Rayleigh railway station

The line from Wickford to Southend, including Rayleigh station was opened on 1 October 1889, by the Great Eastern Railway. There was a goods yard to the west of the station, on the 'up' (London-bound) side, including a goods shed and cattle pens. There was a signal box on the 'down' platform, which was closed in 1938 with the introduction of colour light signalling. Overhead electrification of the Shenfield–Southend line at 1.5 kV DC was completed on 31 December 1956; that was changed to 6.25 kV AC in November 1960 and to 25 kV AC in January 1979. ==Facilities==

It is a small station, with a ticket office but no barriers. The ticket office is open seven days a week during daytimes and early evenings; access to the platforms is available at other times through a gate to the left of the building. Outside the station, there is a taxi rank, a 437-space car park, bus stops and a newsagent. ==Service==

Greater Anglia operates all trains serving the station. The typical weekday off-peak service is three trains per hour in each direction between and London Liverpool Street; services join the Great Eastern Main Line at . At peak times, service frequencies are increased and calling patterns more varied. ==References==