The Eye Branch was a two miles 72 chains long single track branch railway line in Suffolk, England that ran from Mellis railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line to Eye via one intermediate station, Yaxley Halt.
[1] It was the shortest railway branch line in East Anglia to enjoy a regular passenger service.
[4] The first special train ran on 10 December 1866 but it was not until 8 February 1867 that the Board of Trade inspected the line (the delay being as a result of bad weather).
[5] Regular passenger services did not begin until 2 April 1867 as the independent company negotiated with the Great Eastern Railway (GER) who supplied rolling stock to run the line.
Eventually a deal was struck where the GER took 50% of the gross receipts in return for operating the line for ten years.
Freight traffic was good at this point and when the GER finally absorbed the original railway company they paid face value for the shares.
[6] The First World War saw an upturn in traffic as increased local produce was sent to towns and cities as there was a shortage of imported food.
[9] The improvement to roads and rural bus services in the 1920s resulted in the line closing to passengers on 2 February 1931.
The line continued through agricultural land before passing over a stream underbridge and terminating at Eye station at 2 miles and 72½ chains.