Stratford is a major multi-level interchange station serving the town of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, east London for London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Elizabeth line services. National Rail services also operate on the West Anglia Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line, from Liverpool Street.
It is the seventh busiest railway station in Britain, the second busiest station in London outside the London station group, and is the busiest station on the London Underground network outside London fare zone 1.
On the London Underground, Stratford is on the Central line between and stations. It is also the eastern terminus of the Jubilee line and the next station towards west is West Ham. On the DLR, it is a terminus for some trains and for others it is a through-station between and . On the Overground, it is the terminus of the Mildmay line; on the main line it is served by Elizabeth line stopping services between Paddington and and by medium- and longer-distance services operated by Greater Anglia to and from numerous destinations in the East of England. There are also limited off-peak services operated by c2c connecting to the London, Tilbury and Southend line to .
The station was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway. Today it is owned by Network Rail and is in London fare zone 2/3. Stratford to be 're-zoned' to bring its three stations into transport zones 2/3. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015 To distinguish it from in Warwickshire it is sometimes referred to as Stratford (London), or as Stratford Regional to differentiate it from Stratford International, which is some to the north. Stratford served as a key travel hub for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in London.London 2012: Stratford Regional station . Retrieved 9 September 2010.
History
Early days: 1839–1862 Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) with the first station building being located on Angel Lane which crossed the line on an over-bridge to the east of the station. The Northern and Eastern Railway opened a section of its authorised line from to join the ECR at Stratford on 15 September 1840. As well as a station, a railway works was built adjacent to the line to Broxbourne. This and the engine shed later expanded into the area to the west of the station which is now occupied by a shopping centre and Stratford International station.
The ECR tracks were originally set to a gauge of on the recommendation of engineer John Braithwaite. At this time there was no legislation dictating the choice of gauge and indeed the directors favoured the Great Western Railway's broad gauge . Braithwaite persuaded the directors otherwise on the grounds of additional cost but recommended the gauge in an effort to reduce wear on locomotive parts. This choice meant that the Northern and Eastern Railway who were planning to share the ECR line between Stratford and Bishopsgate were forced to adopt the same gauge.
With the extension of the ECR in the early 1840s it became apparent that standard gauge was a more realistic choice and subsequently between September and October 1844 the gauge conversion was carried out. At the same time the associated Northern and Eastern Railway was also converted.
New station buildings were built in 1847 replacing the original structure on Angel Road. These were located in the V between the Cambridge and Colchester lines and access was via Station Road.
The line through the low level platforms first opened in 1846 as a goods only branch as far as Thames Wharf. The bridge under the main line was too low for many locomotives, so a number of engines were equipped with hinged chimneys in order they could operate the line. On opening there was also a line that linked what is now known as the Great Eastern Main Line directly to the docks enabling through running from Colchester to Thames Wharf. The docks and associated railway networks expanded with passenger services to North Woolwich starting in 1847.
There was an accident at Stratford station on 18 July 1846 when an up goods train ran into the back of a passenger train from Ipswich. There were 10 passengers seriously injured one of whom later died.
In 1854 the newly opened London Tilbury and Southend Railway served Stratford joining the main line at Forest Gate Junction a few miles north. Their services generally served Fenchurch Street and were routed via the Bow Road route (although that station was not opened at this time) although some carriages were detached at Stratford for onward working to Bishopsgate. This practice was discontinued in 1856 as passengers preferred the more conveniently sited (for the city) Fenchurch Street.
In connection with the introduction of the new LTSR services a third line was built from Stratford to Bow Junction which was used by down Fenchurch Street services and a new platform face opened.
It soon became apparent that congestion was a problem at Stratford and by 1856 permission was sought to build a line from Barking to Gas Factory Junction (Bow) which was opened in 1858. After that LTSR trains were no longer routed via Stratford.
By 1855 there were links from both the low and high-level stations to the North London Line as well as a spur that enabled trains from Liverpool Street to North Woolwich to avoid Stratford altogether (although this served Stratford Market station) which was a short distance away. Services from the North London line normally started from Victoria Park and ran through to Stratford Market. This service operated from 1866 until 1874 and was operated by the GER and North London Railway in alternate years up until 31 October 1874.
The North London Railway was also running through Stratford high level with two return trains per day from Hampstead Road (later renamed Chalk Farm) via Victoria Park and Forest Gate Junctions to Tilbury which commenced on 1 July 1855 and finished 30 September.
Services to Loughton commenced on 22 August 1856 and used the Lea Valley platforms, leaving the main line at Loughton Branch Junction half a mile north of Stratford. Initially nine trains per day operated to Fenchurch Street (Bishopsgate on Sundays) on this route.
