Abbey Wood railway station

Abbey Wood

Abbey Wood railway station (2008)
Abbey Wood

Location of Abbey Wood in Greater London
Location Abbey Wood
Local authority London Borough of Greenwich
Managed by Southeastern
Station code ABW
Number of platforms 2
Accessible [1]
Fare zone 4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2002–03 2.425 million[2]
2004–05 2.202 million[2]
2005–06 2.090 million[2]
2006–07 2.804 million[2]
2007–08 3.096 million[2]
2008–09 3.029 million[2]
2009–10 2.883 million[2]
List of stations Underground · National Rail
External links Departures • Layout
  Facilities • Buses
London Transport portal
UK Railways portal

Abbey Wood railway station serves the suburb of Abbey Wood in South East London. It is served by Southeastern, and is between Plumstead and Belvedere stations on the North Kent Line.

It is the closest railway station to the suburb of Thamesmead (buses run from the station to Thamesmead proper). Alphabetically, it is the first station in the UK.

Contents

History

Opened by the South Eastern Railway on 30 July 1849, then by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, it became part of the Southern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. When BR was divided into sectors in the 1980s the station was served by Network SouthEast until the Privatisation of British Railways.

During the 1860s William Morris famously used a decorated wagon to commute between this station and his new home at Red House, Bexleyheath, occasionally with his eccentric and artistic house guests.

The station has been rebuilt twice over the past 50 years to cater for the changing nature of the area.[3] The station was to be served by the proposed Greenwich Waterfront Transit, however the project was cancelled by Mayor of London Boris Johnson due to lack of funds.[4]

Future

Abbey Wood is being rebuilt in preparation for Crossrail, due to commence operation in 2018.[5] Abbey Wood is the terminus of one of two eastern branches of Crossrail and will offer cross-platform interchange between terminating Crossrail services (at 12 trains per hour on new line) and existing Southeastern services (along existing tracks). This is instead of continuing services to Ebbsfleet International along existing tracks as those lines are congested and may delay Crossrail services.[6][7]

Crossrail will provide a link north west to ExCeL London and Canary Wharf, then onwards to the city centre, Heathrow Airport and Maidenhead. There are further proposals to have Crossrail extended further east as originally planned; the route is safeguarded but it is not intended to be implemented as part of the current phase.[8]

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

Routes

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Plumstead   Southeastern
North Kent Line		   Belvedere
    Future Development    
Preceding station   Crossrail   Following station
Crossrail
Line 1		 Terminus
    Disused Railways    
Church Manor Way Halt   Southern Railway
North Kent Line		   Belvedere

References

Notes
  1. ^ "London and South East". Rail Map for People with Reduced Mobility. National Rail. September 2006. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/mobility_maps/LondonSouthEast.pdf. Retrieved 1 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. 30 April 2010. http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529. Retrieved 17 January 2011.  Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. ^ David Glasspool (2007). "Abbey Wood". Kent Rail. http://www.kentrail.org.uk/abbey_wood.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-29. 
  4. ^ http://www.boriswatch.co.uk/2009/03/31/boris-spins-another-cancellation/
  5. ^ "Capital's key services protected, says Johnson". The Press Association. 20 October 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gKH5fiQT63-FLo6vMfXKorAteqrA?docId=B308521287593766A00. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  6. ^ http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/crossrail/
  7. ^ http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/1
  8. ^ http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/safeguarding/abbey-wood-to-hoo-junction
Bibliography
  • R.V.J.Butt, (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd.  ISBN 1-85260-508-1
  • A. Jowett, (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Atlantic Publishing.  ISBN 0-906899-99-0

External links