SEVERAL of the busiest bus routes in Ipswich are being extended to the town’s rail station in an attempt to attract more commuters.

The move means there will be better links from the station to Warren Heath, the hospital, and the Whitehouse area of the town.

Ipswich Buses have made the changes in an attempt to attract more rail passengers looking for an alternative to driving to the station.

Service six from Tower Ramparts to Ipswich Hospital now goes to the railway station. The half-hourly service runs from 6am to 7pm Mondays to Saturdays and includes Cliff Lane, Clapgate Lane and Warren Heath.

Service eight has also been extended to the railway station on Mondays to Fridays. This route takes passengers from the town centre along Norwich Road, Bramford Road, Ulster Avenue and to Asda and runs from early morning to 6.35pm Mondays to Saturdays and has a less frequent service on Sundays.

Meanwhile, Ipswich Buses’ service one from the town centre to The Havens via east Ipswich now runs for an extra hour in the evening. The last bus leaves the railway station at 7.45pm.

There are also changes to services 16 and 19 to provide a direct link from Castle Hill and the Dales area to the rail station from Mondays to Saturdays.

Ipswich Buses managing director Malcolm Robson said: “These changes that have been brought in are designed to make it easier for passengers to get to and from the station to other parts of town. We also hope people will appreciate the extra buses on service one.”

Ipswich Buses is owned by the borough council. Transport spokesman Philip Smart said: “We are committed to providing a comprehensive public transport service which links up better with train travel.

“We hope this investment in extra services will be appreciated by passengers – the more people who use Ipswich Buses, the more we can provide better services.”