Colchester Town railway station (formerly St Botolph's) is on the Sunshine Coast Line in the East of England, and is the secondary station serving the city of Colchester, Essex. It is 53 miles 76 chains (86.8 km) from London Liverpool Street.^[1][2] Its three-letter station code is CET. The city's larger station is called Colchester (also known as Colchester North station to distinguish it) and is on the Great Eastern Main Line but is further away from the city centre.

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Colchester Town
General information
Location	Colchester, City of Colchester England
Coordinates	51°53′11″N 0°54′16″E
Grid reference	TM000248
Managed by	Greater Anglia
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	CET
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Tendring Hundred Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 March 1866	Opened as St. Botolph's
8 July 1991	Renamed Colchester Town
Passengers
2018/19	0.771 million
Interchange	344
2019/20	0.736 million
2020/21	0.178 million
2021/22	0.504 million
2022/23	0.587 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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The station was opened in 1866 by the Tendring Hundred Railway, a subsidiary of the Great Eastern Railway, as St. Botolph's, after the nearby priory and church that gave their name to this part of the city. It was renamed Colchester Town in 1991.^[3] It is currently operated by Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains serving the station.

As of 2023^[update] there is only one platform. Since a magistrates court was built the station size has decreased, losing its car park and talks of adding an extra platform have been halted. To the east of the station, Colne Junction is the western extremity of a triangle which gives access towards Colchester station to the west and Hythe station to the east. The curve to the north from Colne Junction to East Gates Junction is sharp, with a continuous check rail which necessitates slow passage.

The following services typically call at Colchester Town during the off-peak:

• 2 trains per hour (tph) to Colchester only;
• 1 tph to London Liverpool Street, calling at all stations to Witham then Chelmsford, Shenfield, Romford and Stratford;
• 1 tph to Walton-on-the-Naze, calling at all intermediate stations.

Colchester Town is closed on Sundays, except that if engineering work closes Colchester station, Colchester Town is opened as an alternative.