

After nationalisation in 1948, the GEML formed part of the Eastern Region of British Railways.

The Summer 1950 timetable saw the introduction of a regular interval service between Liverpool Street and Clacton, which left Liverpool Street on the half-hour and Clacton on the hour. Summer Saturdays in 1950 also saw the introduction of the Holiday Camps Express workings to Gorleston, near Lowestoft. The latter half of 1950 and early 1951 saw the testing of new EM1 electric locomotives for use over the Woodhead Line between Manchester and Sheffield.^[9]

January 1951 saw the introduction of the Britannia class 4-6-2 express locomotives and a speeding up of services on the GEML. However, not everyone was a fan; British Railways' chairman Sir Michael Barrington Ward exclaimed "What? Send the first British Railways standard engines to that tramline? No!"^{[citation needed][10]}

Twenty-three Britannias were allocated to the GE section and, in summer 1951, the Liverpool Street–Norwich service went over to an hourly clockface interval service.^[11][12]

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.^[13]

By the late 1970s, the costs of running the dated mechanical signalling systems north of Colchester was recognised and, in 1978, a scheme for track rationalisation and re-signalling was duly submitted to the Department of Transport. This was followed by a proposal, in 1980, to electrify the remainder of the Great Eastern Main Line.^[14]

The early 1980s saw track rationalisation and signalling work carried out in the Ipswich area and, on 9 April 1985, the first electric train consisting of two Class 305 electric multiple units (EMUs) worked into Ipswich station. The previous year, another member of the class had been dragged to Ipswich by a diesel locomotive and was used for crew training. The first passenger carrying train was formed of Class 309 EMUs, which ran on 17 April 1985.

InterCity electric-hauled trains commenced on the route on 1 May 1985. Class 86 locomotives initially only powered services between Liverpool Street and Ipswich; after a switchover, Class 47s would complete the journey between Ipswich and Norwich. This last section was finally energised in May 1987, when through electric services commenced.^[15]

In 1986, the line as far as Manningtree became part of Network SouthEast, although some NSE services actually terminated at Ipswich, whilst longer-distance Norwich services were operated by InterCity. Local services operating from the Ipswich and Norwich areas were operated by Regional Railways.

The privatisation era (1994 onwards)

Between 1997 and 2004, services into Essex and some into Suffolk were operated by First Great Eastern, whilst services into Norfolk and other Suffolk services were operated by Anglia Railways. Between 2004 and 2012, services out of Liverpool Street, except for a limited number of c2c trains, were all operated by National Express East Anglia. Since 2012, the franchise has been operated by Abellio Greater Anglia; in May 2015, the Shenfield "metro" stopping service transferred to TfL Rail, as a precursor to Elizabeth Line services.

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 signal box to be closed and transferred to Liverpool Street IECC was Shenfield in 1992, which had only opened 10 years earlier. The last boxes to be transferred were at Romford and Gidea Park in 1998; these were the oldest of those being transferred, having been opened under the GER/LNER 1924 resignalling scheme.

Accidents and incidents

A number of fatal accidents have occurred on the line throughout its history:

• 1840: Brentwood; four killed^[16]
• 1872: Kelvedon; one killed and 16 injured in a derailment^[17]
• 1905: Witham; 11 killed and 71 injured in a derailment^[18]
• 1913: Colchester; three killed and 14 injured in a collision and derailment^[19][20]
• 1915: Ilford; 10 killed and 500 injured in a collision between two trains^[21]
• 1941: Brentwood; seven killed in a collision between two trains^[22]
• 1944: Ilford; nine killed and 38 injured in a collision between two trains^[23]
• 1944: Romford; one killed and three injured in a collision between two trains^[24]

Infrastructure

The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail.^[2] It is part of Network Rail Strategic Route 7, which is composed of SRSs 07.01, 07.02 and 07.03, and is classified as a primary line. The GEML has a loading gauge of W10 between Liverpool Street and Haughley Junction (approximately 13 miles 63 chains north of Ipswich^{[25][failed verification]}) and from there is W9 to Norwich. The maximum line speed is 100 mph (160 km/h).^[26]

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.

