Southend Airport railway station

Southend Airport railway station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line in the East of England, serving London Southend Airport, the village of Sutton and northern parts of Southend-on-Sea. It is 39 miles 44 chains (63.65 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Rochford and Prittlewell. Train services provide an airport rail link between Southend Airport and Central London.

Southend Airport
The station in 2012
LocationLondon Southend Airport, Rochford
England
Coordinates51.5687°N 0.7052°E / 51.5687; 0.7052
Grid referenceTQ875890
Managed byStobart Rail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeSIA
History
Original companyNetwork Rail
Key dates
18 July 2011Opened
Passengers
2014/15 0.510 million
2015/16 0.425 million
2016/17 0.396 million
2017/18 0.467 million
2018/19 0.611 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is managed by Stobart Rail (Stobart Aviation operates the airport) but the trains serving it are operated by Greater Anglia.[1] The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is SSV; the station's three-letter station code is SIA. The platforms have an operational length for 12-coach trains.

History

When Southend Airport officially opened as a municipal airport in 1935, the mayor of Southend suggested that it would be a good idea to open a railway station to serve the airport. For the first 75 years of the airport's operation, the nearest railway station was Rochford. After Southend Borough Council sold the airport to Regional Airports Ltd, a scheme was proposed in 1997 to build a station, and planning permission was obtained from Rochford District Council. It was not until 2008 that the Stobart group began to advance the project, and construction began in late 2009. The station was originally planned to open in 2009, but the opening date was postponed several times. In June 2011, National Express trains began stopping at the station, but passengers were not permitted to get off.[2][3][1]

The station was designed by Atkins and constructed by Birse Rail; it was opened by the Transport Minister Theresa Villiers in 2011.[4] A new terminal building adjoining the station opened in 2012.

Services

The typical Monday-Saturday off-peak service is:

When the Crossrail project is completed, interchange will be possible at Shenfield, Stratford and Liverpool Street between Southend Airport rail services and the new Elizabeth Line, providing onward links to central London and Heathrow Airport. Glyn Jones, chief executive of Stobart Aviation, proposed in 2018 that Crossrail should be extended to Southend Airport to alleviate capacity problems at Heathrow.[5]

Map of London airport Tube and rail connections

References
  1. "Airport rail station to open next week". Echo Newspapers. Stobart, not National Express, will employ the staff who man the station and meet passengers getting off the train
  2. "New London Southend Airport Railway Station Officially Opens" (PDF). London Southend Airport. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. "London Southend Airport opens station and control tower". BBC News. 18 July 2011.
  4. "Birse Rail joins forces with Stobart Rail to construct new railway station at Southend Airport". BalfourBeattyRail. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2011. Birse Rail is working with Stobart Rail, part of Stobart Group, to oversee the design and construction management of a new railway station at London Southend Airport.
  5. Lo, Hsin-Yi. "Extend Crossrail to Southend Airport". Southend Echo. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Rochford   Greater Anglia
Shenfield to Southend Line		   Prittlewell
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