Southminster railway station

Southminster
The terminus in 2011
General information
Location	Southminster, Maldon England
Coordinates	51.66006°N 0.83386°E / 51.66006; 0.83386
Grid reference	TQ961995
Managed by	Greater Anglia
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	SMN
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Opened	1 July 1889
Passengers
2019/20	0.129 million
2020/21	18,520
2021/22	71,102
2022/23	78,294
2023/24	85,992
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Southminster railway station is the eastern terminus of the Crouch Valley Line in Essex, England; it serves the town of Southminster and other settlements on the Dengie Peninsula. It is 45 miles 42 chains (73.27 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street. The station is managed by Greater Anglia, which operates all services. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is WIS and the station's three-letter station code is SMN. The platform has an operational length for 8 carriages. The preceding station to the west is Burnham-on-Crouch.

History

The line and station were opened on 1 June 1889 for goods and on 1 October 1889 for passengers by the Great Eastern Railway in 1889. The station had a single platform and station buildings.[1] There were extensive sidings, including a line to gravel pits which operated until 3 November 1979. The sidings included a goods shed, cattle pens and a locomotive turntable.[1]

The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1939 and possibly one for part of 1934.[2] The goods yard closed on 4 October 1965; there was a 36-lever signal box, which closed on 19 January 1986.[1] The line and station were passed to the London and North Eastern Railway following the Grouping of 1923. It then passed to the Eastern Region of British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948.

The Wickford to Southminster line was electrified using 25kV overhead line electrification on 12 May 1986.

When sectorisation was introduced, Southminster was managed by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Rail.

Service

The typical off-peak service is of one train every 40 minutes to Wickford, with additional services at peak times. Some peak services continue to or from Shenfield and/or London Liverpool Street, via the Great Eastern Main Line. On Sundays, the service reduces to hourly.[3]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Burnham-on-Crouch		Greater Anglia Crouch Valley line		Terminus

References

1. Mitchell, Vic (2010). Branch Lines to Southend and Southminster. Midhurst Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-76-5.
2. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 10. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
3. "Timetables". Greater Anglia. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

External links

• Map sources for Southminster railway station

• Train times and station information for Southminster railway station from National Rail
• History of the Crouch Valley Line
• Local information about Crouch Valley Line