Thorpe Bay railway station

Thorpe Bay railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line, serving the Thorpe Bay area to the east of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It is 37 miles 73 chains (61.0 km) down the main line from London Fenchurch Street via Basildon and is situated between Southend East and Shoeburyness. Its three-letter station code is TPB. The station and all trains serving it are currently operated by c2c.

Thorpe Bay
General information
Location	Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea England
Grid reference	TQ916857
Managed by	c2c
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	TPB
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 July 1910 (1910-07-01)	Opened as Southchurch-on-Sea
18 July 1910	Renamed Thorpe Bay
Passengers
2019/20	0.888 million
2020/21	0.200 million
2021/22	0.467 million
2022/23	0.597 million
2023/24	0.630 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

It was opened on 1 July 1910 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and was originally named Southchurch-on-Sea, being renamed Thorpe Bay on 18 July 1910.^[1]

The Whitechapel and Bow Railway, opened in 1902, permitted through trains to operate from the District Railway on to the LTSR. This was initially used for inner suburban District Railway trains that did not go beyond Upminster.^[2] In 1909 and 1910 trial joint through services were run from Ealing Broadway to Southend, changing from electric District to steam LTSR locomotives en route. This became a regular timetable in 1911, with a limited number of those daily trains extended to Shoeburyness, calling at Thorpe Bay. The service ended on 11 September 1939.^[3]

Private operation of the London, Tilbury and Southend line by Trenitalia c2c ceased on 20 July 2025, with the new publicly owned operator c2c taking over.^[4]

Design

The station has two through platforms, which are connected by an overhead footbridge. Platform 1 is utilised by London-bound trains, and platform 2 is for country-bound trains.

The ticket office has two serving positions and uses the TRIBUTE issuing system. The ticket office is an open wooden counter, without the clear-glass window usually separating ticket office clerks from customers.

Toilets are provided.

Services

As of the June 2024 timetable the typical Monday to Friday off-peak service is:^[5]

• 4 tph (trains per hour) westbound to London Fenchurch Street via Basildon (2 tph all stations and 2 tph semi-fast)
• 4 tph eastbound to Shoeburyness.