Colchester to Clacton Line
Encyclopedia
The Sunshine Coast Line is the marketing name of what was The Tendring Hundred Railway Line, a railway line linking Colchester
to Walton-on-the-Naze
and via a branch line to Clacton-on-Sea
. Passenger services are run by National Express East Anglia. Trains to Clacton-on-Sea are usually trains from London, while those to Walton-on-the-Naze
start at Colchester on weekdays and Saturdays, but at Thorpe-le-Soken on Sundays. There is one through train in each direction between Walton-on-the-Naze
and London on weekdays only (1739 from Walton-on-the-Naze and 2118 return). The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7
, SRS 07.08 and is classified as a London & South East commuter line.
On Sundays, Colchester Town
, Hythe
and Weeley
are all closed. Therefore, the Sunday service consists of an hourly shuttle service between Thorpe-le-Soken
and Walton-on-the-Naze
, and an hourly service between Clacton-on-Sea
and London Liverpool Street.
On Mon-Fri, some peak time London and Clacton express trains also additionally call at Great Bentley
and Alresford.
opened between Colchester and Ipswich in 1843 and the section to London was due to open in 1849.
The first short section of the Sunshine Coast Line was built by the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway to the port of Hythe opened for goods on 31 March 1847. In 1859 the Tendring Hundred Railway Company was formed to extend the line from Hythe to Wivenhoe
which opened on 8 May 1863 for both passenger and goods services from Colchester. By the time the Wivenhoe extension open the line was operated by the GER Great Eastern Railway
.
The line was then extended to Weeley
on 8 January 1866, to Kirby Cross
on 28 July 1866, and on to its terminus at Walton-on-the-Naze on 17 May 1867. In the meantime, a short branch to a new, more central station at Colchester St Botolphs opened on 1 March 1866. This station was renamed Colchester Town
on 8 July 1991.
A second company, the Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea
Railway, had been incorporated in 1861 to build a line from Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea which opened on 17 April 1866. There were also proposals to build a line to Clacton as early as 1866, but nothing came of them until 1877, when the Clacton-on-Sea Railway was incorporated. The connection from Thorpe-le-Soken
to Clacton opened on 4 July 1882, also operated by the GER.
The GER soon negotiated to buy both the Tendring Hundred Railway and the Clacton-on-Sea Railway, and both became part of the GER on 1 July 1883. The Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea was absorbed by the GER on 9 June 1893. Electrification of the line commenced in the 1950s and by January 1959 the line was electrified as far as Great Bentley
. The first trial train to run on the newly electrified section departed Colchester
on 18 January 1959 and terminated at Great Bentley
. The line was the first to be electrified
at 25 kV AC
, using overhead wires, with electrified services inaugurated on 13 April 1959.
Passenger services have been operated by two different franchises since privatisation in 1997, First Great Eastern
ran the services until 31 March 2004 when the National Express Group
took over the franchise, with the company branded one Railway until February 2008, at which time it was rebranded to National Express East Anglia.
When First Great Eastern
won the franchise in 1997, they overhauled the timetables and increased the number of trains that run non-stop between Thorpe-le-Soken and Wivenhoe which resulted in a reduced level of service at various intermediate stations on the line such as Great Bentley and Alresford. The current operator, National Express East Anglia, has maintained this policy and the current timetable sees trains running fast from Thorpe-le-Soken to Wivenhoe and vice-versa without calling at the village stations.
, Frinton-on-Sea
, Clacton-on-Sea
, Thorrington
and Alresford
). The line was closed every weekend and bank holiday and a bus replacement service was provided. There was opposition from the town to keep the manual gates which were removed 'under cover of darkness'. Folklore has it that fed-up townspeople used to lock the gates to keep out coachloads of tourists.
In April 2010, Network Rail confirmed they have completed all their checks and procedures regarding the proposed car park and are ready to begin negotiating a lease with the Parish Council.
