Two types of rolling stock are used on The Sudbury Line.

Weekdays: Class 156, 2-car SuperSprinter
Two Car SuperSprinters can be found working on the Sudbury line Monday-Fridays, and during weekends where special events are taking place along the line.

The Class 156s were built between 1987 and 1989 by Metro Cammell in Birmingham, they were first used on the Sudbury branch in 1993 to replace the Class 101s, however stock changes led to them being re-allocated to Tysley/Central Trains in the run up to privatisation. They have a top speed of 75mph

National Express East Anglia have 9 Class 156s in their fleet, which also work other local lines in the area, they seat approx 150 people have room for wheelchairs and include an area at one end for luggage and up to 4 bikes. They also have a large toilet and power sliding doors and the ability to work in multiple with other similar types of train. They wear a variety of liveries, including One Railway blue and Black, Central Trains Green and National Express White with silver ends.

The Class 156s are based at Norwich Crown Point Depot and replaced the Anglia Class 150s in the area during 2005 during a stock shuffle between National Express Train Operating Companies.
The Super-Sprinter website has the full history and details about this class of train.

Weekends and Bank Holidays: Class 153, 1-Car Leyland Sprinter

Class 153 Single Car Units can be found working on the Sudbury line on Saturday and Sundays where the commuter traffic does not require the capacity provided by a 156.

The Class 153s were built between 1987 and 1988 by Leyland as two car Class 155 units and then rebuilt in 1991 by Hunslet Barclay into single car units, they have a top speed of 75mph.
They were first used on the Sudbury Line to replace the 156s in 1994 - they were used until September 1997 when a stock shortage led to Class 121s taking over their duty on the branch, they then returned from October 1998 until being replaced (weekdays only) in 2000 by 2-car Class 150s.

One Railway inherited a fleet of 7 Class 153 units from Anglia Railways, two were transferred to Arriva, which then returned for a while along with an 8th unit in 2007, due to a shortage of capacity on the local lines in East Anglia.
This move was expected to allow 2-car units to be used on the Sudbury line at the weekend, however the Department for Transport reallocated the extra units to East Midlands Trains in November 2007, leaving East Anglia with just 5 units and the doubling of units on a weekend never happened.

The 153s can seat 66 people, have a luggage rack, small toilet and space for 4 bikes, the Norwich based fleet, now operated by National Express wear the former One Railway Livery or the Green and White Anglia Railways colour. Unit pictured is short term loan unit 153313 at Marks Tey wearing the North Western Trains livery of blue and gold stars.

More details about the current and past stock can be found in our information archive.