Tendring Hundred Railway
| Sunshine Coast Line | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | East of England |
| Termini |
Colchester Clacton-on-Sea Walton-on-the-Naze |
| Stations | 12 |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Abellio Greater Anglia |
| Depot(s) | Colchester Clacton-on-Sea |
| Rolling stock |
Class 321 Class 360 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 18 miles 45 chains (29.9 km) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Sunshine Coast Line is the current marketing name of what originally was the Tendring Hundred Railway Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England. It links Colchester to the seaside resorts of Clacton-on-Sea and, via a branch, Walton-on-the-Naze. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.08, and is classified as a London & South East commuter line. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Greater Anglia.
Trains for Clacton-on-Sea usually originate at London Liverpool Street, while those for Walton-on-the-Naze typically start at Colchester (or Thorpe-le-Soken on Sundays). There are, however, limited morning and evening peak-time services in each direction between Walton-on-the-Naze and Liverpool Street.
The Great Eastern Main Line out of Shoreditch in London reached Colchester by 1843 and was extended to Ipswich in 1846.
The first short section of this branch line was built by the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury & Halstead Railway to the port village of Hythe, and opened for freight traffic on 31 March 1847. In 1859 the Tendring Hundred Railway Company was formed to extend the line from Hythe to Wivenhoe, which opened on 8 May 1863 for both passenger and goods services from Colchester. By the time the Wivenhoe extension opened the line had been taken over by the Great Eastern Railway (GER).
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