Shenfield railway station

Shenfield station was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway company on 29 March 1843 on the extension from Brentwood to Colchester. As it was situated in a rural area, patronage was low, so it was closed in March 1850. It reopened with the name Shenfield & Hutton Junction on 1 January 1887 under the Great Eastern Railway to serve as an interchange station with the new line to Southend that was completed two years later. There were three platforms, two up (London-bound) and one down (country-bound). Under the London and North Eastern Railway, two extra tracks for terminating local (suburban "metro") trains opened in 1934, resulting in five platforms.

The 1920 survey of the station shows goods sidings and a turntable on the London side of the up platforms. The goods yard was closed on 4 May 1964 and it became the station's car park.{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Victor E. |date=April 2011 |title=Eastern Main Lines - Shenfield to Ipswich |location=Midhurst |publisher=Middleton Press |at=Plan II |isbn=978-1-906008-96-3 }} The Hutton Junction suffix in the station's name was removed on 20 February 1969.{{harvnb|Mitchell|2011|loc=Plate 4}}

The station is {{convert|20|mi|16|chain|km}} from Liverpool Street. Immediately west of the station is Brentwood bank, which descends steeply in the up (London) direction. This bank presented a significant climb to steam trains. There are extensive sidings on the London side of the station just before the start of the descent down the bank.

To the east of the station, the lines for Southend diverge to the south. West of Shenfield there are five tracks, but to the east these split, two towards {{rws|Colchester}} and two towards {{rws|Southend Victoria}}. The London and North Eastern Railway opened the Southend Loop to the east of the station on 1 January 1934. This enabled Southend trains to and from platforms 4 and 5 to dive-under the main line thus eliminating conflicting movements. The bi-directional loop line connects to the Southend line at Mountnessing Junction.

The lines from London Liverpool Street and London Fenchurch Street (via Gas Factory Junction and Bow Junction) to Shenfield were electrified at 1500 V DC overhead system in 1949. This was converted to 6.5 kV AC in 1960. Gidea Park to Shenfield was converted to 25 kV AC in 1976. Liverpool Street to Gidea Park was converted to 25 kV AC in 1980.Modern Railways, March 2010, p. 44, and May 2010, p.35

Oyster card readers were installed for pay-as-you-go journeys in 2013.{{ cite news | url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/Part-1-Item05-Commissioners-Report-December-2012.pdf | title=Commissioners report | publisher=TFL | date=December 2012 | access-date=10 January 2013 }}

Today, Shenfield is served by fast trains on the main line towards London, and it is the north-eastern terminus of the Elizabeth line. At peak hours the frequency of service will increase from eight trains per hour to 12, necessitating the construction of a new 210-metre long platform 6,[https://web.archive.org/web/20220910161752/https://www.crossrail.co.uk/assets/library/document/a/original/a7selectionofthenortheasternterminus.pdf CROSSRAIL INFORMATION PAPER A7 – SELECTION OF THE NORTH EASTERN TERMINUS][https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211258/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/assets/download/2127 Environmental Baseline and Assessment of Impacts – North East Route Section] which was built to the north of platform 5, replacing one of the existing three western sidings.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211344/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/assets/download/661 Chapter 18 - Route Window NE17 - Shenfield station] The two remaining western sidings and three new eastern sidings are also used by the Elizabeth line. Platforms 1 to 5 have an operational length for 12 carriages, platform 6 for 10 carriages.{{Cite book |title=Railway Track Diagrams |volume=2 Eastern |editor-first=Martyn |editor-last=Brailsford |publisher=Trackmaps |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9549866-8-1 |location=Frome |pages=5, 10}}

The typical off-peak service pattern at Shenfield is:{{Cite web |work=Greater Anglia |title=Timetables |date=10 December 2023 |access-date=16 May 2014 |url= https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables |quote=}}{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Line Timetables |work=Transport for London|date=10 December 2023 |access-date=16 May 2024 |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/elizabeth-line-timetables |quote=}}

• 7 trains per hour (tph) to London Liverpool Street, of which:
• 5 call at Stratford
• 2 call at Romford and Stratford
• 2 tph to Heathrow Terminal 5, calling at all stations except Acton Main Line, Hanwell and Southall.
• 6 tph to Paddington, calling at all stations
• 3 tph to Southend Victoria, calling at all stations
• 1 tph to {{stnlnk|Braintree|England}}, calling at Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham and then all stations
• 1 tph to Clacton-on-Sea, calling at Ingatestone, Chelmsford, Witham, Colchester, Hythe, Wivenhoe and Thorpe-le-Soken
• 1 tph to Colchester Town, calling at Chelmsford, Witham and then all stations
• 1 tph to Ipswich, calling at Chelmsford and then all stations.

During peak times, service frequencies may be increased and calling patterns varied. Service frequencies are generally reduced on Sundays.

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{{rail line one to two|previous={{stnlnk|Romford}} or {{stn|Stratford}}|next1={{stnlnk|Ingatestone}} or {{stnlnk|Chelmsford}}|next2={{stnlnk|Billericay}}|route1=Greater Anglia
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• {{stn art lnk|SNF|CM158JD}}
• [http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/xls/station_usage_2005-06.xls Excel file displaying National Rail station usage information for 2005/06] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122100934/http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/xls/station_usage_2005-06.xls |date=22 January 2013 }}

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{{Railway stations served by Abellio Greater Anglia}}

Category:Railway stations in Essex

Category:DfT Category B stations

Category:Transport in the Borough of Brentwood

Category:Former Great Eastern Railway stations

Category:Railway stations served by Greater Anglia

Category:Railway stations served by the Elizabeth line

Category:William Neville Ashbee railway stations

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1843

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1850

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1887