Stratford station

Stratford

Stratford Regional
South station entrance
Stratford Location of Stratford in Greater London
Location	Stratford
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Managed by	Transport for London[1] National Express East Anglia[2]
Station code	SRA
Platforms in use	18
Fare zone	3
NR 2004/5 usage	7.914 million[3]
NR 2005/6 usage	7.699 million[3]
NR 2006/7 usage	13.089 million[3]
NR 2007/8 usage	11.273 million[3]
LUL 2007 usage	25.627 million[4]
LUL 2008 usage	27.23 million[4]
1839	Opened by ECR
1946	Central line started
1987	DLR started
1999	Jubilee line started
2017	Crossrail due to start
List of stations	Underground · National Rail
External links	Departures • Facilities
London Transport Portal
UK Railways Portal

Coordinates: 51°32′32″N 0°00′12″W / 51.5422°N 0.0033°W / 51.5422; -0.0033

Stratford station is a railway station in Stratford, Newham, East London on National Rail, London Underground, London Overground 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 400 yards (370 m) away.

History

Railway lines around Stratford in 1914

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 1957.

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 and the nearby Stratford International station.

Layout

v • d • e Stratford stations
Legend Stratford Int'l HS1 DLR (being built) Stratford Regional HL  NLL HL  Lea Valley Lines HL  GEML HL  Central line HL  DLR via Poplar Stratford Regional (low level) Stratford High Street (ex-Stratford Market) DLR via Canning Town (being built) Jubilee line

High level platforms

Different platform signage (clockwise from top left) London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Jubilee line, National Express East Anglia

North London Line platforms 1 and 2 on the far left, a train on a working to Stansted airport at platform 12, a freight train passing through platform 10a and above the partially complete new walkway

Westbound platforms 3 and 5 at Stratford station (with a National Express East Anglia train arriving at platform 5) plus on the left a new platform under construction which will see westbound Central Line trains opening their doors on both sides.

Passengers interchange between Central Line trains on platform 6 and the former First Great Eastern train service on platform 8.

Jubilee line platforms 13 to 15, opened in 1999

The high level platforms are above the low level ones and run at right angles to them, roughly east-west. The lines to the old 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, but between Spring 2009 and Winter 2010 the subway should reopen.

• Platforms 1 & 2: On 15 April 2009, the North London Line platforms at Stratford moved to new high-level platforms 1 & 2 from the old low-level platforms 1 & 2, the latter being made available for the DLR's upcoming Stratford International service (due open 2010). Platforms 1 and 2 comprise an island platform with step-free links to platform 12 and the subway linking to platforms 3 to 11.^[5] The platforms can accommodate trains with up to 6 carriages, though at present due to short platforms elsewhere, 3-car trains are used as previously. It had originally been planned to make this change on 2 January 2009 but it was delayed.^[6] Note: During planning of these new platforms they were shown on plans as 12a and 12b.

• 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). Also During mid 2010 and late 2011 platform 3a which has access to mezzanine level.^{[clarification needed]}

• Platforms 4 & 7 (abandoned): when the London to Shenfield 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 remained abandoned. In 2007 platform 4 was abandoned again as the DLR moved to two new platforms to the south of platform 4.

• Platforms 4a & 4b: used by the Docklands Light Railway for services to Canary Wharf, Greenwich and Lewisham. They consist of a single 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. 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 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.

  Stratford (high-level) station layout

⇔	Platform 1	Overground towards Richmond
Bay Platform
⇔	Platform 2	Overground towards Richmond
Side Platform
⇒	Platform 12	National Rail towards Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford and Stansted Airport		⇒
⇐	Platform 11	National Rail towards London Liverpool Street		⇐
Island Platform
⇔	Platform 10a	National Rail Great Eastern Main Line		⇔
⇒	Platform 10	National Rail Great Eastern Main Line		⇒
Island Platform
⇐	Platform 9	National Rail towards London Liverpool Street		⇐
⇒	Platform 8	National Rail towards Shenfield or Southend		⇒
Island Platform
⇒	Platform 6	Central towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford		⇒
⇐	Platform 5	National Rail towards London Liverpool Street		⇐
Island Platform
⇐	Platform 3/3a	Central towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		⇐
Side Platform Opens 2010/2011
⇔	Platform 4b	DLR towards Lewisham
Bay Platform
⇔	Platform 4a	DLR towards Lewisham

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Low level platforms

These platforms are at ground level and run north-south. Platforms 13 - 16 are served by a footbridge (with lifts and escalators) from the main station entrance, while platform 17 adjoins directly onto the main station concourse.

• Platforms 13–15: built in the late 1990s to serve the Jubilee line when it was extended here in 1999. All three Jubilee line platforms are bay platforms.^[7]. A footbridge joins the platforms at the south end, away from the main station building.

