Read advice before booking on 24-27 December and 3-8 January
Wheelchair accessible space in Standard only
Passenger information and alternative arrangements during work to replace the lifts at Colchester station
Work is taking place to replace the lifts at Colchester station. The upgrade project begins on 5 January and is due to be completed at the end of March 2023.
If you use the lifts to help you get around the station, please note that this work will affect your journey and you may be affected by alternative arrangements while the work is being carried out.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and we will do everything we can to help you during this period. Please see below for more details.
Please note, there is also industrial action taking place on the 6 and 7 January. Please avoid travelling on these days if possible. More information is available on our strike page.
Greater Anglia is replacing the lifts on platforms 1 & 2 and 3 to 6 to improve reliability and the facilities we provide for customers.
The work will see both lifts out of use from 5 January until the end of March 2023.
To minimise inconvenience to customers, Greater Anglia is currently putting in place measures to enable people with accessibility needs to continue to travel around the station, including the installation of a new stair lift to platforms 1 and 2.
We will also have extra staff available at Colchester station to help you use the temporary stair lift and change platforms.
Both lifts have reached the end of their life. They are more likely to break down because of their age and replacement parts are extremely hard to get hold of, which could result in the lifts being out of use for longer if they did break down. Therefore, they need to be replaced with brand new ones.
We have decided after substantial consideration and review, including seeking specialist advice, to replace both lifts at the same time to minimise the amount of time that they are out of use.
Replacing both lifts together will ensure that any customer inconvenience is minimised as the work will be completed sooner, so that we can resume our normal service to customers as quickly as possible.
If we had decided to replace one lift at a time, the work would have taken twice as long, and with no stair lift to platforms 3 – 6, passengers would still have been unable to cross platforms. It has not been possible to install a temporary stair lift to platforms 3-6 because the station has a very limited power supply, which could not accommodate the power requirements of an additional stair lift. In addition, there is no access to the power supply in the area where the stair lift would need to be installed. In-depth surveys of the load bearing wall would also need to be carried out which would further extend the amount of time needed for the works causing greater inconvenience to customers.
We are carrying out this work between January and March because it is a quieter time of year for this station, which sees many more passengers changing trains in the summer, with people travelling to the coast. We therefore hope this approach will minimise the adverse impact on customers while the project is underway.
While we appreciate that this work may cause difficulties for some people in navigating the station, it is essential that it is done and it will mean that the lifts will be more reliable in the future.
If you are able to use the stairs comfortably, this work will not affect your journey. However, if you have accessibility needs and / or have heavy luggage or a pushchair, which means that you normally use the lifts in order to change platforms or enter / exit the station, then this work will affect your journey.
In that case our advice is as follows:
You can also see an interactive map and tour of Colchester station.
Please find below alternative arrangements for specific journeys involving Colchester station, to help you plan your journey. If you are travelling:
Trains to Colchester Town usually leave from Platform 2. Please arrive at the north side of the station where we can assist you to use the stair lifts to access Platform 2.
Please arrive earlier - at least 20 minutes before your train - so we can assist you.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
We are sorry that wheelchairs and mobility scooters weighing over 225kg, inclusive of passenger, and / or larger than 700mm by 940mm will not be able to be accommodated because this is the maximum weight capacity and size of the stair lift. Please contact Passenger Assist to discuss your journey options.
If you are arriving into Colchester from Colchester Town, trains usually arrive on Platforms 4 or 5, where you can exit the station step-free.
If you arrive on south side of the station, there is step-free access to platforms 3,4,5 and 6, as well as blue badge parking bays at the front of the station and a drop off / pick up point.
If you park on the south side of the station, then on your return journey you will need to use the stair lift from platforms 1 & 2 and another stair lift up to the north side station exit and then take a route out of the station, down a slope to the road, passing beneath the railway bridge and coming back up the other side, which is also a slope. There are no benches along this route, which is approximately 350 m long. If this would be difficult for you, please alert a member of staff who will be able to provide assistance. We will have an accessible minibus on standby 24/7, 7 days a week, during the works to transport people between both sides of the station when needed.
If you are being picked up on your return to Colchester, please arrange to be met on the north side of the station as this will be more convenient for you. There will be a set of stair lifts to take you from the platform to the north side station entrance.
On arrival at Colchester please be aware that it will take longer to exit the station using the stair lifts – around 5 minutes to go down the stair lift and another 5 minutes to go up the other side to the north side exit.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
On your return to London, there is step-free access to platforms 3,4,5 and 6.
