Southend Central railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Southend Central


manager = c2c
locale = Clifftown Road
borough = Southend-on-Sea
usage0405 = 2.791
usage0506 = 3.018
usage0607 = 1.695
code = SOC
platforms = 4
start = 1856

Southend Central is a railway station on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. Train services are provided by the National Express Group train operating company c2c. It is located in Southend Town Centre on Clifftown Road in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, SS1 1AB, just off the middle of Southend High Street and down the road from Southend Travel Centre with easy access to bus services and South East Essex College and the University of Essex Southend Campus, to which it is adjacent. It was opened in 1856 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and was the original eastern terminus of the line, which was later extended to Shoeburyness railway station. It has four platforms:
*Platform 1 is a disused bay platform
*Platform 2 has Shoeburyness-bound services from London
*Platform 3 has (usually fast) London-bound services from Shoeburyness
*Platform 4 is a bay platform with (usually slow) London-bound services departing from Southend Central which take the longer route via Grays and Ockendon and terminating services from London.

It has a partially sheltered bicycle storage rack for 30 bikes and 150 car parking spaces but no disabled spaces. [cite web | url=http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/our_services/stations_and_route_map/southend_central | title=c2c Online - Southend Central station | author=c2c | date= | accessdate=2008-07-19] It is used by around 10,500 people every day.

Southend Victoria railway station, the Southend terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line operated by c2c's National Express Group sister company National Express East Anglia, is also located in Southend-on-Sea Town Centre.

Refurbishment

Following the successful refurbishment of Benfleet railway station, c2c decided to implement a similar refurbishment at Southend Central. The work cost £460,000 and was jointly funded by c2c and Southend Borough Council. It involved the complete refurbishment of the ticket office and toilets and the construction of a new forecourt on the north side of the station (leading to Platform 2 which has Shoeburyness-bound services) opposite the University of Essex Southend Campus, with new steps and Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) compliant handrails on both sides of the canopy, and a new glass roof and lighting over the bicycle parking area there. It was completed on June 19, 2007 [cite web | url=http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/latest_updates/news/a_smarter_station_for_the_people_of_southend | title=c2c Online - A smarter station for the people of Southend | author=c2c | date=June 20, 2007 | accessdate=2008-07-19] and took around 4 weeks, during which a temporary ticket office in a portable building was used.

The ticket office has two serving positions, one of which was made fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 in the refurbishment, and uses the TRIBUTE ticket issuing system.

Services

The typical off-peak service frequency is:
* 6tph (trains per hour) to London Fenchurch Street of which:
**2tph do not stop at Pitsea, West Horndon or Limehouse
**2tph call at all stations via Basildon
**2tph take the longer route via Grays and Ockendon
* 4tph to Shoeburyness

External links

References