Stratford station

Stratford station is a railway station in Stratford, Newham, East London on National Rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lines. It is served by the Underground Central and Jubilee lines, and by London Overground, National Express East Anglia and c2c. It is in Travelcard Zone 3. To distinguish the station from Stratford-upon-Avon this station is called Stratford (London) by National Rail, and is sometimes referred to as Stratford Regional to distinguish it from Stratford International station convert|400|yd away.

Layout

Low level platforms

These platforms are at ground level and run north-south. Platforms 2 and 13-15 are served by a footbridge (with lifts and escalators) from the main station entrance, while platform 1 adjoins directly onto the main station concourse.

* Platforms 1 & 2: originally served trains from Palace Gates (near Alexandra Palace) to North Woolwich, a service which no longer operates. In the 1980s, trains from Richmond to Broad Street were diverted to run via these platforms to North Woolwich. The service is operated by London Overground. Since the closure of the line to North Woolwich on December 9 2006, these platforms are now effectively a terminus, with trains only heading west, towards Richmond. However, they do leave the station at its south end, to reverse, so both platforms are used.

* Platforms 13–15: built in the late 1990s to serve the Jubilee line when it was extended here in 1999. Unlike platforms 1 and 2, which are through platforms, all three Jubilee line platforms are bay platforms [cite web |url= http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=288&field=btstr&term=Transport&type=1 |title= Stratford Station |publisher= Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) |accessdate=2008-03-01] . A footbridge joins the platforms at the south end, away from the main station building.

High level platforms

These platforms are above the Low Level station and run at right angles, roughly east-west - the lines to Platforms 1 & 2 pass beneath the High Level station. Access from the main station entrance is via a subway; a second subway links the Jubilee line platforms directly to platforms 3–10. A third subway, which served the old entrance to the station, is closed and available for emergency use only.

* Platforms 3 & 6: used by Central line trains, which rise from their tunnels into the open air here and immediately descend back underground afterwards. This provides easy cross-platform interchange with National Rail services operating from platforms 5 and 8 respectively (see below).

* Platforms 4, 4a, 4b & 7: when the main line was electrified in the 1940s, there was an intention to run a shuttle service from London Fenchurch Street to Stratford, calling at Stepney and Bow Road, which would have terminated at these bay platforms. However, this service was never introduced (despite all the works required being carried out) and they were never used for their intended purpose. In the 1980s platform 4 was utilised as the terminus of the Docklands Light Railway while platform 7 was still abandoned. In 2007 platform 4 was abandoned again as the DLR moved to a new larger island platform with two faces, numbered 4a and 4b.

* Platforms 5 & 8: used by National Express East Anglia services on the slow lines out of London Liverpool Street station. These are mostly the 'metro' services to Shenfield, but during the off-peak they are also used by trains to Southend Victoria. Two late night c2c trains pass through the station each day on the way from Liverpool Street to Barking and vice versa. c2c also pass through when there are engineering works between Barking & London Fenchurch Street. Cross-platform interchange is available with Central line services running from platforms 3 and 6 respectively (see above).

* Platforms 9, 10 & 10a: used by National Express East Anglia services on the fast lines out of London Liverpool Street station towards Norwich and destinations served by branches off the Great Eastern Main Line, e.g. Clacton, Braintree, and Southend. Originally there were only two platforms here, but in the 1990s the station buildings on Platform 9 were demolished to make an island platform with faces on both sides. The new face became 9, the old 9 became 10 and the old 10 became 10a. Platform 10a is now rarely used because of its inconvenient location, accessible from only one of the two open station subways.

* Platforms 11 & 12: since December 2005 these platforms have been used for National Express East Anglia services to Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford and Stansted Airport. There is a half-hourly service in the peak hours, hourly off-peak and at weekends. Most services use platform 12, since trains cannot terminate and reverse direction in platform 11.

ervice patterns

All times refer to off-peak services.

National Express East Anglia

*1tph to Stansted Airport
*17tph to London Liverpool Street
**10 of which are "set-down only"
*1tph to Hertford East
*6tph to Shenfield
*3tph to Southend Victoria
*2tph to Norwich
*1tph to Braintree
*1tph to Clacton-on-Sea
*1tph to Harwich International
*1tph to Lowestoft or Peterborough, "alternating every hour."

London Overground

*4 tph to Richmond.

c2c

All services to Liverpool Street (Monday to Friday limited services).
*1 train at 0513 from Stanford-le-Hope.
*1 shuttle service at 2109 from Barking.
*1 train at 2357 from Grays.

