| Witham | |
|---|---|
| Witham Railway Station in 1979 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Witham |
| Local authority | Braintree, Essex |
| Grid reference | TL820152 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WTM |
| Managed by | National Express East Anglia |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2004/05 * | 2.261 million |
| 2005/06 * | 2.307 million |
| 2006/07 * | 2.343 million |
| 2007/08 * | 2.341 million |
| 2008/09 * | 2.277 million |
| 2009/10 * | 2.077 million |
| History | |
| Original company | Eastern Counties Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Eastern Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| 29 March 1843 | Station opened |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Witham from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
Witham railway station is a railway station serving the town of Witham in Essex. The station is located on the Great Eastern Main Line and is also the junction of the Witham-Braintree line. The branch junction faces west (towards London), thus permitting through running between London and Braintree.
The station is located approximately half a mile to the north of the town centre.
The station is served by National Express East Anglia. All off-peak services are operated by Class 321, Class 360 and occasionally Class 315 electrical multiple units for Braintree, Colchester, Clacton and Ipswich services.
Contents |
Platform 1 is rarely used except for peak hour services starting from or terminating at the station. (This platform used to be used by trains serving the now dismantled branch line to Maldon.) Platform 2 is for services to London. Platform 3 is for services to Colchester and beyond. Platform 4 is the Braintree platform, where services start from or terminate or run to and from London.
The station car park is situated next to the station. To access the car park from the station passengers used to have to exit onto the street and take a substantial walk to the road bridge across the tracks situated just past the western end of the station, over the bridge and then down a residential road the other side of the tracks. Station users have been campaigning for a remedy to this issue for many years. In November 2001 funding was announced to build a direct footbridge from the station to the car park,[1] but this was subsequently withdrawn indefinitely in financial cutbacks following the collapse of Railtrack. Reports of a new funding package for a footbridge emerged in 2008.[2]
Work took place between January and August 2011 which includes a new entrance at the station to provide access to and from the adjacent car park. This work is now completed and the footbridge opened on 31st August 2011. The improvements also see new disabled parking facilities, a new push button customer help and information point and new sheltered cycle storage. The station has also recently undergone fence refurbishment, with CCTV extending from the entrance as far as the bus stop. For crime reporting purposes, bicycles attached to the fence should be reported to Essex police, whereas bicycles stolen from the sheltered cycle storage should be reported to the BTP.
The following services currently call at Witham:
| Operator | Route | Material | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NXEA | London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Hatfield Peverel - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Manningtree - Ipswich | Class 321, Class 360 | 1x per hour | |
| NXEA | London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Romford - Shenfield - Ingatestone - Chelmsford - Witham - Kelvedon - Marks Tey - Colchester - Colchester Town | Class 321, Class 360 | 1x per hour | Not Sundays |
| NXEA | London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Chelmsford - Witham - Colchester - Wivenhoe - Thorpe-le-Soken - Clacton-on-Sea | Class 321, Class 360 | 1x per hour | Also calls at Marks Tey, Alresford and Great Bentley on Sundays |
| NXEA | London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Shenfield - Ingatestone - Chelmsford - Witham - White Notley - Cressing - Braintree Freeport - Braintree | Class 321 | 1x per hour | Not between London and Witham on Sundays |
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Express East Anglia | ||||
| National Express East Anglia | ||||
| National Express East Anglia | ||||
| Dutchflyer
London-Amsterdam
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| Historical railways | ||||
| Anglia Railways | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Great Eastern Railway |
Line and station closed
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The section of the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) between Brentwood and Colchester was opened on 29 March 1843,[3] and Witham station opened the same day.[4] The station became a junction five years later with the opening of the Maldon, Witham and Braintree Railway (MW&B) to goods trains on 15 August 1848; passenger services began on 2 October 1848.[5][6] The MW&B was absorbed by the ECR, which itself amalgamated with other companies in 1862 to form the Great Eastern Railway.[7]
Witham railway station was the scene of a serious accident on Saturday 1 September 1905. The 09:27 London Liverpool Street to Cromer 14 carriage express derailed whilst travelling through the station at speed. 10 passengers and a Luggage Porter were killed when several of the carriages somersaulted onto the platforms causing considerable damage to the rolling stock and the station. 71 passengers were seriously injured.[8] This remains to this day the worst single loss of life in a railway accident in Essex.