Station
The station was opened on 2 July 1849 by the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway, which was worked by the Eastern Union Railway. There are still sidings present at Hythe, but they are not in use, and there was once a short branch to Hythe quay which crossed the River Colne adjacent to the station by a small iron bridge. There is no evidence today of the former quayside tracks, but aerial photo sites clearly show the exact alignments.
There was also a spur from the railway station to Colchester Gas Works, which ran along the street to Hythe Quay. This became redundant in 1973, when the UK switched from town gas to natural gas. Little trace now remains of this, apart from a small section of trackbed at Hythe, and the piers of the bridge (removed around 2007), over the River Colne.
Hythe underwent major rebuilding in 2008 and 2009, which included extension of the platforms to accommodate 12-car train sets, and demolition of the original station building, plus dismantling of the disused coal depot. As part of this work, the north side siding was removed, and the pointwork and a short section of track leading to the south side sidings was also removed. The station building remained until its demolition in June 2009 but had not been used for many years. It was targeted by vandals and graffiti artists.
The station has a bright new image and clean modern facilities incorporating a permit totravel machine on northbound platform 1.
The station now also accommodates trains direct through to/from London Liverpool Street during peak times with no need to change at Colchester main station through which the new longer trains travel.
The station now benefits from new parking facilities owned and operated by Essex County Parking Ltd under license from Network Rail. The new facilities offer secure short and long-term parking for commuters and the wider public and are adjacent to the London-bound platform with easy access to the station. Short-term and long-term parking options are available via onsite, online or pay by phone payment options. Other facilities include a café and carwash.
Read more about this topic: Hythe (Essex) Railway Station
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