Essex - Transport

Transport

The main airport in Essex is London Stansted Airport, serving destinations in Europe and Asia. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government formed in May 2010 has agreed to resist an additional runway at Stansted, so curtailing the operator's ambitions for expansion. London Southend Airport, once one of Britain's busiest airports, opened a new runway extension, terminal building and railway station in March 2012. The station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line, with a direct link to the capital. Currently the airport offers scheduled flights to Ireland, the Channel Islands and multiple destinations in Europe. There are several smaller airfields, some of which owe their origins to military bases built during World War I or World War II. These are popular for pleasure flights or flying lessons; examples include Clacton Airfield, Earls Colne Airfield, and Stapleford Aerodrome.

The Port of Tilbury is one of Britain's three major ports, while the port of Harwich links the county to the Hook of Holland and Esbjerg (a service to Cuxhaven which is also in Denmark having discontinued in December 2005). Plans have been approved to build the UK's largest container terminal at Shell Haven in Thurrock and although opposed by the local authority and environmental and wildlife organisations, it now seems increasingly likely to be developed.

East of the Dartford Road Crossing to Dartford, Kent, across the Thames Estuary a ferry for pedestrians to Gravesend, Kent operates from Tilbury during limited daily hours and ferries for pedestrians operate across some of Essex's rivers and estuaries during spring and summer. The M25 and M11 motorway both cross the county in the extreme south and west, enabling regular commuting to/from parts of the county with Kent, Hertfordshire and Cambridge. The A127 and A13 trunk roads are important radial routes connecting London and the M25 to the south of Essex. The A12 runs across the county from the south west to the north east and not only carries traffic within Essex but also traffic between London and Suffolk, east Norfolk and the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.

There is an extensive rail goods and public transport network. The main railway routes in Essex include:

• 2 lines from the City of London to Southend-on-Sea, operated by c2c from Fenchurch Street railway station (including a route via Tilbury) and by Greater Anglia from Liverpool Street station;
• The Great Eastern Main Line from Liverpool Street connecting to Harwich and onwards into Suffolk and Norfolk;
• The West Anglia Main Line from Liverpool Street linking to London Stansted Airport and onwards into Cambridgeshire.

The Epping Forest district is served by the London Underground Central Line. The routes operated by Greater Anglia were formerly operated by National Express East Anglia and have been previously branded as 'one'. There are also a number of branch lines including the Sunshine Coast Line linking Colchester to the seaside resorts of Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze via the picturesque towns of Wivenhoe and Great Bentley. The Crouch Valley Line, another branch line, links Wickford to a number of riverside communities including South Woodham Ferrers and Burnham-on-Crouch and leads to Southminster.

South Essex Rapid Transit is a proposed public transport scheme which would provide a fast, reliable public transport service in, and between, Thurrock, Basildon and Southend.