Shenfield railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Shenfield, Essex. As well as being a key interchange for medium- and long-distance services on the main line, it is also the western terminus of a branch line to Southend Victoria and one of the two eastern termini of the Elizabeth line. It is 20 miles 16 chains (32.51 km) down the line from Liverpool Street and is situated between Brentwood and either Ingatestone on the main line or Billericay on the branch line. Its three-letter station code is SNF.
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Shenfield | |
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Shenfield Location of Shenfield in Essex | |
Location | Shenfield |
Local authority | Borough of Brentwood |
Grid reference | TQ613949 |
Managed by | Greater Anglia |
Owner | Network Rail |
Station code | SNF |
DfT category | B |
Number of platforms | 6 |
Accessible | Yes[1] |
Fare zone | C |
National Rail annual entry and exit | |
2017–18 | 3.872 million[2] |
– interchange | 1.292 million[2] |
2018–19 | 4.149 million[2] |
– interchange | 1.331 million[2] |
2019–20 | 4.171 million[2] |
– interchange | 1.321 million[2] |
2020–21 | 1.063 million[2] |
– interchange | 0.440 million[2] |
2021–22 | 2.864 million[2] |
– interchange | 0.941 million[2] |
Railway companies | |
Original company | Eastern Counties Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Eastern Railway |
Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
Key dates | |
29 March 1843 (1843-03-29) | Opened as Shenfield |
March 1850 | Closed |
1 January 1887 | Reopened as Shenfield & Hutton Junction |
20 February 1969 | Renamed Shenfield |
Other information | |
External links | |
WGS84 | 51.6307°N 0.3301°E / 51.6307; 0.3301 |
London transport portal |
The station was opened in 1843 and has since expanded from its original three platforms to the current six.[3] It sees trains operated by Greater Anglia to main line destinations including Chelmsford, Witham and Ipswich, as well as branch line stations such as Southminster, Braintree, Harwich Town, Colchester Town and Clacton-on-Sea.
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.[4] The Hutton Junction suffix in the station's name was removed on 20 February 1969.[5]
The station is 20 miles 16 chains (32.5 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 Colchester and two towards 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.[6]
Oyster card readers were installed for pay-as-you-go journeys in 2013.[7]
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,[8][9] which was built to the north of platform 5, replacing one of the existing three western sidings.[10] The two remaining western sidings and three new eastern sidings are also used by the Elizabeth line.[10] Platforms 1 to 5 have an operational length for 12 carriages, platform 6 for 10 carriages.[11]
The typical off-peak service pattern at Shenfield is:
During peak times, service frequencies may be increased and calling patterns varied. Service frequencies are generally reduced on Sundays.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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Stratford | Greater Anglia Great Eastern Main Line | |||
Greater Anglia Shenfield to Southend Line | ||||
Preceding station | Elizabeth line | Following station | ||
Brentwood towards Paddington |
Elizabeth line | Terminus | ||
Future development | ||||
Brentwood | Elizabeth line | Terminus |
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