Rotherhithe tube station

Rotherhithe was a London Underground station in Rotherhithe. It was on the East London Line, between Wapping and Canada Water, and was in Zone 2. The station, and the entire East London Line, closed at the end of service on 22 December 2007 and will reopen by June 2010. It will become part of the new London Overground system. The station was also closed between 1995 and 1998 due to repair work on the East London Line's Thames Tunnel.

It had two platforms (northbound and southbound) and was accessed by two escalators (one up, one down) and a flight of stairs to a landing, then stairs only to platform level. There was no lift. It was situated close to the southern end of the Thames Tunnel, built by the Brunels, and some of the original brickwork could be seen from the north end of the platforms.

At the southern end of the station, the approach ramp for the Rotherhithe Tunnel passed above the railway on a bridge, making this road bridge highly unusual for being located below water level. The structure is visible in the picture below, and is currently painted blue. The tunnel portal is visible when looking up from the southern end of the northbound platform.

Rail services passed through the site of what is now Rotherhithe station from 1869 onwards, when the East London Railway was opened. On 1 October 1884, the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways opened Rotherhithe station to enable the local community to access the line's passenger services. It was served by electric passenger trains from 31 March 1913, when the line was electrified. Steam-hauled goods trains from Liverpool Street station continued to pass through until April 1966.

The present surface building is located a short distance to the south of the original entrance shaft to the Thames Tunnel. It was extensively remodelled between March 1995 - March 1998, in conjunction with the renovation of the East London Line.

A replacement bus service conveys passengers to Canada Water. Buses cannot cross the river because of loading gauge restrictions in the Rotherhithe Tunnel. Passengers must take the bus to Canada Water, take the Jubilee Line to London Bridge, change to the Northern Line to Bank, change to the DLR (for Shadwell or Wapping) or the District Line (for Whitechapel or Shoreditch), and take a replacement bus (if necessary).

London Overground

The station's future was in doubt for a while after the announcement of the East London Line extension, as the planned longer trains would have difficulties at Rotherhithe due to the relatively short platforms. It was initially thought that Rotherhithe station might have to close when the line was extended. However, on 16 August 2004 the Mayor of London announced that the station will remain open. [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/rail/initiatives/ell-stations.shtml]

Gallery

References

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