The abandoned Essex riverside train station that’s now a car park

Essex is well known for having great public transport links to the capital. many people opt to live in our wonderful county for that reason.

We have a range of train stations right on our doorsteps – but some train stations are now abandoned and shut. Some train stations have been converted into something completely different – from new homes to even a car park.

Tilbury Riverside railway station is a disused train station, located in the Thurrock town of Tilbury. It was opened in April 1854 as part of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, providing an interchange with the Port of Tilbury to take advantage of the increasing steamboat traffic in this area of the river Thames.

The station was opened as Tilbury, and it became Tilbury Riverside in August 1934. It used to provide an interchange with the Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry. The passenger train service would see many trains arriving from Fenchurch Street would only use the station to reverse and continue to Westcliff and Benfleet, with a few to or from Fenchurch Street starting or ending at Tilbury.

Just nearby to Tilbury Riverside, was a very shortlived train station called Tilbury Marine which was built by the Port of London Authority to serve boat trains. It was located within the docks area to the west of Tilbury Riverside It opened on May 15, 1927 and closed on May 1, 1932. The station suffered bomb damage in World War 2 but was still largely intact in 1947.

However, in 1986, London trains stopped calling at the service and the services were shortened to operate only from Upminster to Tilbury Riverside, East Tilbury and Stanford-le-Hope. Years later, in 1992, the station was closed.

For many years prior to closure, the station was served only by certain trains on the local service from Upminster via Grays, because the nearby Dartford Crossing and increased car ownership had caused a decline in its importance as a passenger ferry terminal.

There was some opposition to closure, but British Rail cited financial reasons for the closure with the annual cost of running the service at £180,000 against income of £11,000.

The station building can now be reached by a shuttle bus service from Tilbury Town railway station, which was a requirement of the line closure. Conditions placed include that the bus service is at least as frequent as the train service at closure, and also that any withdrawal of the bus service go through the same process as closure of the rail service.

Nowadays though, the station building is an indoor car park for the Tilbury Cruise passenger terminal.

References

1. ^{^} The abandoned Essex train station that’s now two homes (www.essexlive.news)