Summary
Elsenham railway station is found on the West Anglia Main Line, serving the village of Elsenham in Essex, England. It is 35 miles 45 chains (57.2 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street, and is situated between Stansted Mountfitchet and Newport stations. Its three-letter station code is ESM.
Elsenham  | |
|---|---|
 The waiting room on the London-bound platform | |
| General information | |
| Location | Elsenham, District of Uttlesford England |
| Coordinates | 51°55′16″N 0°13′41″E / 51.921°N 0.228°E |
| Grid reference | TL533270 |
| Managed by | Greater Anglia |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | ESM |
| Classification | DfT category E |
| History | |
| Opened | 1845 |
| Passengers | |
| 2018/19 |  0.253 million |
| 2019/20 |  0.245 million |
| 2020/21 | 63,386 |
| 2021/22 | 0.156 million |
| 2022/23 | 0.192 million |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
The station and all trains serving it are operated by Greater Anglia.
The ticket office (on the London-bound platform) is staffed part-time; there are self-service ticket machines on each of the platforms (which are staggered, the country-bound being north of a level crossing and the London-bound being south of it) and a permit to travel machine is also available. Electronic real-time departure boards are available on both platforms.[1]
Facilities edit
There is a café (in 2019) adjoining the Cambridge-bound platform: Jeff & Eddie's Railside Café, which opens early morning and closes at 15:30.
There is a footbridge and a level crossing connecting the platforms.
History edit
Elsenham station was opened in 1845 and retains its original layout with staggered platforms on either side of a level crossing.
From 1913 to 1952, it was the junction for the Elsenham & Thaxted Light Railway.
Crossing accident edit
On 3 December 2005, Class 158 Express Sprinter unit 158856 struck and killed two teenage girls on the station pedestrian crossing, next to the manually-operated level crossing between the staggered platforms. Although flashing red lights and a klaxon indicated that a train was approaching, it is likely that they thought these applied to the train they wanted to catch to Cambridge, which was just arriving at the opposite platform. The curvature of the line gives only three seconds visibility of an approaching non-stopping train. A fatality in the same circumstances had occurred in 1989.[2]
Previous risk assessments carried out by Network Rail in 2002 had identified potential dangers with the crossing and recommended the installation of gates that would lock automatically as trains approached, but this was not acted upon. In 2012, Network Rail was prosecuted for breaching health and safety laws and fined £1 million for the accident.[3]
Since the accident, Network Rail responded to requests from the girls' families and erected a footbridge and installed locking gates at the foot crossing in 2007. The accident led to a complete review by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch of all pedestrian level crossings at stations.[2]
Services edit
All services at Elsenham are operated by Greater Anglia using Class 720 EMUs.[4][5]
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[6]
- 1 tph to London Liverpool Street
- 1 tph to Cambridge North
During the peak hours, the service is increased to 2 tph in each direction. The station is also served by a small number of peak hour services to and from Ely.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Anglia | ||||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Great Eastern Railway | Line and station closed |
||
References edit
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Elsenham (Essex)". www.nationalrail.co.uk.
- ^ a b Department for Transport Rail Accident Investigation Branch (December 2006). "Rail Accident Report: Investigation into station pedestrian crossings...; with reference to the fatal accident at Elsenham station on 3 December 2005" (PDF).
- ^ "Network Rail fined £1m over girls' level crossing deaths". BBC News. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ "GA withdraws all Class 379s". Today's Railways UK. No. 242. April 2022. p. 66.
- ^ "More passengers in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire enjoy new trains". www.greateranglia.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ Table 22 National Rail timetable, May 2022
External links edit
- Train times and station information for Elsenham railway station from National Rail
- Railways Archive account including RAIB report
- Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1305711)". National Heritage List for England.
- Station on navigable O.S. map