The Crouch Valley

Overhead electric wires were engergised on the Crouch Valley starting on March 17th 1986, only a few years before Class 321 operation began on many of the surrounding routes out of London Liverpool Street in 1988. Class 321s have seen operation on the Crouch Valley since at least the early 1990s, with the first units being seen on the branch in their distinct Network SouthEast red white and blue livery.

Over the years the Class 321s have been joined by other traction on the Crouch Valley line. Until their withdrawal by First Great Eastern, Class 312s operated peak time services on the Crouch Valley line. This was thanks to their slam doors allowing for operation of longer trains than would have been possible using units with more modern automatic sliding doors. Until their move to TfL Rail along with the former Greater Anglia inner urban routes to Shenfield, Chesunt and Chingford, PEP derived Class 315 units also saw occasional operation on the branch along with some services from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria. For the majority of services however between the 1990s and the early 2020s the Class 321s have been the backbone of operations on the Crouch Valley.

Usually Class 321 units operated solo, with one four car unit usually able to handle the light passenger loads between Wickford and Southminster. Through trains from London Liverpool Street also operate, with these trains often requiring substantially more capacity than the regular off peak trains shuttling on the branch. Their have been periods of up to 12 coach, formed of 3 units coupled together, services operating on the branch, however many of these ceased following the start of the COVID 19 pandemic with few returning before Class 321s were withdrawn in 2023.

Operations of the new Class 720s began during 2021, often with one diagram being covered by a Class 720 and the other remaining a Class 321. Thanks to issues on the branch line during 2022 however operation of Renatus Class 321s lasted much longer than expected. The same goes for the services on the primary route to Southend Victoria, which thanks to the way units were swapped between depots meant a few services a day operated with Class 321s among the much more prevalent Class 720s.

BOTTOM (1) Greater Anglia white (Blue doors) 321352 passing The Iron Bridge, Burnham-on-Crouch. (2) Greater Anglia Silver and White 321430 at Burnham-on-Crouch. (3) Renatus 321308 at Wickford station.

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