Debden tube station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location
Debden
Place	Debden
Local authority	Epping Forest
Operations
Managed by	London Underground
Platforms in use	2
Transport for London
Zone	6
Annual entry/exit	1.459 million †
History
Key dates	Opened 24 April 1865
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground \| National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [1]
London Transport Portal

Debden station is a London Underground station on the Central Line in the Epping Forest district of Essex between Loughton and Theydon Bois.

For the purposes of fare charging it is in Zone 6.

[edit] History

The station was originally opened on 24 April 1865 as part of the extension of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) branch from Loughton to Epping and Ongar. Initially called "Chigwell Road" it was soon renamed on 1 December 1865 as Chigwell Lane, a name it retained until the station was transferred to London Underground. Planned as part of the Central line extensions that formed part of the New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940 this was delayed by the Second World War. Electrified tube services finally started to serve the renamed "Debden" on 25 September 1949.

Chigwell Lane was one of a number of GER stations that saw a temporary suspension of passenger services, due to the need to make economies, during the First World War. The station was closed from 23 May 1916 until 2 February 1918. From 1923, until the formation of the nationalised British Railways in 1948, the station formed part of the London & North Eastern Railway system.

[edit] The station today

There is a reversing loop at Debden, allowing eastbound services to be turned, which usually happens in peak hours, although the loop can be used at anytime if needed. During service disruptions, westbound trains can also return directly to Epping via this loop, and can do so in passenger service. At one time, there were two sidings at Debden, and the bulk of the service terminated there, with only a limited service operating beyond towards Epping. In recent years, the Epping service has improved considerably, thus reducing the number of trains terminating at Debden. The present station buildings largely date from a reconstruction of 1974 although the original stationmaster's house survives adjacent to the ticket office.