Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership

The Gainsborough Line

Amongst shire counties, Essex has one of the largest rail networks with some 80 rail stations. The Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (ESSCRP) was founded in 1997 to encourage and promote primarily off-peak travel for residents and business users of the communities along four branch lines by stimulating a wide range of projects, enabling the communities to increase their economic, social and environmental welfare.

There are four railway lines covered in this partnership. One of these lines lies to the north of the county of Essex and in the south of the county of Suffolk, in the river Stour and Dedham Vale, within the Colchester Borough Council, Braintree & Babergh District Council areas.

The Gainsborough Line is a delightful rural journey running from Marks Tey to Sudbury through landscape straight out of Constable's paintings. Running through leafy cuttings and emerging to cross the great 32 arch Chappel viaduct, striding high above the River Colne and the village, where the sation is home to the East Anglian Railway Museum. The line enters Suffolk with typical Constable views along the Stour Valley through Bures to Sudbury with its corn exchange and old inns, Victorian Quay and Gainsborough Museum.

So take an opportunity to enjoy a journey through the beautiful Essex countryside and discover the wealth of heritage and secrets that Essex and South Suffolk have to offer by visiting some historic gems mostly hidden away in its tiny villages along the Dedham Vale and Stour valley.