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The Bittern Line is a railway
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...
, England, that links to . It passes through
the Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly us ...
on its route to an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of th ...
on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the
bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern ...
, a rare bird found in the reedy wetlands of Norfolk. The line is in length and there are 10 stations. It is part of
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.11, and is classified as a rural line. Passenger services are operated by
Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city ser ...
, which also manages all of the stations.


History

The line was granted permission in 1864 and the first stretch was opened between Norwich and in 1874 by the
East Norfolk Railway The East Norfolk Railway was a pre-grouping railway company operating a standard gauge 25 mile, mostly single track, railway running between Norwich Thorpe railway station and Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1874, rea ...
. It was extended to
Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are N ...
by 1877 before being extended to in 1877, using a section of the
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...
line. From the early twentieth century until the end of steam services, in 1962, the
Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
operated coastal holiday services from London Liverpool Street under names such as the ''
Norfolk Coast Express The ''Norfolk Coast Express'' was a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom. History The train was introduced for the summer season in 1907 by the Great Eastern Railway. It was timed to leave London Liverpool Street at 1:30pm, and ...
'' and '' The Broadsman''. Following the closure of the majority of the Midland and Great Northern network, the line operated as a single branch between Norwich and Melton Constable before the section between Sheringham and Melton Constable was closed in 1964. The remainder of the line was listed for closure in 1967 but survived the proposal after being declined by the Secretary of State for Transport. The Bittern Line Partnership was set up by
Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Dist ...
in 1997. and was designated a community rail line by the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
in September 2007. The section of the line between Sheringham and Holt which was closed in the 1960s remains in use as a heritage railway line operated as the
North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limit ...
. After a period of 36 years, the link between the Bittern line and the
North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limit ...
was reinstated in 2010 with the opening of a new
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass An overpass (called ...
at Sheringham.


Stations

The following table summarises the line's 10 stations, their distance measured from , and estimated number of passenger entries/exits in 2018/19:


Services

Passenger services are operated by
Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city ser ...
. The typical service is one train per hour in each direction between Norwich and Sheringham. Calling patterns are varied, with some trains stopping at all stations while others omit some of the lesser-used stations along the line, such as , and . In 2019, new Class 755
bi-mode An electro-diesel locomotive (also referred to as a dual-mode or bi-mode locomotive) is a type of locomotive that can be powered either from an electricity supply (like an electric locomotive) or by using the onboard diesel engine (like a di ...
trains began to replace the previous mixture of Class 153, Class 156 and Class 170
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are als ...
s. The line is also used by freight trains which are operated by
GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company M&G, Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the tra ...
. Some trains carry gas condensate from a terminal at North Walsham to Harwich International Port.


Infrastructure

The line is double-track from
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
to , where it becomes single-track with a
passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
at , and two platforms at Cromer also allowing passing. The line is not
electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
; it has a
loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
of W8 between Norwich and Roughton Road and W6 from Roughton Road to Sheringham. The maximum speed is . The line was re-signalled in 2000, leading to the closure of a number of mechanical signal boxes and control moving to a panel at the Trowse Swing Bridge control room. This saw the end of one of the few remaining sections of single-track main line controlled by tokens. The Cromer signal box has been preserved.


Proposed developments


Rackheath station

A new station is proposed as part of the
Rackheath Rackheath is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, and is roughly north-east of Norwich city centre. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,551 in 625 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a population of ...
eco-town. The building of the town may also mean a short freight spur being built to transport fuel to fire an on-site power station. The plans for the settlement received approval from the government in 2009.


References


External links


The Bittern Line website by Greater AngliaThe route of the line
{{Railway lines in the East of England Rail transport in Norfolk Railway lines in the East of England Community railway lines in England North Norfolk Railway lines opened in 1887 Standard gauge railways in England