The line also carries freight trains operated by DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight, to the port of Felixstowe.

[1] Westerfield railway station is 3.51 miles (5.65 km) from Ipswich where the passenger trains to Felixstowe start their journey, although the milepost reads 72+1⁄4 as the line is measured from London.

At milepost 73 (4.75 miles (7.64 km) from Westerfield) the line starts to drop down towards the three-arch Spring Road Viaduct, the only significant engineering feature on the branch.

The passenger line, however, passes beneath Garrison Lane to terminate at Felixstowe station, opened in 1898 and 12.13 miles (19.52 km) from Westerfield.

In 1873 a tramway was proposed from Ipswich station to Landguard Common (near the mouth of the River Orwell) and Fagborough Cliff where it would connect with the ferry to Harwich.

One of the tramway's promoters, Colonel George Tomline, suggested instead that a proper railway should be built instead, running from Westerfield to a pier to be constructed at Landguard Common.

The direct line from Trimley to Felixstowe Beach was closed and all trains therefore had to reverse at the Town station before continuing their journey.

[10] Traffic increased to such a degree that in August 1912 powers were obtained by the railway company to double the line from Westerfield to Felixstowe Town.

Passenger traffic regained its pre-war volumes; Derby Road station being especially popular as it connected with the Ipswich tram system and many extra trains started there.

While an additional platform was provided at Felixstowe in 1939, the second track along the branch again failed to materialise due to the outbreak of World War II.

From September 1940 an armoured train with a 12 inches (300 mm) Howitzer was stationed on the line with a modified Class F4 locomotive to power it.

The gun was one of two with the other being allocated Wrabness Station and part of the 27th Army Field Regiment (although by October the 9th Super-Heavy Battery Royal Artillery.

[15] The British Railways Modernisation Plan of 1955 proposed to electrify the branch in connection with similar work on the main line from Liverpool Street to Ipswich, although this failed to be completed north of Colchester at the time.

Orwell station was closed, but the time from Ipswich to Felixstowe Town was reduced from 35 to 24 minutes which allowed a diesel multiple unit to work there and back within an hour.

Earlier that year the branch had been converted to "Pay Train" operation, with all fares being collected by the guard so that staff were no longer needed at the stations other than signalmen.

[15] In 1964 it was reported that freight traffic on the branch included agricultural machinery, bricks, chocolate, coal and coke, custard and jelly, explosives, glassware, grain, motor cars scrap metal, sugar beet, and timber.

Steel coil traffic was also operating over the branch at this date as one of these trains was recorded hitting the level crossing gates at Trimley on 7 February 1975.

The line to Trimley involved heavy earthworks and cost £2,000,000 but the company received a 40% grant under Section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 as it would reduce road traffic.

Railtrack initiated an upgrading of the Felixstowe branch line in 1997, the first time that it had done this speculatively in anticipation of it receiving increased revenue from freight train operators.

Electrification was again considered as most Freightliner trains were by then being worked by electric locomotives to Ipswich where they had to be changed to diesel for the short trip to Felixstowe, but the cost of this could not be justified.

[24] During the 2012 Summer Olympics Freightliner diverted ten Felixstowe trains each day through either Cambridge or Ely to free up capacity at Stratford which was next to the main venue for the games.

Both lines can be worked bi-directionally and with the increase in freight traffic that resulted from the additional capacity a number of level crossings were either abolished or upgraded to improve safety.

After interviewing all the staff involved (train crew, signalman and station master) concluded that the fault lay with the driver (which he readily admitted) who had passed the signal at danger.

[34] On 25 September 1900, at 08:45, GER Class Y14 0-6-0 locomotive 522, which was then just a year old, stopped at a signal on the Ipswich side of the level crossing at Westerfield awaiting a route to the Felixstowe branch.

Shortly afterwards the boiler exploded killing driver John Barnard and his fireman William Macdonald, both of whom were based at Ipswich engine shed.

[12] In 1969 the section from Felixstowe towards the dock was converted to staff and ticket working so to provide more flexibility to cope with the increasing number of freight trains.

Colour light signals and motor-driven points are fitted throughout, while level crossings at Trimley and Felixstowe Beach are monitored by CCTV.

[38] By 1986 this had grown to 12 to 13 trains each way each day, and the completion of the new line to the North Freightliner Terminal and additional ship berths on the new Trinity Quay in 1987 were expected to boost this to 18 to 20.

[59] The first diesel locomotive believed to have visited Felixstowe was Brush Type 2 D5503 which brought an excursion train from London Liverpool Street on 12 April 1959.

Felixstowe Town featured in the 1954 film The Sea Shall Not Have Them with two scenes of an Ipswich-based LNER Class F6 2-4-2T locomotive arriving at the station.