Rayleigh railway station

Rayleigh National Rail
Rayleigh railway station in 2006
Location
Place Rayleigh
Local authority Rochford
Coordinates 51°35′20″N 0°36′04″E / 51.589°N 0.601°E / 51.589; 0.601Coordinates: 51°35′20″N 0°36′04″E / 51.589°N 0.601°E / 51.589; 0.601
Grid reference TQ802910
Operations
Station code RLG
Managed by Greater Anglia
Number of platforms 2
DfT category C2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 0.979 million
2013/14 Increase 1.035 million
2014/15 Increase 1.840 million
2015/16 Increase 1.950 million
2016/17 Decrease 1.820 million
History
Key dates Opened 1 October 1889 (1 October 1889)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Rayleigh from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Rayleigh railway station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line in the East of England, serving the town of Rayleigh, Essex. It is 33 miles 9 chains (53.29 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Wickford to the west and Hockley to the east. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is SSV; the station's three-letter station code is RLG. Each of the two platforms has an operational length for 12-coach trains.

History

The line from Wickford to Southend including Rayleigh station was opened on 1 October 1889 by the Great Eastern Railway.[1] The station had a goods yard west of the station on the 'up' (London-bound) side, including a goods shed and cattle pens.[2] There was a signal box on the 'down' (country-bound) platform, this was closed in 1938 with the introduction of colour light signalling.[3] Electrification of the Shenfield to Southend Victoria line using 1.5kV DC overhead line electrification (OLE) was completed on 31 December 1956. This was changed to 6.25kV AC in November 1960 and to 25kV AC in January 1979.[2]

To the west of the station there was a private halt called Bridge 774, in operation from May 1922 to April 1925 for construction work on the Southend Arterial Road.[2] To the east of the station there was a siding called Downhall associated with a brickworks,[2] this had been decommissioned by 1968.[4]

Location and services

Rayleigh station is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving the station.

It is a small station with a ticket office but no barriers. When the ticket office is closed, access to the platforms is available through a gate to the left of the building. Outside the station there is a taxi rank, car park, bus stops and a newsagent. The town centre is a short, uphill walk from the station.

The typical weekday off-peak service is three trains per hour to Southend Victoria and three to London Liverpool Street (services join the Great Eastern Main Line for London at Shenfield). At peak times, service frequencies may be increased and calling patterns varied.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.rayleighhistory.co.uk/10.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mitchell, Vic (2010). Branch Lines to Southend and Southminster. Midhurst Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-76-5.
  3. ↑ Notice: Colour light signalling between Wickford and Southend. London and North Eastern Railway (1938). Published by Great Eastern Railways Society (2003) ISBN 1 85622 251 9
  4. ↑ Route training manual Liverpool Street to Ipswich and branches. British Rail Eastern Region (September 1968). Published by Great Eastern Railways Society (1992) ISBN 1 85622 239 X
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Wickford   Greater Anglia
Shenfield to Southend Line		   Hockley


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