Between Romford and Chadwell Heath, there is a Network Rail maintenance 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 overhead line 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.

Line-side train monitoring equipment includes hot axle box detectors (HABD) on the down main and down electric lines near Brentwood (17 miles 35 chains from Liverpool Street) and on the up main near Margaretting (25 miles 78 chains). Other equipment includes wheel impact load detectors (WILD) ‘Wheelchex’ on the down main and up main west of Church Lane level crossing (24 miles 75 chains).^[27][28]

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 GEML to Bethnal Green.

From Bethnal Green, the GEML has four lines to Bow junction, where there is a complex set of switches and crossings. A line from the LTS (Fenchurch Street) route joins the "up" (London-bound) 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 GEML has six tracks up to the London-end of Stratford and the junction to Temple Mills; there are five lines through the station, dropping to four at the country end.

At Shenfield, the line to Southend Victoria diverges and the main line route drops from four tracks 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 tracks, predominantly through stations such as Colchester and Ipswich, along with goods loops, such as at the London end of Ingatestone. There is also a short stretch of single track on approach to Norwich, as the line passes over the River Wensum on the Trowse Bridge.

Tunnel and viaducts

Major civil engineering structures on the Great Eastern Main Line include the following:^[27]

Tunnel and viaducts on the Great Eastern Main Line

Railway Structure	Length	Distance from London Liverpool Street Station	Location
Trowse Swing Bridge (River Wensum)		123 miles 37 chains (via Cambridge)	Norwich
Lakenham Viaduct (including River Yare)	8 chains (c. 160 metres)	112 miles 33 chains – 112 miles 25 chains (via Ipswich)	Between Norwich and Diss stations
Thraston Viaduct (River Tas)		105 miles 62 chains (via Ipswich)
River Waveney Viaduct		94 miles 54 chains (via Ipswich)	South of Diss station
Badley Viaduct (River Gipping)	2 chains (c. 40 metres)	79 miles 09 chains – 79 miles 07 chains (via Ipswich)	Between Stowmarket and Needham Market stations
Ipswich or Stoke Tunnel (see note below)	361 yards (330 metres)	68 miles 47 chains – 68 miles 31 chains	South of Ipswich station
Cattawade Viaduct	4 chains (c. 80 metres)	60 miles 10 chains – 60 miles 06 chains	East of Manningtree station
River Stour Viaduct	4 chains (c. 80 metres)	59 miles 75 chains – 59 miles 71 chains
Lexden Viaduct (River Colne)	6 chains (c. 120 metres)	49 miles 69 chains – 49 miles 63 chains	West of Colchester (North) station
River Ter Viaduct		35 miles 22 chains	Between Hatfield Peverel and Chelmsford stations
Boreham Viaduct	3 chains (c. 60 metres)	32 miles 72 chains – 32 miles 69 chains
River Chelmer Viaduct		30 miles 25 chains	East of Chelmsford station
Chelmsford Viaduct	24 chains (c. 480 metres)	29 miles 64 chains – 29 miles 40 chains	West of Chelmsford station
River Can Viaduct	3 chains (c. 60 metres)	29 miles 36 chains – 29 miles 26 chains
Ilford or Aldersbrook Flyover		6 miles 78 chains	West of Ilford station
Bethnal Green Viaduct	1 mile 6 chains (c. 1730 metres)	1 miles 58 chains – 0 mile 52 chains	Bethnal Green

Stoke tunnel

The only tunnel on the line is immediately south of Ipswich station. The 361-yard (330 m) long tunnel was built by Peter Bruff as part of the Ipswich & Bury Railway. It was completed in 1846 and it is thought to be the earliest driven on a sharp continuous curve.^[29] During the excavation of the tunnel, many important fossils were discovered, including rhinoceros, lion and mammoth; the site was known as the "Stoke Bone Beds".^[30] The finds are considered important in understanding climate change during the Ice Age.^[31] This tunnel had the trackbed lowered so the line could accommodate taller freight trains.

