Shenfield-Southend line

Shenfield–Southend line
Southend Victoria is the eastern terminus of the line
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	National Rail
Locale	Essex
Termini	Shenfield Southend Victoria
Stations	9
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio Greater Anglia
Depot(s)	Ilford
Rolling stock	Class 321
Technical
Line length	22 miles 26 chains (35.9 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Operating speed	90 mph (140 km/h)
Route map [ ] Shenfield to Southend Line miles-chains from Liverpool Street Great Eastern Main Line to London 20-16 Shenfield Shenfield Jct Great Eastern Main Line to Norwich 24-28 Billericay 29-02 Wickford Crouch Valley Line A130 road 33-09 Rayleigh 36-01 Hockley 38-54 Rochford 39-44 Southend Airport 40-67 Prittlewell 41-42 Southend Victoria This diagram:

The Shenfield–Southend line is a branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex, in the east of England. It links Shenfield in the west to Southend Victoria, in Southend-on-Sea, in the east. The vast majority of services connect to or from the Great Eastern Main Line 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. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.

The line, as well as the Crouch Valley line which branches off it at Wickford, was opened in 1888–89 and represented the largest railway building project undertaken by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in Essex. The 15 stations of these "New Essex" lines were the epitome of the "Domestic Revival" style pioneered on the GER by their architect, W. N. Ashbee, which came to be known as the New Essex or Ashbee style. The stations on the Shenfield–Southend line are largely in their original form, including canopies.

The line has been electrified at different times throughout its history using three different systems, all of which use overhead lines to carry the electric current. The first system used was 1500 V d.c., commissioned in 1956, following the commissioning of the main line from London to Shenfield in 1949. This was to replace an intensive steam service. In the 1960s the line was converted to 6.25 kV, 50 Hz as part of the decision by the British Transport Commission to adopt 25 kV 50 Hz electrification as the standard system rather than 1500 V d.c. electrification. The line did not immediately use 25 kV due to problems with clearances under bridges. In 1979, it was converted for a second time to 25 kV following more research into the permissible clearances to structures.