All services from Liverpool Street (Monday to Friday limited services).
*1 shuttle service at 2145 to Barking.
*1 shuttle service at 0019 to Barking.

London Underground

Two tube lines serve Stratford.
*The Central line provides service from 5:38 to 0:49.
*The Jubilee line runs from 5:14 to 1:13.

Both run a frequent service throughout the day.

Docklands Light Railway

*6tph terminate
*6tph to terminus as described below:
**Operates full route to Lewisham between 0633 and 1554
**Operates to Crossharbour between 0514 and 1954
**Operates to Canary Wharf between 0514 and 0044
**Operates to All Saints only for the 0054, 0104 and 0114 services

Electrification

All lines at Stratford are electrified. Unusually, there are 4 different systems of electrification in use, a record for any station in London. These are:
* 25000v 50 Hz overhead on Network Rail lines (High level)
* 750v dc third rail on the London Overground (Low Level)
* 630v dc fourth rail on London Underground Central and Jubilee lines
* 750v dc bottom contact conductor rail on Docklands Light Rail

History

Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). As well as a station, a railway works was also built, and much of this has since been turned into a freight terminal.

Central Line services started on 4 December 1946, extended from Liverpool Street station in new tunnels after being delayed due to the Second World War. Services were extended to Leyton on 5 May 1947 and then on to the former London and North Eastern Railway branch lines to Epping, Ongar and Hainault progressively until 1949.

The Docklands Light Railway opened on 31 August 1987 reusing redundant rail routes through the Bow and Poplar areas to reach the new Docklands developments on the Isle of Dogs.

The Low Level station underwent a major rebuilding programme in the late 1990s as part of the Jubilee Line Extension works. This saw the construction of an enormous steel and glass building designed by Wilkinson Eyre that encloses much of the Low Level station, and a new ticket hall. The old ticket hall, which lay at the eastern end of the station and was connected via a subway, has since been demolished. The Jubilee Line opened to passengers on 14 May 1999, initially only as far as North Greenwich tube station, before opening to Green Park and Stanmore in November 1999.

With the massive increase of services and passengers since the Second World War, Stratford station has changed from being a fairly busy junction to one of the country's major rail interchanges. This is set to continue in the future with the opening of the Crossrail line across London.
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Future

The nearby Stratford International station is due to open at some point in the future, possibly as late as 2010. An extension of the Docklands Light Railway over part of the North London Line will link the two stations.

Two new platforms adjacent to the existing platform 12 will be built for North London Line services to Richmond, provisionally numbered 12a and 12b. This will allow platforms 1 and 2 to be converted for use for DLR services connecting a new DLR station at Stratford International to Canning Town via West Ham, known as Stratford International Extension. This will comprise of seven new stations. The existing underground links which connect the ticket hall/Jubilee Line platforms to the Central Line/Great Eastern platforms will also be extended to the new North London Line platforms

Two new platforms have been constructed for the existing DLR services, replacing the single platform terminus. These will allow more frequent services on this part of the line.

There are also plans to build an additional westbound Central Line platform to reduce dwell times for trains serving central London at peak hours. This will be connected to the existing infrastructure built for the Jubilee Line Extension. Along with this new platform there are plans to build a new mezzanine ticket hall at the same level. This will relieve congestion at the existing ticket hall. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6457359.stm]

In preparation for the Olympics and the Stratford City development, a new north-facing exit and ticket hall may be constructed. A new Pedestrian Link may also be built to connect Stratford shopping centre with the Stratford City development. This Pedestrian Link will also connect the Mezzanine level ticket hall with the Northern Ticket Hall.

The National Express East Anglia service north to Tottenham Hale may see a re-opened station at Lea Bridge. This is not likely to take place until after the 2012 Olympics.

Transport links

Stratford Station also has its own Bus Station completed in the late 1990s. The following London Buses routes 25, 69, 86, 104, 108, 158, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425 , 473, D8, N86 and coach route A9 (to Stansted Airport) serve the station.

Current services

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Future Services

Future Development

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Former Services

External links

* [http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/xls/station_usage_2005-06.xls Excel file displaying National Rail station usage information for 2005/06]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/dlr/3240.aspx Docklands Light Railway website - Stratford station page]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Stratford-Platform-Layout.pdf Diagram showing planned platform layout of Stratford Station]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Stratford-Subway-Layout.pdf Diagram showing planned subway layout of Stratford Station]
* [http://tubephotos.dannycox.me.uk/stratford.html More photographs of Stratford station]
* [http://improvements.dlr.co.uk/project_updates/index.asp DLR Project Updates at Stratford Station]

References