Rolling stock

Inter-city

Steam-hauled inter-city trains on the London-Norwich service were replaced by diesel power in the 1960s; locomotives from classes 40, 37 and 47 hauled services until the mid-1980s.

Electric locomotives replaced diesel haulage from the mid-1980s, when the remainder of the GEML was electrified north of Colchester; their utilisation continued until March 2020. Class 86 locomotives powered the service from 1985 until 2005,^{[Note 2]} with rakes of Mark 2 coaches. Push-pull services were introduced during their tenure, initially using a DBSO coach at the Norwich end and latterly with Mark 3 Driving Van Trailers, cascaded from the West Coast Main Line. From 2004, Class 90 locomotives replaced the ageing Class 86s and rolling stock was updated with refurbished former West Coast Main Line Mark 3 coaches, following the introduction of the Class 390 Pendolino stock on that route.

By March 2020, new Class 745 EMUs had fully replaced Class 90 and Mark 3 coaches; thereby ending locomotive operation on the inter-city services on the Great Eastern Main Line.^[32][33]

Suburban

Electric multiple units are used for inner and outer suburban passenger trains and diesel multiple units are used on non-electrified branch lines.^[2] The main passenger units utilised are:

• Class 345: 450 seats across nine cars.^{[Note 3]} Maximum speed 90 mph (140 km/h). (Operated by Elizabeth Line)
• Class 745: 757 seats across 12 cars. Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h). (Operated by Greater Anglia)
• Class 720: 545 seats across five cars. 100 mph (160 km/h). (Operated by Greater Anglia)
• Class 755: 167 seats across three cars (class 755/3) or 229 seats across four cars (class 755/4). Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h). (Operated by Greater Anglia)

On weekends and when engineering work occurs, c2c run services into Liverpool Street via Stratford using Class 357 electric multiple units (EMU).

Freight

Freight services also operate frequently on the Great Eastern Main Line, with its easy access to the Port of Felixstowe. A pool of Class 90s, including most of the locomotives that operated inter-city services on the GEML, provide electric haulage with Class 66 and Class 70 providing diesel power.

Current developments

Crossrail

In 2015, TfL Rail, the precursor of Crossrail, took over operation of the Shenfield stopping "metro" service and, from 2022, the full Crossrail service will run via a tunnel through central London and link up with the Great Western Main Line to Reading and Heathrow Airport.

The first new Class 345 rolling stock entered service on the service on 22 June 2017. The new trains, built at Bombardier's Derby factory, provide air conditioned walk-through carriages, intelligent lighting and temperature control, closed-circuit television and passenger information displays showing travel information, including about onward journeys. It was planned that by September 2017, half of the services between Shenfield and Liverpool Street will have switched to the new Class 345 trains. From May 2015, Crossrail services (re-branded as TfL Rail) have an interchange with existing GEML services at Liverpool Street (via new underground platforms) as well as Stratford, Romford and Shenfield.

In November 2022, Crossrail services began to operate between Shenfield and London Paddington via Farringdon. However no services operate further than Paddington onto the likes of Heathrow Airport and Reading. Instead, these services start from Abbey Wood, The Elizabeth line's southeast branch.

Proposed developments

A new station is planned at Great Blakenham as part of the SnOasis development approximately halfway between Needham Market and Ipswich,^[34][35] Another is planned at Beaulieu, 3 miles north-east of Chelmsford entailing a long section of extra tracks on viaduct/bridge.^[36]

Services

The majority of trains are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, with the Elizabeth line operating the Liverpool Street to Shenfield stopping "metro" trains. A limited number of weekend (and when engineering work is planned) c2c services, operate on part of the line between Stratford and Liverpool Street.^[2]

Main line

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

Additionally, a very limited number of main line services call at Ilford, Seven Kings and Gidea Park during early mornings and late nights, often for the convenience of drivers who may be working at these locations.

