Colchester Town railway station

Colchester Town
Location
Place	Colchester
Local authority	Borough of Colchester, Essex
Coordinates	51°53′11″N 0°54′17″E / 51.8865°N 0.9046°E / 51.8865; 0.9046Coordinates: 51°53′11″N 0°54′17″E / 51.8865°N 0.9046°E / 51.8865; 0.9046
Operations
Station code	CET
Managed by	National Express East Anglia
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	0.163 million
2005/06 *	0.161 million
2006/07 *	0.457 million
2007/08 *	0.443 million
2008/09 *	0.395 million
History
Original company	Tendring Hundred Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
1 March 1866 (1866-03-01)	Opened as St Botolph's
8 July 1991	Renamed Colchester Town
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 Town from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Colchester Town railway station serves the town centre of Colchester in Essex, England. It is located on the Colchester to Clacton line and is one of only a small number of drive in/reverse out stations on the British network.^{[citation needed]} It was formerly known as St Botolph's. The station is better situated for access to the town centre than the main station, known locally (but unofficially) as Colchester North. The High Street and main shopping streets are within easy walking distance. The station is manned with a ticket office, and the platform is open (without ticket gates).

The station was opened on 1 March 1866 by the Tendring Hundred Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Eastern Railway. Originally named St Botolph's, it was renamed Colchester Town on 8 July 1991.^[1]

As of 2009^[update] there is only one platform, but there is space for a second which would make possible a more intensive service on the Sunshine Coast line. To the east of the station, Colne Junction is the western extremity of a triangle which gives access towards Colchester and Hythe stations. The curve to the north from Colne Junction to East Gates Junction is a sharp one with a continuous check rail, which necessitates slow passage.

The car park adjacent to the station was one of the sites considered for Colchester's new bus station. The town's county court will now be built on the car park site instead.

Train Services

The following services currently call at Colchester:

Operator	Route	Material	Frequency	Notes
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	Not Sundays
NXEA	Colchester - Colchester Town	Class 321	1x per hour	Not Sundays

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Colchester		National Express East Anglia Sunshine Coast Line Mondays-Saturdays only		Hythe

Service patterns

The typical Monday-Saturday off peak service is as follows:

• 3 trains per hour to Colchester only.
• 1 train per hour to Walton-on-the-Naze, calling at Hythe (Essex), Wivenhoe, Alresford, Great Bentley, Weeley, Thorpe-le-Soken, Kirby Cross and Frinton-on-Sea.
• 1 train per hour to London Liverpool Street, calling at Colchester, Marks Tey, Kelvedon, Witham, Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, Shenfield, Romford and Stratford.

Colchester Town railway station is closed on Sundays. The station is open on Sundays during December for Christmas shoppers - an hourly service operates to Walton during this period.

If engineering works on a Sunday closes Colchester station, Colchester Town is opened to serve trains to/from Clacton-on-Sea.

References

1. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 202,65. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 

External links

• Train times and station information for Colchester Town railway station from National Rail