The final phase of works seeks to deliver an innovative public art work that is influenced by the history and context of the Hythe. Commissioned artists Martin Newell and Dale Devereux Barker will be working with the East Colchester community to produce hoardings as an attractive focal point within the developed station.
and Walton-on-the-Naze which is single track. It is electrified
at 25 kV AC
, has a loading gauge of W6 and a line speed of between 40-90 mph, except for the branch to Colchester Town
which is 0-35 mph.
Passenger services are operated by electric multiple unit
s. Services to Walton-on-the-Naze are normally Class 321
and Class 360
EMUs. Trains to Clacton are normally Class 360
EMUs and Class 321
s.
Class 321:
The Class 321's mostly operate the Walton-on-the-Naze to Colchester local services as 4 cars.
Class 360:
The Class 360's mostly operate the Clacton-on-Sea to London Liverpool Street semi-fast services as 4 or 8 cars during the off-peak and either 8 or 12 cars during the peak hours.
However, some Walton services originating from London use 360's and some peak Clacton services use 321's.
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
to Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of...
and via a branch line to Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday...
. Passenger services are run by National Express East Anglia. Trains to Clacton-on-Sea are usually trains from London, while those to Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of...
start at Colchester on weekdays and Saturdays, but at Thorpe-le-Soken on Sundays. There is one through train in each direction between Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of...
and London on weekdays only (1739 from Walton-on-the-Naze and 2118 return). The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7
Network Rail Route 7 (Great Eastern)
Strategic Route 7 - Great Eastern is the designation given by Network Rail to a grouping of railway lines in the East of England that encompasses the Great Eastern Main Line and its various branch lines...
, SRS 07.08 and is classified as a London & South East commuter line.
On Sundays, Colchester Town
Colchester Town railway station
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. It was formerly known as St Botolph's...
, Hythe
Hythe (Essex) railway station
Hythe railway station is on the Sunshine Coast Line and serves the eastern areas of Colchester in Essex, England. To the west of the station there is a triangle of lines with three junctions. The two lines lead to Colchester Town and Colchester...
and Weeley
Weeley railway station
Weeley railway station serves the village of Weeley in Essex, England. It is located on the Sunshine Coast Line, a railway operated by National Express East Anglia that links Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea....
are all closed. Therefore, the Sunday service consists of an hourly shuttle service between Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken is a village in Essex, located west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea.-History:Thorpe-le-Soken's history can be traced back to Saxon times....
and Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring district. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a permanent population of...
, and an hourly service between Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday...
and London Liverpool Street.
Monday to Saturday
- 1 train per hour between Clacton-on-Sea and London Liverpool Street
- Calls at Thorpe-le-Soken, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Marks Tey, Witham, Chelmsford, Shenfield, Romford, Stratford and London Liverpool Street.
- 1 train per hour between Walton-on-the-Naze and Colchester
- Calls at Frinton-on-Sea, Kirby Cross, Thorpe-le-Soken, Weeley, Great Bentley, Alresford, Wivenhoe, Hythe, Colchester Town and Colchester.
Sundays
- 1 train per hour between Clacton-on-Sea and London Liverpool Street
- Calls at Thorpe-le-Soken, Great Bentley, Alresford, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Marks Tey, Witham, Chelmsford, Shenfield, Stratford and London Liverpool Street.
- 1 train per hour between Walton-on-the-Naze and Thorpe-le-Soken
- Calls at Frinton-on-Sea, Kirby Cross and Thorpe-le-Soken.
On Mon-Fri, some peak time London and Clacton express trains also additionally call at Great Bentley
Great Bentley railway station
Great Bentley railway station is a staffed railway station serving Great Bentley in Essex, England. The station is located north east of London Liverpool Street on the Sunshine Coast Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line. The station is located at street level on Station Road in the...
and Alresford.
History
The Great Eastern Main LineGreat Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
opened between Colchester and Ipswich in 1843 and the section to London was due to open in 1849.
The first short section of the Sunshine Coast Line was built by the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway to the port of Hythe opened for goods on 31 March 1847. In 1859 the Tendring Hundred Railway Company was formed to extend the line from Hythe to Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe is a town in north eastern Essex, England, approximately south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the...
which opened on 8 May 1863 for both passenger and goods services from Colchester. By the time the Wivenhoe extension open the line was operated by the GER Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
.
