This is a video about railways, specifically about the Felixstowe Branch Line. it wasn't intended to be a history as there are many good histories of the branch line out there as well as plenty of enthusiasts who regularly take much better pictures than mine of the rolling stock!
In the past few decades, the line has been transformed from a struggling branch that had seen better days to a major gateway line for Britain's largest container port - and all on a single track! The FBL is very much part of Felixstowe's future. The volume of freight can only rise and putting it on to the railways should ease congestion on the A14, reduce pollution and reduce costs for long distance journeys for containers in the UK. The only problem is that the FBL is a bottleneck. The short term answer has been to increase train lengths.
Controversially, the dock company is now suggesting that off-peak passenger volumes are so low that if the passenger services are transferred to road off-peak, then there could be a significant rise in the number of daily freight trains. That's not popular in many circles as although off peak passengers are low in winter, in summer they rise significantly with day trippers. The most practical long-term solution is to double track a portion of the FBL. Plans exist to do this between Trimley and Levington(the cheapest section to do) which will increase capacity significantly if built and could leave passenger services untouched. It's just a matter of getting on and doing it.
If you have strong views on this, then contact your local councillors,the local MP or the Office of the Rail Regulator who reviews Greater Anglia rail services.
This video was all about journeys, with the railway being one method by which freight gets from one place to another. Every container has a destination. Life is like a journey and all journeys have an end. There is nothing more pointless and frustrating than doing a journey and we're not sure of the route or how to get to the destination. Where's our destinationin life and how do we get to it?
Jesus once gave us these words "I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. " (John 14:6) If we want answers to what life is about and where its destination is, then we find the way to those answers is in Jesus.
Mark