Station	Borough	Branch lines
London Liverpool Street	City of London
Stratford	Newham
Romford	Havering	Romford–Upminster line
Shenfield	Brentwood	Shenfield–Southend line
Ingatestone	Brentwood
Chelmsford	Chelmsford
Hatfield Peverel	Braintree
Witham	Braintree	Braintree branch line
Kelvedon	Braintree
Marks Tey	Colchester	Gainsborough line
Colchester	Colchester	Sunshine Coast line
Manningtree	Tendring	Mayflower line
Ipswich	Ipswich	East Suffolk line; Felixstowe branch line
Needham Market †	Mid Suffolk
Stowmarket	Mid Suffolk	Ipswich–Ely line
Diss	South Norfolk
Norwich	Norwich	Wherry lines; Bittern line; Breckland line

† Needham Market is not served by main line trains.

Electric line

The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency service that operates between London Paddington and Shenfield via London Liverpool Street since 2022 and serves all stations.

In 2006 the off-peak stopping service on the Great Eastern Main Line consisted of six trains per hour, with some additional services during peak times.^[2] During peak times, some trains start or terminate at Gidea Park. The line is mostly within Greater London, with two stations in the Essex borough of Brentwood.

The electric line is also used by limited services extending to and from Southend Victoria.^[2]

Station	Travelcard zone	Borough
London Liverpool Street	1	City of London
Stratford	2/3	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	9	Brentwood
Shenfield	C	Brentwood

Passenger volume

These are the passenger usage statistics from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2013. Needham Market is the only station on the line that is not served by trains to/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
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	3,911,508	4,126,012	4,139,820
Diss	328,606	314,136	325,553	417,857	551,781	559,544	539,234	600,904	621,728	646,158	675,527
Stowmarket	367,331	417,729	453,271	545,670	705,682	751,802	756,484	855,692	884,962	927,856	944,466
Needham Market	12,014	16,237	25,472	37,074	43,987	52,782	58,054	67,056	77,554	85,078	91,358
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	3,159,348	3,348,394	3,312,522
Manningtree	574,633	719,792	707,782	865,217	910,384	833,888	799,776	890,624	983,054	1,093,178	1,154,294
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	4,584,110	4,291,055	4,402,045
Marks Tey	364,979	384,337	400,155	432,073	459,980	443,724	428,804	428,816	437,006	473,162	494,998
Kelvedon	789,487	774,972	759,680	787,033	799,439	797,236	763,240	791,312	827,358	812,610	837,236
Witham	2,173,543	2,261,186	2,307,269	2,342,618	2,341,123	2,277,436	2,076,532	2,159,09	2,251,940	2,244,774	2,349,736
Hatfield Peverel	419,144	418,145	412,523	416,083	398,255	394,420	357,382	357,458	389,284	399,602	408,896
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	7,876,686	8,002,126	8,286,879
Ingatestone	554,235	606,007	628,220	630,362	649,324	637,918	596,310	636,170	694,754	715,974	750,746
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	2,991,100	3,131,298	3,314,120
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	2,495,480	2,701,998	2,809,578
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	2,580,280	2,857,572	2,917,788
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	2,524,448	2,587,142	2,810,806
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	6,998,872	7,445,556	8,265,442
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	2,228,662	2,346,218	2,686,904
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	2,306,452	2,389,588	2,625,572
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	1,879,664	2,112,832	2,330,778
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	6,721,496	6,854,314	7,632,352
Manor Park	875,206	694,315	656,895	1,291,690	1,443,311	1,232,484	1,160,120	1,424,914	1,593,348	1,659,972	1,809,714
Forest Gate	1,209,066	956,231	915,549	1,891,875	2,037,387	1,706,018	1,598,816	1,914,054	2,205,106	2,403,326	2,647,058
Maryland	265,274	197,259	196,927	450,314	503,987	431,350	425,176	501,956	541,942	699,584	939,324
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	21,797,460	25,564,250	26,377,506
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	57,105,400	58,448,814	63,004,002
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

Notes

1. Fenchurch Street was served by GER and LTSR services at this time and GER services were routed via Bow Road
2. Class 86s hauled services only as far as Ipswich between 1985 and 1987; Class 47s would continue to operate the Ipswich to Norwich section until electrification of this final stage was completed
3. Running in reduced seven car formation from 2017-2020.

