Walthamstow Central station

Infobox London station
name = Walthamstow Central


manager = National Express East Anglia
London Underground
owner = Network Rail
London Underground
zone = 3
locale = Walthamstow
borough = Waltham Forest
start = 1869 (GER)
1968 (Victoria)
platforms = 4
railcode = WHC
railexits0405 = 4.633
railexits0506 = 3.294
railexits0607 = 2.357
tubeexits04 = 10.945
tubeexits07 = 13.743

Walthamstow Central is a station on the Victoria Line and the National Express East Anglia service from Chingford to Liverpool Street.

History

The station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway (as Hoe Street) in 1870 and London Underground services started on 1 September 1968. The up-side station building is a remarkably well preserved example of a mid-Victorian country station. The station's present name was only given when the Victoria Line arrived.

The underground station, like many stations on the Victoria Line, was never completely finished. White ceiling panels were never fixed to the ceilings above the platforms; instead the steel tunnel segments were painted black and used to support the fixtures and fittings. This has had a detrimental effect on the lighting levels. There is a concrete stairway between the two escalators instead of a much-needed third escalator; this caused a hugely disruptive station closure for several weeks in 2004 when both escalators went out of service. In a confusion of priorities, time, money and effort were spent on re-tiling the entrances and stairways, even though the walls were still in a reasonable condition. Furthermore, in 2007 some of the new tiling has had to be removed as part of further refurbishment. It is not clear whether some or all of the station's shortcomings will be remedied by Transport for London's Investment Programme.

The main entrance to the station is on the down side and is opposite the local bus station, which was revamped in summer 2004. There are three staffed ticket windows and a number of ticket machines to serve the majority of the traffic that enters the station. The entrance to the tube was revamped in early 2006. There is a smaller entrance and ticket office on the up line, providing convenient access to the car park; however, the ticket office here is normally unstaffed outside of peak hours and the ticket machines are often out of service.

A subway was built in 2005 under the busy Selborne Road linking a new bus station with a new Victoria Line ticket office. The original plan was to fit out and open the new subway and ticket office in spring 2005 but problems with insufficient power capacity to supply two new lifts, together with planning and contractual errors, delayed the opening. The subway and ticket office were finally opened on 19 November 2007, albeit without the completion of the new lifts (scheduled for completion in 2008) and with unfinished building work. Refurbishment of the rest of the station continues.

According to Transport for London, the construction of a footpath to nearby Walthamstow Queens Road is in planning. The link will significantly shorten the walking time between the two stations [ [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/roadsandpublicspaces/walkImprovements/default.asp TFL] ] .

Services

The typical off-peak service provided by National Express East Anglia is:
*4tph to Chingford
*4tph to Liverpool Street

Gallery

References

External links

*stn art lnk|WHC|E177LP