Crouch Valley line

Crouch Valley line
Wickford is the western terminus of the line
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Essex East of England
Termini	Wickford Southminster
Stations	7
Operation
Opened	1889
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio Greater Anglia
Character	Rural
Rolling stock	Class 321
Technical
Line length	16 miles 40 chains (26.6 km)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50hz AC OHLE
Operating speed	60 mph maximum
Route map miles-chains from London Liverpool Street Shenfield to Southend Line 29-02 Wickford Wickford junction 31-40 Battlesbridge 34-00 South Woodham Ferrers to Maldon West Hogwell sidings 37-25 North Fambridge 40-29 Althorne Creeksea sidings 43-24 Burnham-on-Crouch 45-42 Southminster This diagram:

miles-chains from London Liverpool Street

The Crouch Valley line (sometimes referred to as the Southminster branch line) is a branch line off the Shenfield–Southend line in Essex, in the east of England. It links Wickford in the west to Southminster in the east. The vast majority of services connect to or from the Great Eastern Main Line at Shenfield, and its London terminus at Liverpool Street.

The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.05, and is classified as a London and South East commuter line. The stations and passenger services on the line are currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.

The route, which is 16 miles 40 chains (26.6 km) in length, was opened to goods traffic on 1 June 1889 and to passengers on 1 July 1889, by the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It was electrified at 25 kV AC overhead in 1986.

The number of trains on the Crouch Valley line is restricted to two trains per hour (one in each direction) at weekends and two every 40 minutes on weekdays, with some additional services during peak times. This is due to the limited capacity available after the line was reduced to a single track in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. It was also used to take waste and fuel rods from Bradwell nuclear power station to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing facility in Cumbria, but this service has now ceased.