Emerson Park railway station

Emerson Park
Emerson Park railway station in 2008
Emerson Park Location of Emerson Park in Greater London
Location	Emerson Park
Local authority	London Borough of Havering
Managed by	London Overground
Station code	EMP
DfT category	F2
Number of platforms	1
Accessible	Yes [1][2]
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11	82,148[3]
2011–12	94,746[3]
2012–13	113,904[3]
2013–14	127,298[3]
Key dates
1 October 1909	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°34′07″N 0°13′13″E / 51.5687°N 0.2204°E

Emerson Park is a London Overground station serving the Emerson Park neighbourhood of the London Borough of Havering in north-east London. The station is on the Romford to Upminster Line and is the only intermediate station on that single-track line, 1 mile 64 chains (2.9 km) down-line from Romford. The station was opened as Emerson Park Halt in 1909 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a branch line which had connected Romford with Upminster and Grays since 1893.

The station has been managed by London Overground since May 2015, which also provides the train services. Emerson Park has no station buildings other than a platform canopy over the single platform. It has very low, but growing, usage for a suburban railway station with 127,298 passenger entries/exits in 2013/14.

History

The Romford to Upminster Line was constructed in 1893 as a branch of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR). Property development in the immediate area and in 1908 the proposed new railway station at Gidea Park on the Great Eastern Railway (GER) prompted the LT&SR to construct a station on their branch. The station was opened on 1 October 1909 as Emerson Park Halt^[4] on the branch line from Romford to Grays via Upminster, where it connected with the main route from London Fenchurch Street. A run round loop was constructed 500 yards to the west to enable extra trains to run between Emerson Park and Upminster. When push-pull working began in 1934 the loop was not needed and taken out c. 1936.^[5] Originally named Emerson Park Halt, and shown in some timetables and on some signage throughout its history as Emerson Park & Great Nelmes, the station name was later simplified to Emerson Park, but the date of this change is not recorded.^[4] Even though the station has long been called Emerson Park, one former platform sign installed by National Express East Anglia in the late 2000s read: "Welcome to Emerson Park Halt".

Design

Emerson Park station in 1991

The station consists of a side platform located to the north of the single track. Access to the street is provided by a ramp. The station is of basic design and has no buildings other than a platform canopy. There are Oyster card validators and a ticket vending machine. A digital display board underneath the canopy provides departure information.

Connections

London Buses routes 165, 256 and 370 serve the station, providing connections to Ardleigh Green, Harold Wood, Hornchurch, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Rainham, Romford and Upminster.^[6] It is one of three stations in the Hornchurch area, all some distance from the town centre; the others are Hornchurch and Upminster Bridge, both on the London Underground's District line.

Services

Former "Halt" signage in 2014, before the station transferred to London Overground

London Overground roundel signage being installed in 2015

The station is in London fare zone 6. The typical off-peak service from the station is two trains per hour to Upminster and two to Romford. The journey time to Upminster is five minutes and to Romford is four minutes.

In May 2015 the station transferred from Abellio Greater Anglia operation to London Overground.^[7][8] Since then, services run Monday to Saturday between approximately 6:15 am and 10 pm and on Sundays from approximately 8:45 am to 8 pm.^[9] Oyster pay as you go has been available at the station since 2010. The total numbers of passenger entries and exits at the station during the year are:

Year	Entries and exits (% change from prior year)
2004/05	31,677
2005/06	31,523(-0.49%)
2006/07	46,455(32.14%)
2007/08	66,647(30.30%)
2008/09	58,602(-13.73%)
2009/10	71,116(17.60%)
2010/11	82,148(13.43%)
2011/12	94,746(15.34%)
2012/13	113,904(20.22%)

During the 2013/14 year there were 127,298 passenger entries and exits at the station, continuing a trend of growth over the preceding years. Between 1998 and 2015 passenger numbers at the station have increased by 1,134%.^[10]

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2015.
2. "London and South East" (PDF). National Rail Enquiries. National Rail. September 2006. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 March 2009.
3. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
4. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 91. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
5. Kay, Peter. The London Tilbury and Southend Railway Vol 2. p. 83. ISBN 1-899890-19-X.
6. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/emersonpark-12495.pdf
7. TFL appoints London Overground operator to run additional services Transport for London 28 May 2014
8. TfL count on LOROL for support Rail Professional 28 May 2014
9. https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/romford-to-upminster-timetable-may-2015.pdf
10. Rail Travel: Station Usage

External links

• Train times and station information for Emerson Park railway station from National Rail