Great Bentley railway station
Great Bentley Greater Anglia | |
---|---|
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | GRB |
Classification | DfT category E |
Key dates | |
8 January 1866 | Opened as Bentley Green |
1877 | Renamed Great Bentley |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 81,144 |
2019/20 | 78,634 |
2020/21 | 18,728 |
2021/22 | 50,764 |
2022/23 | 64,860 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Great Bentley railway station is on the
The station was opened by the Tendring Hundred Railway, a subsidiary of the
History
In 1859 the Tendring Hundred Railway was formed to extend the branch line from
The line was then extended to Weeley on 8 January 1866. Bentley Green station opened on the same day. It adopted its current name of Great Bentley in 1877.
Initially the station was served by a single track but the line was doubled between Great Bentley and Thorpe-le-Soken by the GER in 1891. The Wivenhoe to Great Bentley section was doubled in 1898.[2]
Operation of the station passed to the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. In 1948 the station became part of the Eastern Region of British Railways. The 1955 modernisation plan proposed the electrification of the line through Great Bentley and electric services commenced on 13 April 1959.
There was once a small goods yard to the east of the station which had cattle pens, coal wharves and an end loading ramp. In later years the main traffic was coal, agricultural fertilisers and sugar beet.[3] The yard was closed in the 1950s.
Great Bentley has two platforms. Platform 1 is used for westbound services towards Colchester and London Liverpool Street. Platform 2 is for eastbound services towards Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. When built, the two platforms were linked with a lattice footbridge. This was removed in the 1950s when the line was being prepared for electrification.
Services
Current timetable
The typical service pattern is:
Operator | Route | Rolling stock | Frequency | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Anglia
|
Alresford - Great Bentley - Weeley - Thorpe-le-Soken - Kirby Cross - Frinton-on-Sea - Walton-on-the-Naze
|
Class 720 | 1x per hour | Monday-Saturday |
Greater Anglia
|
Alresford - Great Bentley - Thorpe-le-Soken - Clacton-on-Sea
|
Class 720 | 1x per hour | Sundays only |
Historical timetables
The following services called in July 1922 (the last year of operation by the Great Eastern Railway):
- 8 up services (Monday-Saturday)
- 9 down services (Monday-Saturday)
- 4 up services (Sundays)
- 3 down services (Sundays)[5]
In June 1956 the timetable showed:
- 17 up services to Colchester (Monday-Saturday)
- 15 down services to Clacton (Monday-Saturday)[6]
During the summer of 1972 the timetable showed:
- 17 up services to Colchester (Monday-Friday)
- 18 down services to Clacton (Monday-Friday)
Some services worked through to Liverpool Street. On summer Saturdays, 24 down and 21 up trains called.[7]
References
- ^ "RailRef GE Great Eastern". www.s-r-s.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013.
- ^ Great Eastern Railway Society Journal 111 page 24 S Jenkins
- ^ Great Eastern Railway Society Journal 111 page 27 S Jenkins
- ^ Great Eastern Railway Society Journal 111 page 28 S Jenkins
- ^ Bradshaws July 1922 Railway Guide (reprint) DAVID AND CHARLES 1985
- ^ Great Eastern Railway Society Journal 111 page 27 S Jenkins July 2002 ISSN 0143-0866
- ^ Great Eastern Railway Society Journal 111 page 27 S Jenkins
External links
- Train times and station information for Great Bentley railway station from National Rail
- Great Bentley village website with a picture of two steam locomotives at this station
- Great Bentley station interactive plan
- Live departures from Great Bentley
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Anglia | ||||
Historical railways | ||||
Line open, station closed | Great Eastern Railway Tendring Hundred Extension Railway | Line and station open |