Stratford station

Stratford
Location
Place	Stratford
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Operations
Managed by	London Underground
Platforms in use	15
National Rail
Station code	SRA
Annual entry/exit	7.914 million *
Transport for London
Zone	3
Annual entry/exit	18.866 million †
History
1839 1946 1987 1999	Opened by ECR Central Line started DLR started Jubilee Line started
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [1]
* based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at this station. Disclaimer (PDF)

This article is about Stratford Regional station in London. For other uses, see Stratford station (disambiguation).

Stratford station is a railway station in 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 Silverlink, 'one' and c2c. 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.

Layout

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: 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 Silverlink

• Platforms 13–15: the newest platforms, built in the late 1990s to serve the Jubilee Line when it was extended here.

High Level platforms

Passengers interchange between the Central Line and 'one' train service.

These platforms are 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 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.

DLR platform at Stratford.

• Platforms 4 & 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. 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: used by 'one' 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 Shoeburyness and vice versa.

• Platforms 9, 10 & 10a: used by 'one' 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 'one' 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.

Service Patterns

All times refer to off-peak services.

one

• 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
• 1tph to Norwich
• 1tph to Braintree
• 1tph to Clacton
• 1tph to Harwich International
• 1tph to Ipswich

c2c

Monday to Friday late evening only.

• 2 trains (2236 and 2336) to Liverpool Street
• 2 trains (2305 and 0005) to Shoeburyness

London Underground

This operates a "metro" (very high frequency service). They operate:0538-0049 on the Central Line0514-0113 on the Jubilee Line

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

History

Stratford station was opened in 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 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, initially only as far as Canning Town station, before opening to Green Park and Stanmore in November 1999.

A 360° view of the station interior. The high-level station is through the windows in the centre and the low-level station is on the right.

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 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. Two new platforms adjacent to the existing platform 12 will then be built. Provisionally numbered 12a and 12b, these will be used by 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.

Transport links

London Buses routes 25, 69, 86, 104, 108, 158, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 473, D8 and S2 and coach route A9 (to Stansted Airport) serve the station.

External links

• Train times and station information for Stratford station from National Rail
• Street map and aerial photo of Stratford station from Multimap.com
• Docklands Light Railway website - Stratford station page

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