TWO more rural lines in eastern England have been officially designated Community Railways by the Department for Transport.

The lines link Ipswich with Lowestoft via Woodbridge and Beccles, and Ipswich with Felixstowe.

Rail minister Baroness Kramer said: "I am delighted to announce the designation of the East Suffolk Lines as a community rail service. It is a very practical way of helping local groups to develop innovative and more cost effective rail services for their communities, through working closely with the East Suffolk Lines CRP.

"It is important that smaller communities benefit from our huge rail investment programme, which will help build a stronger economy and a fairer society."

Abellio Greater Anglia runs services on the routes, and has recently doubled the frequency of services on the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Lowestoft.

AGA managing director Jamie Burles said: "We welcome the community rail designation of the East Suffolk Lines. Over the last few years, joint initiatives between Abellio Greater Anglia, Suffolk County Council and the East Suffolk Lines CRP have seen the introduction of an hourly service along the entire route. We’ve also delivered an ongoing programme of station improvements.

"The formal designation of the lines will help us maintain this positive momentum and deliver further improvements to services and stations to benefit the customers and communities it serves. We will continue to play our full part in the ongoing future development of this important regional route, starting with the introduction of 2 additional Sunday services from May this year."

Aaron Taffera, who chairs the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership, added: "We’re very pleased that the East Suffolk Lines have gained community rail designation status. The East Suffolk Lines CRP has already played a valuable role in the development and promotion of this important route. Designation will provide more opportunities to build further partnerships, secure more funding for more projects and help the lines continue to thrive in the future.

To date, 19 lines with their services have been designated by the Department for Transport as Community Railways. A further 18 community rail services have also been designated, which share their routes with intercity or freight trains.