Colchester Town railway station (formerly St Botolph's) is on the Sunshine Coast Line in the

East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

, and is the secondary station serving the city of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, Essex. It is from London Liverpool Street. Its three-letter station code is CET. The city's larger station is called (also known as Colchester North station to distinguish it) and is on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

but is further away from the city centre. The station was opened in 1866 by the Tendring Hundred Railway, a subsidiary of the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

, as St. Botolph's, after the nearby priory and church that gave their name to this part of the city. It was renamed Colchester Town in 1991. It is currently operated by

Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city se ...

, which also runs all trains serving the station. there is only one platform. Since a magistrates' court was built the station size has decreased, losing its car park and talks of adding an extra platform have been halted. To the east of the station, Colne Junction is the western extremity of a triangle which gives access towards Colchester station to the west and Hythe station to the east. The curve to the north from Colne Junction to East Gates Junction is sharp, with a continuous check rail which necessitates slow passage.

Services

The following services typically call at Colchester Town during the off-peak: *2 trains per hour (tph) to

only; *1 tph to London Liverpool Street, calling at all stations to then , , and ; *1 tph to , calling at all intermediate stations. Colchester Town is closed on Sundays unless engineering work closes Colchester station, in which case Colchester Town is used as an alternative station.

References

External links

{{Railway stations served by Abellio Greater Anglia Railway stations in Essex DfT Category E stations Former Great Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1866 Railway stations served by Greater Anglia Buildings and structures in Colchester (town) Transport in Colchester 1866 establishments in England