Stratford station

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Stratford station is a railway station at Stratford in Newham, east London. It is located on National Rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lines. The station is served by the Central Line and Jubilee Line Underground lines, and national network trains operated by both Silverlink, and One. It is in Travelcard Zone 3.

To distinguish the station from Stratford-upon-Avon this station is called "Stratford (London)" on tickets, though the station will be renamed Stratford Regional station in 2007 when nearby Stratford International station is opened.

1 Layout
- 1.1 Low Level platforms
- 1.2 High Level platforms
2 History
3 Future developments
4 Transport links
5 External links

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Layout

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Low Level platforms

These platforms are at ground level and are served by a footbridge (with lifts and escalators) from the main station entrance.

Platforms 1 & 2: These platforms originally served trains running 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 currently operated by Silverlink.

Platforms 13–15: These are the newest platforms at the station and were built in the late 1990s to serve the Jubilee Line when it was extended to terminate at Stratford.

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High Level platforms

Image:Stratford x pltfm.jpg

These platforms are located above and at right angles to the Low Level station. 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 Stratford station is closed and available for emergency use only.

Platforms 3 & 6: These platforms are used by Central Line trains, which rise from their tunnels into the open air for this station.

Platforms 4 & 7: When the lines here were electrified in the 1940s, there was an intention to run a shuttle service from London Fenchurch Street to Stratford, calling only at Stepney and Bow Road stations in between, which would have terminated at these bay platforms. However, this service was never introduced (despite all the works required being carried out) and these platforms were never used for their intended purpose. Platform 7 remains unused and abandoned, but Platform 4 found a new use in the 1980s as the terminal platform for the Docklands Light Railway.

Platforms 5 & 8: These platforms are used by 'one' services using 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 Shoeburyness or vice versa.

Platforms 9, 10 & 10a: These platforms are for 'one' services using 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 (i.e. platform 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 incovenient location, accessible from only one of the two open station subways.

Platforms 11 & 12: Since December 2005 these platforms have been used for 'one' services towards Broxbourne, Bishops 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.

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History

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

Central Line services started operations 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 serving Stratford from the beginning and reusing existing 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 the architecture firm Wilkinson Eyre that encloses much of the Low Level station and a new booking hall. The old booking 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, albeit, initially, only as far as Canning Town station before opening to Green Park in November 1999. Image:Stratford station 13.jpg

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Future developments

The station is due to be renamed Stratford Regional station in 2007 when nearby Stratford International station is opened. An extension of the Docklands Light Railway over part of the North London Line will eventually link the two stations.

In the short term, Silverlink services will terminate at platforms 1 and 2 rather than run through to North Woolwich as now. However, two new platforms adjacent to the existing platform 12 will then be built. Provisionally numbered as 12a and 12b, these platforms will be used for the Richmond services. Platforms 1 & 2 will then be converted for use for DLR services via West Ham.

Further expansion is planned both on the existing DLR station, to increase capacity (which is a major problem at peak times); and with the Crossrail project, which would bring a direct, fast link straight into Central London, further encouraging the regeneration of London E15.

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Transport links

London Buses routes 25, 69, 86, 104, 108, 158, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 473, D8 and S2 and coach route A7 (to Stansted Airport) serve the station.

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