Walthamstow Central station

Walthamstow Central

Walthamstow Central Location of Walthamstow Central in Greater London
Location	Walthamstow
Local authority	London Borough of Waltham Forest
Managed by	Greater Anglia London Underground
Owner	Network Rail London Underground
Station code	WHC
Number of platforms	4
Accessible	(National Rail only) [1][2]
Fare zone	3
OSI	Walthamstow Queen's Road [3]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2009	13.437 million[4]
2010	13.75 million[5]
2011	14.32 million[6]
2012	15.09 million[6]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2006–07	2.357 million[7]
2007–08	2.205 million[7]
2008–09	2.220 million[7]
2009–10	2.089 million[7]
2010–11	2.543 million[7]
2011-12	2.738 million[7]
1869	Opened (GER)
1968	Opened (Victoria line)
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°34′59″N 0°01′11″W / 51.583056°N 0.019722°W / 51.583056; -0.019722

Walthamstow Central is a London Underground and National Rail station. It is the terminus of the Victoria line, and is on the Chingford branch of the National Rail network operated by Greater Anglia (commuter trains in northeast London originating at Liverpool Street). It is a short walk from London Overground railway station Walthamstow Queen's Road.

History

The station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway (as Hoe Street) in 1870 when a line was opened from Lea Bridge to a temporary station called Shern Hall Street which was east of the Hoe Street station.^[8] The line that the Chingford branch uses today (2014) was opened two years later in 1872 with the branch being extended later to Chingford in 1873.

The GER was taken over by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923.

In 1948 the railways were nationalized and responsibility for operating the station fell to British Railways (Eastern Region).

The line was electrified in the late 1950s with electric services commencing on 12 November 1960. Early services were formed of Class 305 EMUs but initial technical problems with these saw replacements by Class 302 and Class 304 EMUs.^[9]

The station became an interchange station and the eastern terminus of the Victoria Line with London Underground services starting on 1 September 1968. The station's present name was changed at this time. The platforms for the Victoria Line (like all stations on the Victoria Line) are actually underground.

Description

The up-side station building is a remarkably well preserved example of a mid-Victorian country station.

The underground station, like many stations on the Victoria line, was never completely finished.^{[citation needed]} White ceiling panels were never fixed to the ceilings above the platforms; instead the steel tunnel segments were painted black and used to support the fixtures and fittings. This has had a detrimental effect on the lighting levels. There is a concrete stairway between the two escalators instead of a third escalator; this caused a hugely disruptive station closure for several weeks in 2004 when both escalators went out of service.^{[citation needed]}

The main entrance to the above-ground station is on the down side and is opposite the local bus station, which was revamped in summer 2004. There are three staffed ticket windows and a number of ticket machines to serve the majority of the traffic that enters the station. The entrance to the tube was revamped in early 2006. There is a smaller entrance and ticket office on the up line, providing convenient access to the car park; however, the ticket office here is normally unstaffed outside peak hours.

A subway was built in 2005 under the busy Selborne Road linking a new bus station with a new Victoria line ticket office. The original plan was to fit out and open the new subway and ticket office in spring 2005 but problems with insufficient power capacity to supply two new lifts, together with planning and contractual errors, delayed the opening.^{[citation needed]} The subway and ticket office were finally opened on 19 November 2007, albeit without the completion of the new lifts (completed in late 2008) and with unfinished building work.^{[citation needed]}

Ticket barriers control access to the Victoria line platforms but the Lea Valley Line platforms are open.

A footpath providing a shortcut to nearby Walthamstow Queen's Road has been reported as scheduled for completion during 2013.^[10]

Transport Link

London Bus routes 20, 34, 48, 58, 69, 97, 212, 215, 230, 257, 275, 357, W11, W12, W15, W19, School bus routes 675 and Night routes N26, N38 and N73.

Services

The typical off-peak service provided by Greater Anglia is:

• 4tph to Chingford
• 4tph to Liverpool Street (does not stop at London Fields, Cambridge Heath)

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Blackhorse Road towards Brixton		Victoria line		Terminus
	National Rail
St James Street		Greater Anglia Lea Valley Lines		Wood Street

Gallery

Victoria line (London Underground)

• 

  North Victoria line platform looking West towards central London

• 

  South Victoria line platform looking East towards the buffer

• 

  Victoria line platform roundel

Lea Valley Lines (Greater Anglia)

• 

  Walthamstow Central railway station viewed west from the A112 overbridge

• 

  Platforms looking westwards

• 

  Platforms looking eastwards

• 

  Original station building on the London-bound side

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walthamstow Central station.

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Walthamstow Central station from National Rail

v t e Victoria line Stations Walthamstow Central Blackhorse Road Tottenham Hale Seven Sisters Finsbury Park Highbury & Islington King's Cross St. Pancras Euston Warren Street Oxford Circus Green Park Victoria Pimlico Vauxhall Stockwell Brixton (100m) Click to enlarge Rolling stock 2009 Stock History 1967 Stock London Underground Transport for London London Transport portal