The line was then extended to Weeley
Weeley
Weeley is a small village in Tendring, East Essex, England. It is served by Weeley railway station on the Sunshine Coast Line, with services operated by National Express East Anglia. It is open Monday - Saturday but closed Sundays. It has bus links to Clacton-on-sea and ColchesterIt was host to the...
on 8 January 1866, to Kirby Cross
Kirby Cross
Kirby Cross is a village in Tendring district, Essex, England. It is situated near to Kirby-le-Soken and Frinton-on-Sea. Historically, Kirby Cross was a hamlet within the parish of Kirby-le-Soken, but since 1934 both settlements have been part of Frinton and Walton civil parish.It is the location...
on 28 July 1866, and on to its terminus at Walton-on-the-Naze on 17 May 1867. In the meantime, a short branch to a new, more central station at Colchester St Botolphs opened on 1 March 1866. This station was renamed Colchester Town
Colchester Town railway station
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. It was formerly known as St Botolph's...
on 8 July 1991.
A second company, the Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea
Brightlingsea
Brightlingsea is a coastal town in the Tendring district of Essex, England, located between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, situated at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. It has an estimated population of 8500....
Railway, had been incorporated in 1861 to build a line from Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea which opened on 17 April 1866. There were also proposals to build a line to Clacton as early as 1866, but nothing came of them until 1877, when the Clacton-on-Sea Railway was incorporated. The connection from Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken is a village in Essex, located west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea.-History:Thorpe-le-Soken's history can be traced back to Saxon times....
to Clacton opened on 4 July 1882, also operated by the GER.
The GER soon negotiated to buy both the Tendring Hundred Railway and the Clacton-on-Sea Railway, and both became part of the GER on 1 July 1883. The Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea was absorbed by the GER on 9 June 1893. Electrification of the line commenced in the 1950s and by January 1959 the line was electrified as far as Great Bentley
Great Bentley
Great Bentley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of North East Essex, England, located midway between the towns of Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea. It is home to the largest village green in the country, at a size of and has won 'Village of the Year' several times...
. The first trial train to run on the newly electrified section departed Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
on 18 January 1959 and terminated at Great Bentley
Great Bentley railway station
Great Bentley railway station is a staffed railway station serving Great Bentley in Essex, England. The station is located north east of London Liverpool Street on the Sunshine Coast Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line. The station is located at street level on Station Road in the...
. The line was the first to be electrified
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
at 25 kV AC
25 kV AC
The 25 kV Alternating current railway electrification system is commonly used in railways worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.-Overview:This electrification system is ideal for railways that cover long distances and/or carry heavy traffic...
, using overhead wires, with electrified services inaugurated on 13 April 1959.
Passenger services have been operated by two different franchises since privatisation in 1997, First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern was an award-winning train operating company that operated suburban, local and medium distance train services from London Liverpool Street via Romford to Essex and Ipswich in the United Kingdom on the Great Eastern Main Line railway.First Group gained the Great Eastern...
ran the services until 31 March 2004 when the National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
took over the franchise, with the company branded one Railway until February 2008, at which time it was rebranded to National Express East Anglia.
When First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern was an award-winning train operating company that operated suburban, local and medium distance train services from London Liverpool Street via Romford to Essex and Ipswich in the United Kingdom on the Great Eastern Main Line railway.First Group gained the Great Eastern...
won the franchise in 1997, they overhauled the timetables and increased the number of trains that run non-stop between Thorpe-le-Soken and Wivenhoe which resulted in a reduced level of service at various intermediate stations on the line such as Great Bentley and Alresford. The current operator, National Express East Anglia, has maintained this policy and the current timetable sees trains running fast from Thorpe-le-Soken to Wivenhoe and vice-versa without calling at the village stations.
