Southend Central railway station

Southend Central
Location
Place	Southend-on-Sea
Local authority	Southend-on-Sea
Grid reference	TQ881855
Operations
Station code	SOC
Managed by	c2c
Number of platforms	4
DfT category	C1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	2.791 million
2005/06	3.018 million
2006/07	1.695 million
2007/08	1.904 million
2008/09	1.821 million
2009/10	1.839 million
2010/11	1.808 million
2011/12	2.086 million
2012/13	1.996 million
2013/14	1.955 million
2014/15	2.919 million
History
Key dates	Opened 1856 (1856)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Southend Central from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Southend Central railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line and is one of two primary stations serving the town of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. The town's other main station is called Southend Victoria which is the terminus of a branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line. Southend Central is 35 miles 55 chains (57.4 km) down line from London Fenchurch Street via Basildon and it is situated between Westcliff and Southend East. Its three-letter station code is SOC.

It was opened in 1856 as the original eastern terminus of the line, which was later extended to Shoeburyness. The station and all trains serving it are currently operated by c2c.

Description

Southend Central has four platforms:

• Platform 1 is a disused bay platform; trains may terminate at this platform if platform 4 is not available for use or when engineering works are taking place between Southend Central and Shoeburyness.
• Platform 2 is typically for eastbound services towards Shoeburyness.
• Platform 3 is typically for westbound services towards London Fenchurch Street via Basildon.
• Platform 4 is a bay platform typically for westbound services towards London Fenchurch Street via the Ockendon branch or via Rainham.

Facilities at the station include a partially sheltered bicycle storage rack and a car park. The ticket office has two serving positions, one of which is fully accessible, and uses the Tribute ticket issuing system.

Following the successful refurbishment of Benfleet railway station, c2c implemented a similar project at Southend Central. The work cost £460,000 and was jointly funded by c2c and Southend Borough Council. It involved the complete refurbishment of the ticket office and toilets and the construction of a new forecourt on the north side of the station (leading to platform 2) opposite the University of Essex Southend campus, with new steps and handrails on both sides of the canopy, and a new glass roof and lighting over the bicycle parking area. It was completed in 2007 after around four weeks of work.

When the London Underground's District line operated a seasonal non-stop excursion train service between 1910 and 1939 through to the Southend area, Southend Central was the second station to be called at after leaving Upminster.

Services

The typical off-peak service frequency is:

• 6 tph (trains per hour) westbound towards London Fenchurch Street, of which:
  • 2 tph call at all stations via Basildon
  • 2 tph call at selected stations only via Basildon
  • 2 tph call at all stations via the Ockendon branch
• 4 tph eastbound towards Shoeburyness

External links

• Train times and station information for Southend Central railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Westcliff		c2c London, Tilbury and Southend Railway		Southend East
	Historical services
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Leigh-on-Sea towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		Shoeburyness Terminus