Essex Travel & Transport

The transport system in the county of Essex offers visitors a number of ways to get around from public transport such as buses and trains to using the road with car hire, coaches and ferries.

Buses
Local bus services in Essex provide services to local areas and across the county, with a number of routes covering the City of Chelmsford and local towns including Colchester, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Harwich, Pitsea, Clacton, Saffron Walden, Stansted Airport, Billericay and Brentwood.

Details of local bus services and timetables can be found at Essex Buses


Trains
Trains in Essex serve a number of routes across the county and to other areas. There are several mainline rail routes offering local and regional services. Chelmsford Station is on the Great Eastern Main Line route and has services to London Liverpool Street station with a journey time of approx 35 minutes. There are local services to Colchester, Clacton-on-Sea, Witham and Braintree and further to Norwich and Ipswich in East Anglia.

Train services are provided by Greater Anglia

Other railway stations in Essex include Colchester, Stansted Airport, Southend Central, Grays, Basildon, Wickford and Raleigh.

For more information please see National Rail Enquiries


Underground (Tube)
The London Underground extends into parts of Essex via the Central Line, there are services from various stations in central London including Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus, Holborn, Bank and Liverpool Street to stations in Essex including Chigwell, Loughton and Epping. For more information please see London Underground


Public Transport Safety Tips
Most journeys on public transport go ahead without incident, in order to minimise the chances of any incidents, passengers may wish to consider the following safety tips:

- Be aware of your belongings at all times.
- Do not leave your bags and belongings unattended at any time.
- Stay alert and aware of your environment and those around you.
- Do not show valuables including money and jewellery in public.
- If you are carrying a bag/handbag, ensure you use a bag that has a strong good quality strap and wear it across your shoulder (not on your shoulder), with the pockets closed facing towards your waist. Carrying the bag on your shoulder makes it much easier for criminals to snatch the bag or cut the strap.
- Be careful and cautious in crowds and beware of pickpockets, do not leave anything valuable showing in public including wallets in back trouser pockets.
- Sit in carriages with other passengers do not sit in carriages with no/fewer passengers.
- Try not to use smaller/isolated stations especially at night.
- When waiting for buses, trains, boats and taxis stand with other passengers in an area that is well lit, do not stand/wait in isolated areas.


Car
There are a number of car hire firms in Essex that offer car rental services for both short and longer term car hire offering a range of vehicles from small budget cars to family cars to larger mini-buses and luxury cars.

Essex is connected to the road network via the M11, A12 and A134. London to Chelmsford by car via the A11 and A12 is a drive of approx 1 hour depending on traffic. Other major roads around the county include the A120, A127 and A133.

Parking in Chelmsford city centre includes a number of pay and display and pay on exit car parks. Major car parks in Chelmsford city centre include High Chelmer, The Meadows Retail Park, Wharf Road, Fairfield Road and Rectory Lane.

There are Park & Ride schemes in operation in Chelmsford at Sandon and Chelmer Valley, where drivers can park in designated areas in the outskirts of the city centre and get a bus in to Chelmsford centre. For more information please see: Chelmsford Park & Ride

Drivers should note there may be driving restrictions in and around the city and town centres. It is recommended visitors ensure they fully understand the local parking rules before parking and help avoid unnecessary fines and worry.


Ferry
Essex’s location includes the East of England coastline making it convenient to use ferries to get to the county. The port if Harwich in Essex is a ferry and cruise terminal with services to Europe and beyond. DFDS Seaways offers services from Denmark to Harwich.

The south coast ports of Dover and Folkestone can both be used to get to Essex from the European mainland, from Dover by car the route is via the M20 and A12.


Coach
Essex is accessible by coach with regular coach services available to Essex from London Victoria coach station, the journey time from London to Chelmsford is between 1 hour and 40 minutes and 2 hours depending on the service, time of day & traffic. There are also services from London to Colchester, Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Harlow and Southend-on-Sea. Coach services are provided by National Express.

Megabus provides services from London Victoria Coach Station to Norwich, the approx journey time is between 3 hours and 3 hours 20 minutes depending on the service, time of day and traffic.

Whilst travelling by coach to Essex is usually more time consuming than using rail and road, it is usually more cost effective.


Air
London Stansted Airport is located in Essex off the M11 motorway offering good access to the Essex region. The airport caters for a number of domestic and international flights.

London City Airport is located approx one hour from Chelmsford in Essex, the airport caters for a number of local and European flights.





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