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	London Overground London Underground
Owner	Network Rail London Underground
Station code	WHC
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	4
Accessible	Yes (London Overground only) [1][2]
Fare zone	3
OSI	Walthamstow Queen's Road [3]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2011	14.32 million[4]
2012	15.09 million[4]
2013	16.68 million[4]
2014	18.05 million[4]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2006–07	2.357 million[5]
2007–08	2.205 million[5]
2008–09	2.220 million[5]
2009–10	2.089 million[5]
2010–11	2.543 million[5]
2011–12	2.738 million[5]
2012–13	2.778 million[5]
Key dates
1869	Opened (GER)
1968	Opened (Victoria line)
Other information
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 /ˈwɒlθəmstoʊ, ˈwɒl-/ is a railway station located in Walthamstow, London, and served by both London Underground and London Overground services. It is the northern terminus of the Victoria line, and is on the Chingford Line of the London Overground.

It is a short walk from Walthamstow Queen's Road station by means of a dedicated footpath known as Ray Dudley Way.

On 31 May 2015, services on the Chingford Line transferred from Abellio Greater Anglia to London Overground.

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.^[6] The line that the Chingford branch uses today (2015) 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.

On 29–30 May 1937 the London and North Eastern Railway put on a railway exhibition in the station yard. The exhibits were (LNER locomotive classification/Wheel arrangement/Number/Name):

• Class A3 4-6-2 No. 2744 Grand Parade
• Class A4 4-6-2 No. 2512 and 4482 Golden Eagle
• Class P1 2-8-2 No. 2394,
• Class B17 4-6-0 No. 2870, which was named Tottenham Hotspur during the exhibition
• Class V2 2-6-2 No. 4771 Green Arrow (this locomotive exists and is preserved in 2014)
• Class D16 4-4-0 No. 8808
• Class B12 4-6-0 No. 8555
• Class Y4 0-4-0T No. 7229
• Class Y5 0-4-0T No. 7230
• Railcar No. 51913 Rival.^[7]

Other items of rolling stock included a camping coach, a signal demonstration van, vans used by the locomotive running department, a sleeping coach, a crane and a mail coach as well as several items of goods rolling stock.^[8]

In 1948 the railways were nationalised 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.

On 31 May 2015 the station's Abellio Greater Anglia services were transferred to London Overground Rail Operations.^[10][11]

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. 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.

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. Until August 2015 (when they were closed down), there were three staffed ticket windows, leaving only 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. 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.

Ticket barriers control access to all platforms.

A footpath link, called Ray Dudley Way, providing a shortcut to nearby Walthamstow Queen's Road, opened in August 2014.^[12]

Connections

London Buses routes 20, 34, 48, 58, 69, 97, 212, 215, 230, 257, 275, 357, W11, W12, W15, W19 and 675 and night routes N26, N38 and N73 serve the station and bus station.

Services

The typical off-peak service provided by London Overground is:

• 4tph to Chingford
• 4tph to Liverpool Street

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Blackhorse Road towards Brixton		Victoria line		Terminus
London Overground
St James Street		Chingford Line		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 (London Overground)

• 

  Walthamstow Central railway station viewed west from the A112 overbridge

• 

  Platforms looking eastwards

• 

  Platforms looking westwards

• 

  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