Felixstowe to Ipswich
Train Service Information & User Guide 
 
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              national express (East Anglia) Contact

Felixstowe to Ipswich Train Service Overview
national express (East Anglia) operate the Felixstowe to Ipswich train services daily, mainly on a hourly frequency headway Mondays to Saturdays and limited service on Sundays operated by single car Class 153 diesel multiple units.

All trains to/from Felixstowe stop at Trimley, Derby Road (Ipswich) and Westerfield

All services connects into mainline services at Ipswich to London Liverpool Street and Norwich plus services to Cambridge and Peterborough which entails a 40 minute plus wait at Ipswich.
Connections can be made at Westerfield for Lowestoft Trains.

Services operated to an average of 83% punctuality (IBPTS independent analysis March 2010). Trains are often delayed by freight trains. On occasions services are cancelled at short notice with no provision of road transport replacement unless the cancellation been cause by the failure of Network Rail Infrastructure or Planned and Emergency Engineering Works.

Felixstowe & Trimley Station Information
Felixstowe and Trimley Stations are unstaffed stations, emergency help telephones and “Real Time” train information monitors are provide with limited seating, covered waiting areas and cycle storage. There are no car parking facilities. Both stations have “Disabled” access but disabled passengers with wheelchairs are advised to telephone 0800 0282878 prior to travelling for the traincrew to be prepared to board the disabled customer.

Purchasing Tickets on the Train
Unless you have a return ticket or have purchased tickets in advance, tickets must be purchased from the conductor on the train by either, cash, credit and debit cards. Tickets to any station on the “National Rail Network” can be purchased but if you are travelling outside the national express (East Anglia) area it is advised to book your ticket in advance as conductors have a very limited knowledge of the Rail Network

Child fares apply to children aged between 5 and 15 inclusive. Children pay half the adult fare on most tickets purchased for immediate travel. Suffolk Explore cardholders over 15 are entitled to half fare providing they are not travelling beyond Colchester, Norwich and Cambridge.

Bicycles are conveyed free of charge, trains are restricted to 4 bicycles.

You must retain your ticket for passing through the barrier at Ipswich, On busy services conductors frequently fail to collect fares, in this instance fares must be paid at the barrier or if you are lucky you will travel free!

Ipswich Station Barrier Control
Problems occurring at the “Ticket Barriers” with the most prominent being the “Jobs Worth” attitude of rudeness, intimidating and abuse from the staff manning the barrier. Barrier staff are not employed by national express (East Anglia) they are temporary agency employees from “Mentor Security” and a very minimal knowledge of “Customer Services and are unfamiliar with railway operations. These incidents occurr when it not been possible to buy a ticket from the conductor on the Felixstowe train, due to the slowness of conductors not being able to complete all ticket transactions from customers travelling on the train. Single tickets are only being issued by barrier staff which in result in paying extra for a return journey or to other destinations in which NEXEA reaps the profits! When purchasing tickets at Ipswich especially in the “Evening Peak” long slow moving queues form as the ticket office is under staffed, although there are 2 automated ticket machines queues form for these too as they are time consuming and complicated to use if not familiar with them. Barrier Staff will not let customers onto the station without a valid ticket, no persuasion will deter them! It is ridiculous but if a ticket has to be purchased at Ipswich Station, it is advised to allow a minimum of 30 minutes before the train depart! Barrier Staff do not have any law and detainment enforcement powers, they can only request payment and ask passengers to leave the train. Any physical contact with passenger is categorised as an assault upon the passenger.

Complaints
national express (East Anglia) along with other train operating companies are renowned for not being efficient in handling passenger complaints either by phone or email. From our own surveys persistence is the key element to bring a satisfactory resolution. Customer services staff who handle complaints are often 3rd party call centre staff and not compliant with rail services.

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7 Day

Monthly 

3 Month 

 6 Month

Telephone: 0845 600 7245 (Automated Service) 
 
Option 1 Timetable and Fare information 
               (Diverts to “National Rail Enquiries”)
Option 2 Ticket Purchase
Option 3 Business Travel & Season Tickets
Option 4 Disabled Travel Assistance
Option 5 Group Travel (10 + passengers)
Option 6 Lost Property
Option 7 To Speak to Customer Relations (Complaints etc) 
 
Email
Enquiries & Complaints:
nxea.customerrelations@nationexpress.com
Lost property:
nxea.lostproperty@nationexpress.com  
Disabled Travel Assistance:
nxea.assistedtravel@nationalexpress.com  
Group Travel:
nxea.grouptravel@nationalexpress.com