North Woolwich railway station

North Woolwich railway station in North Woolwich in east London was the eastern terminus of the North London Line. It was in Travelcard Zone 3. The next station was Silvertown. The station closed in 2006, to allow for the North London line between Stratford and Canning Town to be converted to Docklands Light Railway (DLR) operation.[3]

North Woolwich
North Woolwich Location of North Woolwich in Greater London
Location	North Woolwich
Local authority	Newham
Grid reference	TQ432798
Station code	NWW
Number of platforms	1 (originally 3)
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2002–03	67,443[1]
2004–05	146,908[1]
2005–06	118,920[1]
2006–07	375,126[1]
Railway companies
Original company	Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
14 June 1847 (1847-06-14)	Opened
29 May 1994[2]	Closed
29 October 1995	Reopened
9 December 2006 (2006-12-09)	Closed
Replaced by	King George V DLR
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51.4994°N 0.0623°E / 51.4994; 0.0623
London transport portal

History

The station opened on 14 June 1847 as the southern terminus of the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway from Stratford. The service was later extended beyond Stratford to Palace Gates. In 1963 diesel traction replaced steam and the service was cut back to Stratford with peak-hour trains to Tottenham Hale.

RCTS East London Tour in 1951

North London line

The route became an extension of the North London Line in 1979. From the 1980s onward, only one track of the double track line was used through the Connaught Tunnel under the Royal Docks and on to North Woolwich, where the station building and a platform were closed and replaced by a minimalist entrance and passenger shelter on the south side. In 1985 the line from North Woolwich was electrified on the third rail system under British Rail, with the service running round inner north London to Richmond (a route part-third rail and part-overhead wire). Prior to closure, the typical service frequency Monday to Saturday was every 30 minutes during the daytime, increasing to every 20 minutes in the evening and every 30 minutes all day Sunday.

For a period of about 18 months, from May 1994 until October 1995, the line from North Woolwich to Stratford (Low Level) closed temporarily during the Jubilee Line extension which involved reconstruction on the platforms at West Ham and Canning Town stations. A replacement bus was in place during this time.

From 1984 until 2008 the original station buildings and one disused platform served as the North Woolwich Old Station Museum, dedicated to the history of the Great Eastern Railway. The building was then owned by the Passmore Edwards Museum Trust and run by the London Borough of Newham - on its closure most of the collection was dispersed and the building passed to the Trust's successor, the River Lea Tidal Mill Trust.[4]

Dual-voltage unit 313113 waiting to work the 14:37 service to Richmond a few days before the station closed.

Station closure

The station and the line to Stratford closed on 9 December 2006[5] to allow conversion of the North London Line between Stratford and Canning Town to a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) line. At closure the station was served by Silverlink. The local area was also better served by the new DLR extension to London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal, which connected public transport across the Thames for the first time.[3]

Future

Crossrail will use the Connaught Tunnel and nearby NLL route by 2021, with a new tunnel under the River Thames near the site of North Woolwich station. This prevents any future use of the railway - preventing two earlier schemes for using the short section of railway track near the station:

• The North Woolwich Old Station Museum mentioned above.
• The Royal Docks Heritage Railway for a new museum at the site with a heritage railway.

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 174. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. "Key milestone reached in £211m rail extension". Transport for London. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
4. "House Mill - About Us". Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
5. Closure of North Woolwich station Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Royal Docks Heritage Railway Ltd
• London's Abandoned Stations - North Woolwich
• Disused stations

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Silvertown		Silverlink North London Line		Terminus