Resignalling 2006-2009
A £104 million engineering project known as 'The Colchester to Clacton Resignalling Project' took place on the line between December 2006 and July 2009 . Life-expired signalling equipment was replaced and a new control system was installed; 170 modern LED signals were installed and eight manual level crossings were upgraded to full barrier crossings with CCTV (including Great BentleyGreat Bentley
Great Bentley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of North East Essex, England, located midway between the towns of Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea. It is home to the largest village green in the country, at a size of and has won 'Village of the Year' several times...
, Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea is a small seaside town in the Tendring District of Essex, England. It is part of the Parish of Frinton and Walton.-History:...
, Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday...
, Thorrington
Thorrington
Thorrington is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It lies 5 km east of Wivenhoe and 3 km north of Brightlingsea. The striking medieval flint church is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, and the patrons of the church are St John's College, Cambridge.On the...
and Alresford
Alresford
Alresford may refer to:* Alresford, Essex, a village in Essex, England* New Alresford, a small town in Hampshire, England* Old Alresford, a village in Hampshire, England* the deanery of Alresford that includes the last two and other parishes...
). The line was closed every weekend and bank holiday and a bus replacement service was provided. There was opposition from the town to keep the manual gates which were removed 'under cover of darkness'. Folklore has it that fed-up townspeople used to lock the gates to keep out coachloads of tourists.
Car Park Extension at Great Bentley
In December 2009, Network Rail gave its approval to Great Bentley Parish Council to turn the disused railway siding adjacent to Platform 2 of the railway station into a car park. Once built, it will significantly increase the current parking capacity at the station and will hopefully put an end to the ongoing congestion problems in the village. The car park will also attract commuters to use the station from nearby towns and villages including Brightlingsea, Frating, Thorrington and St Osyth. A growth in the passenger usage at Great Bentley should result in more express trains stopping here.In April 2010, Network Rail confirmed they have completed all their checks and procedures regarding the proposed car park and are ready to begin negotiating a lease with the Parish Council.
Station improvements at Hythe
Work to upgrade Hythe Station and extend the platforms has been completed. This has improved transport links to the town centre and enable commuters to travel directly into the capital from the station. The Station improvements including replacing the existing station building with new waiting facilities, lighting, CCTV, landscaping and covered space for up to 24 bikes (with room for expansion if usage is high) has been paid for with a £600,000 Haven Gateway New Growth Point grant.The final phase of works seeks to deliver an innovative public art work that is influenced by the history and context of the Hythe. Commissioned artists Martin Newell and Dale Devereux Barker will be working with the East Colchester community to produce hoardings as an attractive focal point within the developed station.
Infrastructure
The line is double track except for the branch between Thorpe-le-SokenThorpe-le-Soken railway station
Thorpe-le-Soken railway station serves the village of Thorpe-le-Soken in Essex, England. The station is 1 mile from the village centre.- History :...
and Walton-on-the-Naze which is single track. It is electrified
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
at 25 kV AC
25 kV AC
The 25 kV Alternating current railway electrification system is commonly used in railways worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.-Overview:This electrification system is ideal for railways that cover long distances and/or carry heavy traffic...
, has a loading gauge of W6 and a line speed of between 40-90 mph, except for the branch to Colchester Town
Colchester Town railway station
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. It was formerly known as St Botolph's...
which is 0-35 mph.
Passenger services are operated by electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s. Services to Walton-on-the-Naze are normally Class 321
British Rail Class 321
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in three batches from 1988-91. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express respectively...
and Class 360
British Rail Class 360
The British Rail Class 360 electric multiple units were built by Siemens in two sub-types from 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. These units are part of the Siemens Desiro family.The Siemens "Desiro UK" family also includes units of Classes 185, 350, 380, 444 and 450....
EMUs. Trains to Clacton are normally Class 360
British Rail Class 360
The British Rail Class 360 electric multiple units were built by Siemens in two sub-types from 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. These units are part of the Siemens Desiro family.The Siemens "Desiro UK" family also includes units of Classes 185, 350, 380, 444 and 450....
EMUs and Class 321
British Rail Class 321
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in three batches from 1988-91. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express respectively...
s.
Class 321:
Class 360:
However, some Walton services originating from London use 360's and some peak Clacton services use 321's.