We are sorry that wheelchairs and mobility scooters weighing over 225kg, inclusive of passenger, and / or larger than 700mm by 940mm will not be able to be accommodated because this is the maximum weight capacity and size of the stair lift. Please contact Passenger Assist to discuss your journey options.
Trains to Clacton-on-Sea usually leave from Platform 2. Please arrive at the north side of the station where we can assist you to use the stair lifts to access Platform 2.
Please arrive earlier - at least 20 minutes before your train - so we can assist you.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
We are sorry that wheelchairs and mobility scooters weighing over 225kg, inclusive of passenger, and / or larger than 700mm by 940mm will not be able to be accommodated because this is the maximum weight capacity and size of the stair lift. Please contact Passenger Assist to discuss your journey options.
Trains usually arrive on Platforms 4 or 5, where you can exit the station step-free.
This journey requires a change of train at Colchester.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
If you pre-book, please consider travelling on an earlier train to allow time for your connection as you may need to take a route out of the station, down a slope to the road, passing beneath the railway bridge and coming back up the other side, which is also a slope in order to cross platforms, and then use the stair lift to access platform 2.
If this would be difficult for you, please alert a member of staff who will be able to provide assistance.
We will have an accessible minibus on standby 24/7, 7 days a week, during the works to transport people between both sides of the station when needed.
We are sorry that wheelchairs and mobility scooters weighing over 225kg, inclusive of passenger, and larger than 700mm by 940mm will not be able to be accommodated because this is the maximum weight capacity and size of the stair lift. Please contact Passenger Assist to discuss your journey options.
Please take a direct train from London Liverpool Street to Clacton-on-Sea, rather than initially taking a train to Norwich which would involve changing trains at Colchester.
Please take a Clacton train from London and change at Thorpe-le-Soken. Please note that Thorpe-le-Soken should only be used for interchange between trains as there is no step-free access to and from the platforms there.
Please arrive at the north side of the station where we can assist you to use the stair lifts to access Platform 2.
Please arrive earlier - at least 20 minutes before your train - so we can assist you.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
If you park on the northside of the station, then on your return journey you will need to exit the station and then take a route out of the station, down a slope to the road, passing beneath the railway bridge and coming back up the other side (which is also a slope). There are no benches along this route, which is approximately 350 metres long. If this would be difficult for you, please alert a member of staff who will be able to provide assistance.
We will have an accessible minibus on standby 24/7, 7 days a week, during the works to transport people between both sides of the station when needed.
If you are being picked up on your return to Colchester, please arrange to be met on the south side of the station as this will be more convenient with a step-free exit.
Alternatively, if you drive to Colchester station, you may wish to consider driving to Manningtree instead for journeys which do not involve changing at Colchester as Manningtree has lifts which will enable you to cross between the platforms.
We are sorry that wheelchairs and mobility scooters weighing over 225kg, inclusive of passenger, and /or larger than 700mm by 940mm will not be able to be accommodated because this is the maximum weight capacity and size of the stair lift. Please contact Passenger Assist to discuss your journey options.
There is step-free access from Platform 4 to the station exit.
This journey requires a change of train at Colchester.
We strongly advise that you pre-book assistance so that we can be ready to assist you.
If you pre-book, please consider travelling on an earlier train to allow time for your connection as you may need to use the stair lifts and then take a route out of the station, down a slope to the road, passing beneath the railway bridge and coming back up the other side, which is also a slope in order to cross platforms, to meet your connection. There are no benches along this route, which is approximately 350 metres long. If this would be difficult for you, please alert a member of staff who will be able to provide assistance.
We will have an accessible minibus on standby 24/7, 7 days a week, during the works to transport people between both sides of the station when needed.
On the north side of the station, there are blue badge parking bays and a multi storey car park.
There is a pick-up and drop-off area near the station entrance.
On the south side of the station, there are blue badge parking bays near the station entrance with step-free access to platforms 3,4,5 and 6.
There is a pick-up and drop-off area near the station entrance.
If you would like further help and information, please contact our Customer Relations.
Plans are being developed for a lift to link the north side ticket office and entrance hall with the subway and replace the current stair lift as a means of access to the subway, at some point in the future.
However, the implementation of such a project would require significant additional funding which is not currently available to us. We will, though, seek to secure the funding for such an upgrade, potentially through the national Access for All fund.
As there are no guarantees such a bid would be successful, at this point it’s not possible to provide timescales as to when such a project could proceed. Nevertheless, we will do all we can to secure such funding as soon as possible.
Greater Anglia is operated by:
Together we will end domestic abuse