References

1. National Rail, Rail Services Around London & the South East, (2006)
2. Network Rail 15 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine - Route 7 - Great Eastern (PDF)
3. "Eagle 61 :: Railway Guide books of the Eastern Counties Railway". Retrieved 4 May 2009.
4. Moffat, Hugh (1987). East Anglia's first railways. Lavenham: Terence Dalton Limited. pp. 62–69 and 85–90. ISBN 0-86138-038-X.
5. Vaughan, Adrian (1997). Railwaymen, Politics and Money. London: John Murray. pp. 134, 135. ISBN 0-7195-5150-1.
6. Kay, Peter (1996). Great Eastern in Town and Country Volume 3. Clophill, UK: Irwell Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 1-871608-74-0.
7. Wilmoth, VJ (1956). "British Railways Electrification". Civil Engineering and Public Works. 51 (600): 660–661.
8. Butcher, Ken (July 2019). "Trainspotting at Shenfield 1948-1955". Great Eastern Journal. 179: 25.
9. Butcher, Ken (July 2019). "Trainspotting at Shenfield 1948-1955". Great Eastern Journal. 179: 28, 29.
10. Fiennes, Gerard (1967). I tried to run a railway. UK: Ian Allan. p. 55.
11. Butcher, Ken (July 2019). "Trainspotting at Shenfield 1948-1955". Great Eastern Journal. 179: 29.
12. Dawes, Derrick (July 2019). "TA Summer Saturday at Liverpool Street 1951". Great Eastern Journal. 179: 9.
13. Glover, John (2003). "Eastern Electric", Ian Allan, London. ISBN 0-7110-2934-2.
14. Cowley, Ian (1987). Anglia East. Newton Abbot,UK: David & Charles. p. 14. ISBN 0-7153-8978-5.
15. Cowley, Ian (1987). Anglia East. Newton Abbot,UK: David & Charles. pp. 43–47. ISBN 0-7153-8978-5.
16. Cecil J Allen; 'The Great Eastern Railway' 1955
17. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/RSSB_Kelvedon2005.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
18. "Accident at Witham on 1st September 1905 :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
19. Simon Webb (31 January 2013). The Colchester Book of Days. Perseus Books Group. pp. 203–. ISBN 978-0-7524-8908-7.
20. Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
21. Rolt, L.T.C.; Kichenside, Geoffrey (1982) [1955]. Red for Danger (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 240–241. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0.
22. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_HaroldWood1940.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
23. Mount & Wilson 1944, pp. 1–5.
24. http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Romford1944.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
25. http://rmme.railmiles.me/
26. (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
27. Brailsford, Martyn (2016). Railway Track Diagrams Book 2 Eastern. Frome: Trackmaps. pp. 2, 5–7. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
28. "Railway Codes: HABD and WILD devices".
29. Moffat, Hugh (1987). East Anglia's First Railways. Lavenham: Terence Dalton. ISBN 0-86138-038-X.
30. "Mammoth on High Street". Seven Wondered of Ipswich. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
31. "Collections:Geology". Ipswich Borough Council. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
32. Abellio wins East Anglian rail franchise for nine years in £1.4bn deal 25 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine East Anglian Daily Times 10 August 2016
33. Geater, Paul (30 March 2020). "End of the line for traditional trains on Greater Anglia routes". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
34. "Listening to residents and their concerns". Neil MacDonald. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
35. "Final Government Approval". BBC News. 6 November 2008.
36. "£53m rail station at Beaulieu is on track". Chelmsford Weekly News. 18 September 2013.

Template:Attached KML/Great Eastern Main Line

KML is from Wikidata

Further reading

• Allen, Geoffrey Freeman (January 1983). "It's 'Go' for the Great Eastern - at last!". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. pp. 41–43. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
• Allen, David (28 January – 10 February 1998). "Resignalling the Great Eastern". RAIL. No. 323. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 28–33. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
• Mount, AHL; Wilson, GRS (15 March 1944). Report on the collision at Ilford (PDF). Ministry of War Transport. Retrieved 7 September 2012.