Two British Railways Class 416 trains working on the North London Line pass at Stratford (low level) station. This view shows the station as it was before rebuilding for the Jubilee line.

• Platforms 16 & 17 (under construction): 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. Following the closure of the line to North Woolwich on 9 December 2006, these platforms effectively became a terminus, with trains only heading west, towards Richmond. However, they also left the station at its south end, to reverse, so both platforms were used. On 14 April 2009 these platforms, originally numbered 1 and 2, closed and the North London Line service moved to the current platforms 1 and 2, which are in the High level part of the station and have step-free access. The old platforms are being converted for use by the DLR and will reopen as platforms 16 and 17.^[5][8]

  Stratford (low-level) station layout

Side Platform
⇔	Platform 13	Jubilee towards Stanmore
⇔	Platform 14	Jubilee towards Stanmore
Island Platform
⇔	Platform 15	Jubilee towards Stanmore
Side Platform Opens 2010
⇒	Platform 16	DLR towards Stratford International		⇒
⇐	Platform 17	DLR towards Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal		⇐
Side Platform Opens 2010

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Service patterns

New DLR platforms 4a and 4b at Stratford, opened in 2007

The typical off-peak number of trains per hour (tph) from Stratford is as follows:

Electrification

All lines at Stratford are electrified, although a few passenger and freight services which pass through this station are operated by diesel powered trains. At one time there were four different systems of electrification in use, a record for any station in London. However since the diversion of the North London Line from the low level to the new high level platforms these trains have changed the electrical system they use whilst at this station. The remaining systems used are:

• 25000 V 50 Hz overhead on Network Rail lines (high level)
• 630 V dc fourth rail on London Underground Central and Jubilee lines
• 750 V dc bottom contact conductor rail on Docklands Light Railway

This system is no longer used at this station.

• 750 V dc third rail on the London Overground (low level)

Future

The nearby Stratford International station has opened on 30 November 2009 (for preview services only).On 13 December 2009 Southeastern will begin its full domestic high-speed service between St Pancras and Kent. In mid-2010 an extension of the Docklands Light Railway over part of the North London Line will link the two stations using low level platforms 16 and 17.^[9] A plan to build a additional westbound Central Line platform, numbered 3A, (which is currently under construction) will allow passengers to leave the train on both sides and thus 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, at the mezzanine level. Along with this new platform there are plans to build a new ticket hall at the eastern end of the mezzanine. This will relieve congestion at the existing ticket hall.^[10]

In preparation for the Olympics and the Stratford City development, a new north-facing exit and ticket hall will be constructed. Both existing passenger subways will be extended north to connect with the ticket hall, and the abandoned subway at the eastern end of the station, which formed part of the old station complex, will be reopened and refurbished to allow interchange between platforms 3-12 through to the new high-level platforms 1 & 2.^[11] A new pedestrian bridge 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.

The station will also become a major interchange for Crossrail services which are due to commence in 2017.

A 360° view, taken in October 2005, of the canopy structure which houses the new ticket hall. The high-level station is through the windows in the centre and the low-level station is on the right.

The same view in August 2008. Note the new DLR platforms on the left of the picture and the additional westbound Central Line platform under construction through the windows in the left-centre.

Services

Current services

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Mile End towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		Central line		Leyton towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford via Hainault
West Ham towards Stanmore		Jubilee line		Terminus
DLR
Pudding Mill Lane towards Lewisham		Docklands Light Railway		Terminus
London Overground
Hackney Wick towards Richmond		North London Line		Terminus
National Rail
London Liverpool Street		National Express East Anglia Great Eastern Main Line		Romford
		National Express East Anglia Shenfield Metro		Maryland
Terminus		National Express East Anglia Lea Valley Lines		Tottenham Hale
London Liverpool Street		National Express East Anglia London-Braintree		Shenfield
London Liverpool Street		National Express East Anglia London-Southend and Southminster		Shenfield
London Liverpool Street		c2c Liverpool Street - Barking		Barking
London Liverpool Street		Dutchflyer London-Amsterdam		Shenfield

Future services

Preceding station		DLR		Following station
Stratford International Terminus		Docklands Light Railway		Stratford High Street towards Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal
Crossrail
Whitechapel towards Maidenhead or Heathrow Airport		Crossrail		Maryland towards Shenfield

Former services

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, 678, D8, N8, N86 and coach routes 010(to Cambridge) and A9(to Stansted Airport) serve the station.^[12][13][14]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stratford station

• Excel file displaying National Rail station usage information for 2005/06

• Train times and station information for Stratford station from National Rail
• Docklands Light Railway website - Stratford station page
• Diagram showing planned platform layout of Stratford Station
• Diagram showing planned subway layout of Stratford Station
• More photographs of Stratford station
• DLR Project Updates at Stratford Station

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