Station code CLT DfT category C1 Number of platforms 4 | Grid reference TM176153 Managed by Abellio Greater Anglia 2011/12 0.753 million | |
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Similar Thorpe‑le‑Soken railway station, Colchester Town railway st, Great Clacton, Walton‑on‑the‑Naze railway station, Hythe (Essex) railway st | ||
Clacton-on-Sea railway station is one of the eastern termini of the Sunshine Coast Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line, in the East of England, serving the town of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. It is 69 miles 56 chains (112.2 km) down-line from London Liverpool Street. Its three-letter station code is CLT. The preceding station on the line is Thorpe-le-Soken.
The station was opened in 1882 with the name Clacton. It is currently managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving the station.
The branch diverges from the Great Eastern Main Line at Colchester whence trains run to either Colchester Town, Walton-on-the-Naze or Clacton-on-Sea. Clacton is on a spur from Thorpe-le-Soken which was built by the Clacton-on-Sea Railway and originally operated by the Great Eastern Railway. It opened some 15 years after the branch to Walton was opened.
On 1 January 1923 the station passed to the London and North Eastern Railway following the 1921 Railways Act. After World War II and following nationalisation, it fell under the auspices of British Railways (Eastern Region).
Services were steam-operated until the line was electrified, with Clacton first seeing electric trains on 16 March 1959. Initially, the line was only electrified as far as Colchester, as part of British Railways' experiments with 25kv AC electrification, rather than the previously preferred 1500v DC system. Through electrified services to Liverpool Street were introduced on 7 January 1963.
Clacton station has a sizeable concourse sheltered by a glazed roof. There is a traction depot just outside the station, with some stabling sidings alongside the station itself.
Its name was changed to Clacton-on-Sea in May 2007.
Services
The typical service is one train per hour to London Liverpool Street, calling at Thorpe-le-Soken, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford, Ingatestone, Shenfield and Stratford.
During peak hours the service level is increased to four trains per hour. The first and last trains of the day start and terminate at Colchester.
Trains are usually formed of Class 321 or Class 360 electric multiple units.