No train from this coast runs to London without a change at Ipswich. Woodbridge takes 1h30 at best and £9,132 a year to commute. Times and fares, station by station.

There is no direct train from the Suffolk coast to London. Every journey from Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market, Saxmundham or Darsham runs down the East Suffolk Line to Ipswich, where you change onto the main line to London Liverpool Street. Felixstowe works the same way, on its own branch.

That single fact governs everything else on this page. The London time from any of these stations is roughly the Ipswich main-line time plus the branch time plus the wait, and the wait is what varies.

From Woodbridge the quickest journeys observed run 1 hour 30 minutes. In the morning peak it is closer to 1 hour 36. All times and fares below were checked against live National Rail timetables for Monday 10 August 2026.

How long it takes, station by station

Fastest observed journey time to London Liverpool Street by station Horizontal bar chart of fastest observed journey times to London Liverpool Street. Ipswich is 1 hour 0 minutes direct, Woodbridge 1 hour 30 minutes with one change, Melton 1 hour 36, Wickham Market 1 hour 43, Felixstowe 1 hour 43, Saxmundham 1 hour 52 and Darsham 2 hours 0 minutes. All except Ipswich require a change at Ipswich. Every station on this coast is Ipswich plus a branch line Fastest journey observed to London Liverpool Street, weekday timetable checked 9 August 2026. Annual season ticket to London Terminals shown where checked. Ipswich (direct)1h 00 £8,592 a year Woodbridge1h 30 £9,132 a year Melton1h 36 Wickham Market1h 43 Felixstowe1h 43 £8,748 a year Saxmundham1h 52 £10,040 a year Darsham2h 00 Felixstowe is nine minutes slower than Woodbridge but £384 a year cheaper to commute from. Fares follow the route, not the clock. Peak departures run slower than the fastest time shown: the 07:21 from Woodbridge reaches Liverpool Street at 08:57, which is 1h 36.
Starting from Ipswich instead of Woodbridge saves half an hour each way and £540 a year, before you count the cost of parking a car there five days a week.

Woodbridge to London Liverpool Street

Weekday morning departures and the arrivals they make, from the live timetable:

  • 07:21 to 08:57, 1h 36, change at Ipswich (07:38 in, 07:43 out).
  • 07:48 to 09:25, 1h 37, change at Ipswich (08:05 in, 08:11 out).
  • 08:38 to 10:19, 1h 41, change at Ipswich (08:56 in, 09:10 out, a fourteen-minute wait).
  • 10:17 to 11:47, 1h 30, change at Ipswich (10:34 in, 10:41 out).
  • 11:17 to 12:47, 1h 30, the same pattern hourly through the middle of the day.

Woodbridge to Ipswich itself is 17 to 18 minutes. The London leg from Ipswich runs between 1h 04 and 1h 14 depending on the stopping pattern, with the fastest main-line trains of the day doing it in 1h 00.

On Sundays the service is hourly and slower: 12:13 to 13:47 is 1h 34, and the pattern repeats at 13:13, 14:13 and 15:13.

What it costs

Walk-up fares from Woodbridge to London Terminals:

  • Off-Peak Single £55.70, Off-Peak Return £56.70. The return is a pound more than the single, so there is almost never a reason to buy a single off-peak.
  • Anytime Single £68.80, Anytime Return £110.20.
  • Off-Peak Day Travelcard £65.70, Anytime Day Travelcard £128.60, both including Underground and bus travel in London.
  • Advance singles from £27.00, rising through £30.50, £35.00, £38.00, £43.00 and £54.60 as the cheaper buckets sell out. The 07:21 peak departure started at £35.00 when checked.

Season tickets from Woodbridge, from Trainline’s live prices:

  • London Terminals: £228.30 a week, £876.70 a month, £9,132 a year.
  • London Travelcard Zones 1 to 6: £262.20 a week, £1,006.90 a month, £10,488 a year. That is £1,356 more, and it covers all your Tube and bus travel inside London.

The comparison worth doing before you buy is with Ipswich at £8,592 a year. Driving to Ipswich saves you only £540 a year on the ticket, and you then have to park there every working day. For most people on this side of the Deben the train from Woodbridge wins on cost as well as on hassle.

The other stations

  • Melton is one stop up the line from Woodbridge and about six minutes further from London: 07:15 to 08:57 is 1h 42, and 10:11 to 11:47 is 1h 36. The walk-up fares are identical to Woodbridge’s, at £56.70 off-peak return and £110.20 anytime return, because both sit in the same fare band.
  • Wickham Market is 1h 43 at best, 1h 49 in the peak (07:08 to 08:57). Off-peak return £60.90, anytime return £123.60.
  • Saxmundham is 1h 52 at best. The 06:58 gets you to Liverpool Street at 08:57, which is the only realistic option for a 9am start north of Wickham Market. Off-peak return £60.90, anytime return £123.60. Season to London Terminals: £251.00 a week, £963.90 a month, £10,040 a year.
  • Darsham is the slowest at 2h 00, and there is no departure before 07:17 that reaches London before 09:25.
  • Felixstowe runs its own branch into Ipswich in 25 to 29 minutes. Best observed to London is 1h 43 (16:25 to 18:08) and 1h 46 (15:25 to 17:11); the 07:48 peak departure arrives at 09:39, which is 1h 51. Off-peak return £56.70, anytime return £104.30, anytime single £66.80. Season to London Terminals: £218.70 a week, £839.90 a month, £8,748 a year, which is £384 a year less than Woodbridge despite the longer journey.

The connection is the thing to watch

Because every journey changes at Ipswich, the useful question is not how fast the train is but how long you stand on the platform. In the timetable above the Woodbridge connections run at five, six, seven and fourteen minutes. A five-minute connection is fine when the branch train is on time and awkward when it is not, and the East Suffolk Line is a long single-track railway with limited places to recover lost time.

If you have somewhere to be, the 07:21 with its five-minute connection at Ipswich is the fastest peak option but the least forgiving one. The 07:48, with six minutes, arrives 28 minutes later.

Where these figures come from

Timetables and walk-up fares are from National Rail Enquiries data via traintimes.org.uk, checked for Monday 10 August 2026 and Sunday 9 August 2026. Season ticket prices are from Trainline, checked on 9 August 2026; annual tickets were showing as available from 13 August. Fares and times change, so treat these as the position on the day of checking and confirm before you buy.

More local information: house prices, roadworks and travel, planning and the Local Plan and things to do in Woodbridge.