By the 1860s the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble, and most were leased to the ECR; they wished to amalgamate formally, but could not obtain government agreement for this until 1862, when the Great Eastern Railway was formed by amalgamation. Thus Stratford became a GER station in 1862.
Great Eastern Railway: 1862–1923 The Loughton branch was extended to Ongar on 24 April 1865 and by 1874 there were a total of 40 trains each day (10 terminating at Loughton, 18 at Epping and 12 at Ongar) with most serving the newly opened Liverpool Street although a few peak hour services continued to serve Fenchurch Street.
Even after LTSR services were routed away from Stratford in 1858 working remained intense. Following an accident in 1866 the accident report noted that "Stratford needs complete re-arranging, extending and fitting with modern improvements for working points and signals, as in its present state it appears to be quite insufficient for the traffic that passes through it". Although one of the signal boxes had interlocking fitted soon after, the poor state of GER finances saw little further work until 1877 when a significant rebuilding of Stratford took place.
Another short-lived North London Railway service operated in September and October 1866, linking Chalk Farm with Barking (again routed via Victoria Park and Forest Gate Junctions). This service was withdrawn due to congestion, and one of the services was involved in a collision on 10 September 1866 with 20 passengers being injured.
The 1877 rebuilding saw a number of changes made, which were: A fourth line was added from Bow Junction to Stratford; Western Junction (where a spur to towards the Woolwich line existed along with various crossovers) was moved further west; New Goods lines added on the down (north) side of the line between Western Junction and the Cambridge line platforms – changes made at Central Junction to accommodate these; New Goods lines between Western Junction and Maryland Point signal box (west of the current 2015 station); Eastern curve (which allowed up goods trains from the main line to directly access the low level line towards the docks) was re-aligned; and New signal boxes at Eastern, Central and Western Junctions.
Between 1886 and 1887, improvements were made to the station buildings and the canopies extended.
On 26 December 1886, a train was derailed at Stratford station as facing points had not been properly locked into position. Fortunately there was no loss of life.
By 1889, traffic on the GER had grown to such an extent, that quadrupling the section from Bethnal Green to Bow Junction and from Maryland Point-Romford was proposed. Once again significant changes which were implemented between 1891 and 1893 and included: Two additional lines from Bow Junction resulting in six tracks in total (named Up and Down Local, Up and Down Through and Up and Down Fenchurch Street); To accommodate these the Up and Down Fenchurch Street lines were slewed to the south of the formation; The 1877 signal boxes at Western, Central and Eastern Junctions were all replaced between 1891 and 1893; and Carpenters Road curve added at this time (Western Junction to Carpenters Road Junction)
In 1896, the low-level line was lowered under the main line so locomotives no longer required hinged chimneys.
By July 1897, it was apparent that the decision not to include platforms on both Through lines was causing some operational difficulty. To address this a new platform serving the Up Through line was opened in 1900.
The Fairlop Loop opened on 1 May 1903 and services generally ran as an out and back circle from either Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street. The routing of these services was Liverpool Street – Stratford – Ilford – Fairlop Loop – Woodford – Stratford – Liverpool Street) and Liverpool Street – Stratford – Woodford – Fairlop Loop – Ilford – Stratford – Liverpool Street in the reverse direction.
On 1 January 1923, the GER became part of the London & North Eastern Railway.
London and North Eastern Railway: 1923–1947 By the 1930s electric tramways were taking a lot of traffic from the railway and proposals were drawn up to electrify the lines from Liverpool Street to Shenfield using the 1500 V DC system. By 1938 the major contracts were let and work started. Despite the commencement of the Second World War in 1939, work was initially continued on the scheme, however, the scheme was postponed in late 1940. In February 1946, the LNER announced work would recommence. On 5 October 1946, the new interchange platforms with the Central line (see below) were opened.
London Underground Central line services started on 4 December 1946 and were extended from Liverpool Street station in new tunnels after being delayed due to the Second World War. The line was further extended to on 5 May 1947 and then to the former Great Eastern Railway branch lines to , and progressively until 1957. Prior to this date trains to and from Epping and Ongar had used the currently numbered platforms 11 and 12 and diverged from the Broxbourne line about half a mile north of the station. Trains for the Hainault loop used either these platforms or the currently numbered platform 5 (up) or 8 (down) diverging from the Great Eastern Main Line at a junction between Ilford and Seven Kings which has since been redeveloped as part of the Ilford Carriage sheds.
British Railways: 1948–1996
The nationalisation of Britain's railways saw the operation of Stratford station pass to British Railways Eastern Region. A new station building was designed by Thomas Bennett and opened in 1948.