Cressing railway station

Cressing
Cressing railway station in 1976
Location
Place	Cressing
Local authority	Braintree
Coordinates	51°51′07″N 0°34′41″E / 51.852°N 0.578°ECoordinates: 51°51′07″N 0°34′41″E / 51.852°N 0.578°E
Grid reference	TL776202
Operations
Station code	CES
Managed by	Abellio Greater Anglia
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	29,536
2011/12	26,994
2012/13	29,838
2013/14	39,846
2014/15	34,680
History
Original company	Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
2 October 1848	Opened as Bulford
1 February 1911	Renamed Cressing
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Cressing from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Cressing railway station is on the Braintree Branch Line in the East of England, serving the villages of Cressing and Black Notley, Essex. It is 42 miles 70 chains (69.0 km) down-line from London Liverpool Street via Witham and it is situated between White Notley to the south and Braintree Freeport to the north. Its three-letter station code is CES.

The station is currently managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it.

History

The Maldon, Witham & Braintree Railway (MWBR) was authorised in 1846 but prior to its opening the company was absorbed by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR).^[1] The line opened for goods traffic on 15 August 1848, and for passenger services on 2 October 1848;^[1] it was double-tracked throughout until the Crimean War.

The station, originally named Bulford, was also opened on 2 October 1848. It was renamed Cressing on 1 February 1911.^[2] It is suggested that the large crossing gates were present because Cressing had a passing loop until after World War I, and retained the loop for freight purposes until goods traffic ceased on the line in 1964.

The station was owned by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) from 1862 to 1923, but as the building does not show typical GER architectural canopy support features, it is likely that it pre-dates the GER. Although there does not appear to be any obvious evidence (as in the case of Maldon East & Heybridge which displays "MWB" on the gulleys at the top of its downpipes) that it was built when the line first opened, that is a possibility and if so would make it the only surviving MWBR structure on this railway.

There was originally a signal box on the platform, next to the level crossing. This was removed and relocated to the preserved Colne Valley Railway at Castle Hedingham in the 1970s.

Cressing signal box in 1976, before electrification

Services

The typical off-peak service is of one train per hour to Braintree and one to Witham, where many Monday-Saturday services continue onto the Great Eastern Main Line to London Liverpool Street. On Sundays services terminate at Witham and passengers travelling on towards London must change for a connecting main line train.

Services are typically formed by Class 321 electric multiple units, but occasionally Class 360 units may be utilised.

References

1. Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 147. CN 8983.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 48, 71. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.

External links

• Train times and station information for Cressing railway station from National Rail
• More pictures on Flickr