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Shenfield to Southend Line

Shenfield–Southend line
Southend Victoria railway station.JPG
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 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE
Operating speed 90 mph (140 km/h)
Route map
Shenfield to
Southend Line
Great Eastern Main Line
to London
20-16 Shenfield Crossrail
Shenfield Jct
Great Eastern Main Line
to Norwich
24-28 Billericay
29-02 Wickford
Crouch Valley Line
to Southminster
33-09 Rayleigh
36-01 Hockley
38-54 Rochford
39-44 Southend Airport London Southend Airport
40-67 Prittlewell
41-42 Southend Victoria

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.


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Wikipedia

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