Industry around Ipswich has had a strong agricultural bias with Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd, one of the most famous agricultural manufacturers, located in the town. It is notable that the worlds first commercial motorised lawnmower was built by Ransomes in 1902. There was a sugar beet factory at Ipswich for many years; it was closed in 2001 as part of a rationalisation by British Sugar.

The British Telecom Research Laboratories were located to the east of the town in 1975 at Martlesham Heath. They are now a science park called Adastral Park. The area was originally RAF Martlesham Heath - a WW2 airfield from where Douglas Bader fought.

With the rise in popularity of the town around the Neptune Marina and the Wet Dock a number of ship and boatbuilders have become established, in particular Fairline Yachts are a significant employer.

Transport infrastructure

Ipswich is linked to London (84 miles) and the M25 by the A12 which continues to the north-east to reach the coast at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. The old milestone in Ipswich shows London as 69 miles and Gt Yarmouth 54 miles north.

It is linked to Cambridge (57 miles) and the Midlands by the A14 which continues south-east over the Orwell Bridge to the port of Felixstowe. The route north to Norwich is via the single carriageway A140. The A140 forms part of the old Roman road originally known as Pye Road which linked Colchester with Caistor St. Edmund near Norwich. These trunk routes bypass the town itself, which is directly served by the A1156 which links to the A14 and by the A1214 which links to the A12.

The A137 enters the town from the south via Stoke Bridge, Ipswich over the River Gipping.

The town benefits by both having a ring road and a by-pass to the south, and thus suburban areas can be near the centre of town yet still be largely free from traffic.

Ipswich railway station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street to Norwich. It is also the junction of railway lines to Felixstowe and Lowestoft. The station is served by 'one'. There is another railway station serving the Rose Hill area, called Derby Road which is on the line to Felixstowe.

The Ipswich trolleybus system opened on 2 September 1923 and closed on 23 August 1963. Town bus services are operated by Ipswich Buses. Ipswich is the last place in the area to have an independent bus company with the unusual practice of naming its buses.

Ipswich one of the Haven ports and is still a flourishing , handling several million tonnes of cargo each year. Prior to decommissioning, HMS Grafton was a regular visitor to the port which as special links with the town and the county of Suffolk. HMS Orwell, named after the river, is also closely linked with the town.

The town used to feature a small grass-runway airport (ICAO code: EGSE). Officially opened on 26 June 1930 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. There were regular flights in the early days by Channel Airways to Jersey and later Suckling Airways to the Netherlands. On 31 December 1996 Ipswich Airport was delicensed and ceased to be registered by the Civil Aviation Authority. The former airport has been re-developed into the new residential district of Ravenswood. However, the front of the control building was saved. It was designed by Heining and Chitty in 1938 and Grade 2 listed. The rest of the building was taken down after it was deemed unsafe to reuse.

The nearest international flights are from Stansted airport or Norwich International Airport, both approximately 47 miles away. Other airports within a 2 hour drive are Gatwick some 100 miles via the A12, M25 and M23; Luton airport is a similar distance via the A14, A11 and A505.

Dieser Artikel basiert auf dem Artikel Ipswich aus der freien Enzyklopädie Wikipedia und steht unter der GNU-Lizenz für freie Dokumentation. In der Wikipedia ist eine Liste der Autoren verfügbar.