Leytonstone tube station

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Leytonstone
The westbound platforms at Leytonstone
Location
Place Leytonstone
Local authority Waltham Forest
Operations
Managed by London Underground
Platforms in use 3
Transport for London
Zone 3 and 4
Annual entry/exit 8.008 million †
History
Key dates Opened 22 August 1856
Transport for London
List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [1]

Leytonstone tube station is on the Central Line of the London Underground, on the boundary of Zones 3 and 4. Towards London the next station is Leyton, while going east from Leytonstone, the line divides into two branches. On the direct route to Woodford and Epping the next stop is Snaresbrook, and on the Hainault loop it is Wanstead.

Contents

[edit] History

The station was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 22 August 1856. In turn it became, from 1862, part of the Great Eastern Railway system and then in 1923 part of the London & North Eastern Railway before being transferred to London Transport in 1947. This formed part of the "New Works Programme 1935 - 1940" that was to see major changes at Leytonstone with the station becoming the junction of the existing Epping branch, newly electrified, with the new tube tunnel running under Eastern Avenue towards Newbury Park. This work saw a complete reconstruction of the station along with the removal of the level crossing at Church Lane and its replacement by an underbridge.

The station was first served by the Central Line on 5 May 1947 when it became the temporary terminus of the line, passengers changing on to steam shuttle onwards to Epping. This ceased on 14 December 1947 with the extension of Underground services to Woodford and Newbury Park.

[edit] Notable events

In honour of the centenary of the birth of film director Alfred Hitchcock (born August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone), the London Borough of Waltham Forest commissioned the Greenwich Mural Workshop to create a series of mosaics of Hitchcock's life and works in the tube station. Work was started in June 2000 and unveiled May 3, 2001.

[edit] The station today

The station has three platforms. The centre platform is generally used for through services going westbound, but can be used for shuttle services that terminate there.

[edit] Image gallery

[edit] External link

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  Central Line  
toward Epping
toward Hainault

Coordinates: 51°34′06″N, 0°00′30″E


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