Colchester railway station

Colchester
The old station building, which is now the rear entrance
Location
Place	Colchester
Local authority	Borough of Colchester
Coordinates	51°54′02″N 0°53′34″E / 51.9006°N 0.8929°ECoordinates: 51°54′02″N 0°53′34″E / 51.9006°N 0.8929°E
Grid reference	TL990263
Operations
Station code	COL
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Number of platforms	6
DfT category	B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections 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
2010/11	4.363 million
2011/12	4.579 million
2012/13	4.291 million
2013/14	4.402 million
2014/15	4.457 million
History
Original company	Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
29 March 1843	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Colchester from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Colchester railway station (also known as Colchester North) is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, and the primary station serving the town of Colchester, Essex. Its three-letter station code is COL. It is 51 miles 52 chains (83.1 km) down-line from London Liverpool Street and on the GEML is situated between Marks Tey to the west and Manningtree and to the east. Colchester is also the junction where the GEML links to the Sunshine Coast Line, which runs south to Clacton-on-Sea and, via a short branch, to Walton-on-the-Naze. Services to and from Colchester Town also join the GEML at the Colchester junction. The junction is grade-separated so trains branching to and from Colchester Town or the Sunshine Coast Line do not cross the main line.

The station was opened in 1843 by the Eastern Counties Railway. It is currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains serving the station.

History

Colchester railway station in 1851, before its rebuilding in 1865

A train from Cambridge at Colchester in 1951

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

The ECR had planned to build a line from London to Norwich using a very similar route to that on which the Great Eastern Main Line operates today,^[2] but funding became a problem and apart from surveying a section onwards to Ardleigh they were forced to abandon any further line construction.^[3]

It was three years later when the onward link to Ipswich was eventually opened by the Eastern Union Railway following intervention by business interests in Ipswich, the town having felt isolated by development of the route to Norwich via Cambridge by the ECR.^[4]

As passenger numbers passing through the station increased, particularly with growth on the Sunshine Coast Line, the layout of the station became inadequate. This problem was heightened on summer weekends when large numbers of holiday trains destined for Clacton-on-Sea were added to the schedules. The station had also been built on a relatively sharp curve.

Prior to electrification of the lines, Colchester was modernised in 1962, with a new station building on the north side of the tracks. Following the reconstruction 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 express trains, while 4 is on the up Sunshine Coast Line which merges with the up main line where the two platforms join end-to-end. The junction is protected by a trap leading to friction buffer stops. There are also bay platforms at both ends of the up main platform. The London-end bay (platform 6) is used for peak trains to and from London. Previously this platform was used for frequent services for the Sudbury Branch Line. However, most of these services were shortened to terminate at Marks Tey in the mid-1990s. In the timetable as of December 2014 only a single service each day to and from Sudbury starts and terminates at Colchester. The other bay platform (platform 5) is used for services to Colchester Town and Walton-on-the-Naze. The "down" side platform is an island platform 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 and occasionally 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 via a subway. The previous 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 operated services known as London Crosslink from Norwich to Basingstoke via Stratford. This service started in 2000 and ended in 2002.

Accidents

• On 12 July 1913, at approximately 3 pm, an express passenger train travelling at high speed collided with a light engine at Colchester due to a signalman's error.^[5] Part of the passenger train was derailed. Three people, the train's driver, guard and fireman, were killed and 14 passengers were injured.^[6]

Services

The following services typically call at Colchester:

Operator	Route	Rolling stock	Frequency
Abellio Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich - Diss - Norwich	Class 90 + Mark 3 Coaching Stock	1x per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Chelmsford - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich - Stowmarket - Diss - Norwich	Class 90 + Mark 3 Coaching Stock	1x per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Hatfield Peverel - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Witham - Colchester - Wivenhoe - Thorpe-le-Soken - Clacton-on-Sea	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Romford - Shenfield - Ingatestone - Chelmsford - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Colchester Town	Class 321, Class 360	1x per hour
Abellio Greater Anglia	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
Abellio Greater Anglia	Colchester - Colchester Town	Class 321	1x per hour

Two trains at Colchester station

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. Allen, Cecil J. (1955). The Great Eastern Railway. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 4.
3. Allen 1955, p. 24
4. Allen 1955, p. 26
5. Simon Webb (31 January 2013). The Colchester Book of Days. Perseus Books Group. pp. 203–. ISBN 978-0-7524-8908-7.
6. Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.

External links