Colchester to Ilford runs about 9 times a day, with the first departure around 06:06 and the last around 14:48. One passenger pays between €10.07 and €11.89, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 1h 21m over 78 km, on services run by 4 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 4 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€10.07 to €11.89
- 11%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Colchester
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:06First departure
- 14:48Last departure
- 9Services per day
- 67%Run direct
Eurostar runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Colchester to Ilford on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Colchester to Ilford on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on Trip.com
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Essex County Council runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Colchester to Ilford on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Colchester to Ilford on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on 12Go
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €10.63Tue15
- about €10.07Wed16
- about €11.18Thu17
- about €11.18Fri18
- about €10.07Sat19
- about €10.07Sun20
- about €10.07Mon21
- about €10.07Tue22
- about €10.07Wed23
- about €10.07Thu24
- about €10.07Fri25
- about €10.07Sat26
- about €10.07Sun27
- about €10.07Mon28
- about €10.07Tue29
- about €10.07Wed30
- about €10.07Thu1
- about €10.07Fri2
- about €10.07Sat3
- about €10.07Sun4
- about €10.07Mon5
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into Ilford. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Ilford for the night the train gets in
The search opens on Ilford with your nights already filled in, so it is one step to a real price.
Search Ilford on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Colchester to Ilford
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €10.0790 days
- €10.0760 days
- €10.0745 days
- €10.0730 days
- €10.0721 days
- €10.0714 days
- €10.077 days
- €11.183 days
- €10.631 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at €10.07.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 11 percent. The dearest point is €11.18, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits outside the cheap window, which opens around 90 days before departure. There is no advantage to booking this minute.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 7 days ahead, so there is no rush yet.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Colchester to Ilford and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
78 km
68 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs south-west.
Who lives at each end
130,245 → 168,168
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/4
4 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 67% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 33% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 78 km against 68 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Luton, Saint Peters, Southend-on-Sea, Cambridge. The gap between arriving and leaving is 48 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 19 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
Who runs this route
The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Where to leave your bags in Ilford
Shops, cafes and hotels that take luggage, with the opening hours on the map so you know what is still open when you come back.
Check Ilford on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Colchester to Ilford
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Colchester to Ilford?
The fastest journey from Colchester to Ilford takes 1h 21m door to door, of which 38m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 1h 31m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Colchester to Ilford?
The cheapest fare from Colchester to Ilford is €10.07, as of 14 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €14.09. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Colchester to Ilford?
The cheapest way from Colchester to Ilford is by coach, at €10.07 for one passenger on 16 September 2026. That journey takes 1h 51m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Colchester to Ilford?
The fastest way from Colchester to Ilford is by train, at 1h 22m door to door. Only 38m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €11.89.
When should I book Colchester to Ilford?
Fares from Colchester to Ilford bottom out around 90 days before departure, at €10.07. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 11 percent, measured on 14 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Colchester to Ilford?
Sunday is the cheapest day to depart from Colchester to Ilford, at €10.07. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 14 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Colchester to Ilford?
October is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Colchester to Ilford, at €10.07 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Colchester to Ilford?
4 operators sell services from Colchester to Ilford across 2 modes: Essex County Council, Eurostar, Eurostar International, Greater Anglia. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Colchester to Ilford?
67 percent of the services we sell from Colchester to Ilford are direct. The rest connect at Luton, Saint Peters, Southend-on-Sea, Cambridge, with about 48 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Colchester to Ilford produce?
Travelling from Colchester to Ilford by coach produces about 2.1 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Train produces about 2.6 kg, roughly 1 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Colchester to Ilford use?
Services from Colchester to Ilford by train leave from Colchester Station and arrive at Ilford station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Colchester to Ilford?
4 of the 4 operators we sell from Colchester to Ilford allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Colchester to Ilford on 14 September 2026: 78 km of route against 68 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 4 operators a cheapest fare of €10.07, and 1h 21m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in Ilford is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Ilford and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave Ilford in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See Ilford on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Colchester reaches 23 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 41 to 93 km. Ilford reaches 18 places in 3 countries, from 44 to 308 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Colchester
- 23Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 4Operators
Arriving in Ilford
Leaving Ilford
- 18Places you can leave for
- 3Countries
- 8Operators