During peak hours, trains connect to or from the Great Eastern Main Line at Shenfield, and its London terminus at Liverpool Street.

The route, which is 16 miles 40 chains (26.6 km) in length, was opened to goods traffic on 1 June 1889 and to passengers on 1 July 1889, by the Great Eastern Railway (GER).

The timetable in the 1990s allowed for this traffic by the absence of a down and up passenger train on the branch late on Wednesday mornings.

Wickford's station building was demolished in 2021 for rebuilding; one key improvement has been to extend platform 1 to allow for the operation of the new longer trains on the Crouch Valley line.

Some peak services continue to or from Shenfield and/or London Liverpool Street, via the Great Eastern Main Line.