Cromer is a railway station in the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. Because the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

(M&GNJR) line approached Cromer from the west, following the coastal clifftops, it avoided the steep escarpment which had prevented the earlier line from

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

running all the way into the town. Consequently, it became possible to build a far more conveniently located station, near to the town centre and the beach. The station opened as Cromer Beach on 16 June 1887 and was renamed Cromer on 20 October 1969, following the closure of Cromer High station in 1954. It is down the line from . Cromer is one of only two former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway stations to remain operational on the

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

network; the other being the neighbouring

West Runton West Runton is a village in North Norfolk, England, on the North Sea coast. Toponymy The villages name means either, Runa's farm/settlement' or 'Runi's farm/settlement'. Overview West Runton and East Runton together form the parish of Runton ...

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

and Weybourne are the other two surviving M&GNJR stations, both still served today on the heritage

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

Buildings

To cater to the heavy leisure traffic at the end of the 19th century, Cromer Beach had a large station building in a

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

style, and a large goods yard. The station originally included a bar, which was closed in 1966. Following the introduction of conductor-guard working, the ticket facilities were no longer needed and the building fell into disuse; it was renovated and reopened as a public house in 1998. A large supermarket was built on the site of the goods yards in 1991.

Services

The station is served by local services operated by Greater Anglia on the

Bittern Line The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links to . It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in t ...

from Norwich to

. Trains run hourly between Norwich and Sheringham. On weekdays the first train of the day to Norwich starts at Cromer (all other ''up'' trains start at Sheringham). There are fewer services on Sundays, which alternate every hour between a stopping service (calling at all stations) and a semi-fast service that only calls at

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, within the North Norfolk district. Demography The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the pa ...

and Hoveton & Wroxham. All of these services are run by bi-mode Class 755 units. In 1997 a single daily through train to and from

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

to Sheringham via Cromer was introduced; it was not heavily used and the service was consequently discontinued. Because of its historical position as the terminus of the line from

Melton Constable Melton Constable is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 518 in 225 households at the 2001 census. The population had increased to 618 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of ...

and Sheringham to the west, trains running via Cromer reverse direction on leaving the station. The following services currently call at Cromer:

References

External links

Cromer's railway stations on navigable 1946 O. S. map
{{Railway stations served by Abellio Greater Anglia Railway stations in Norfolk Former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1887 Greater Anglia franchise railway stations DfT Category F1 stations Cromer

Buildings

Services

See also

References

External links