Colchester railway station

Colchester
The old station building, now the rear entrance
Location
Place	Colchester
Local authority	Borough of Colchester, Essex
Coordinates	51°54′02″N 0°53′34″E / 51.9006°N 0.8929°E / 51.9006; 0.8929Coordinates: 51°54′02″N 0°53′34″E / 51.9006°N 0.8929°E / 51.9006; 0.8929
Operations
Station code	COL
Managed by	National Express East Anglia
Number of platforms	6
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	4.305 million
2005/06 *	4.288 million
2006/07 *	4.338 million
2007/08 *	4.526 million
2008/09 *	4.575 million
2009/10 *	4.219 million
History
Original company	Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
29 March 1843 (1843-03-29)	Station opened
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Colchester from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Slow train from Cambridge in 1951

Colchester railway station

Colchester or Colchester North is the main railway station for Colchester in Essex, England. It is on the former Great Eastern Railway main line from London Liverpool Street to Norwich and is a junction for the line to Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea, which diverges southwards from the main line to the east of the station. The junction is grade-separated so trains passing to and from the Clacton line do not cross the main line. Train services are provided by National Express East Anglia.

Colchester is a junction station for the important Sunshine Coast Line to Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze.

The station was opened on 29 March 1843 by the Eastern Counties Railway, and was always named simply Colchester.^[1] Locally, the station is known as Colchester North, to distinguish it from Colchester Town. Buses use this unofficial name. The station is not conveniently sited for the town, but buses connect to the town centre. Colchester Town is closer to the town centre.

The station has two main platforms. The up (London bound) comprises two platforms, numbers 3 and 4, which have an unusual layout: 3 is on the up main line and is served by Norwich expresses, while 4 is on the up Sunshine Coast line, which merges with the up main where the two platforms join end-to-end. The junction is protected by a trap leading to friction buffer stops. This combined platform is the longest in the UK^{[dubious – discuss]} at 620 m (2034 ft). There are also bay platforms at both ends of the up main platform. The London-end bay (Platform 6) is used for a small number of trains to London, or those that terminate at Colchester from London: these are normally morning or evening peak services. Previously this platform was used for services to/from Sudbury. However, these were shortened to terminate at Marks Tey in the mid-90s. The other bay platform (Platform 5) is used for services to Colchester Town and the all-station service to Walton-on-the-Naze. The down side platform is an island with two faces, one on the down main, and one on the down Sunshine Coast line. Platform 1 is mainly used for trains to Clacton-on-Sea but occasionally used for trains to Norwich.

The main ticket office is a modern glass fronted design, sited on the north side of the station, and access to the platforms is by a subway. The original station building is on the south side, and provides access to the up platform for those with tickets or wanting to buy tickets from a machine. Both entrances to the station are protected by automatic ticket gates.

Former train operating company Anglia Railways ran services known as London Crosslink from Norwich to Basingstoke via Stratford. This service started in 2000 and ended in 2002.

Platforms

The station has six platforms.

• Platform 1: Services to Clacton-on-Sea and through services to Colchester Town
• Platform 2: Services to Ipswich and Norwich
• Platform 3: Services to London Liverpool Street (InterCity and semi-fast services)
• Platform 4: Services to London Liverpool Street (semi-fast services)
• Platform 5: Services to Colchester Town and Walton-on-the-Naze
• Platform 6: Services to London Liverpool Street (starting at Colchester)

Train services

The following services currently call at Colchester:

Operator	Route	Material	Frequency	Notes
NXEA	London Liverpool Street - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich - Diss - Norwich	Class 90 + Mark 3 Coaching Stock	1x per hour	Not Sundays
NXEA	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Chelmsford - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich - Stowmarket - Diss - Norwich	Class 90 + Mark 3 Coaching Stock	1x per hour
NXEA	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Hatfield Peverel - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour
NXEA	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Witham - Colchester - Wivenhoe - Thorpe-le-Soken - Clacton-on-Sea	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour	Also calls at Marks Tey, Alresford and Great Bentley on Sundays
NXEA	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Romford - Shenfield - Ingatestone - Chelmsford - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Colchester Town	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour	Not Sundays
NXEA	Colchester - Colchester Town - Hythe - Wivenhoe - Alresford - Great Bentley - Weeley - Thorpe-le-Soken - Kirby Cross - Frinton-on-Sea - Walton-on-the-Naze	Class 321	1x per hour	Does not operate between Colchester and Thorpe-le-Soken on Sundays, use Clacton train
NXEA	Colchester - Colchester Town	Class 321	1x per hour	Not Sundays

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Manningtree		National Express East Anglia National Express East Anglia Intercity		Chelmsford
				Shenfield
Ipswich		National Express East Anglia London-Lowestoft		Marks Tey
Manningtree		National Express East Anglia Great Eastern Main Line
Terminus		National Express East Anglia Gainsborough Line
Colchester Town		National Express East Anglia Sunshine Coast Line
Wivenhoe Sundays
Manningtree		Dutchflyer London-Amsterdam
Historical railways
Ipswich		Anglia Railways London Crosslink		Witham

References

1. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 

External links

• Train times and station information for Colchester railway station from National Rail
• Class 360 heading to Harwich Town
• Intercity heading to Norwich