Upminster station

Upminster
The side entrance to Upminster station
Upminster Location of Upminster in Greater London
Location	Upminster
Local authority	London Borough of Havering
Managed by	c2c
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	UPM
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	7
Accessible	Yes (except platform 6) [1][2]
Fare zone	6
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	4.73 million[3]
2013	4.96 million[3]
2014	5.16 million[3]
2015	5.14 million[3]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2009–10	3.018 million[4]
2010–11	3.992 million[4]
2011–12	4.191 million[4]
2012–13	4.393 million[4]
2013–14	4.529 million[4]
Railway companies
Original company	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1885	Opened
1902	District line started
1905	District line paused
1932	District line resumed
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°33′32″N 0°15′04″E / 51.559°N 0.2511°E

Upminster is an interchange station situated on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR), serving the town of Upminster in the London Borough of Havering, east London. It is the eastern terminus of the District line on the London Underground, the eastern terminus of the Romford to Upminster Line on the London Overground network, and a National Rail station that is served by c2c and located 15 miles 20 chains (24.5 km) down-line from London Fenchurch Street. It is the eastern most extremity of the London Underground.

The station was opened in 1885 by the LTSR and its original entrance and structure beside the main-line platforms and car-park survive from that date. A larger entrance and ticket hall on the main Station Road was built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1932 and has since been extensively modernised and includes a number of retail units. Today the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by c2c, the train operating company which operates the main-line services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness. Upminster is located within Travelcard Zone 6.

History

The London Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) connected the City of London and its terminal station at Fenchurch Street with the port at Tilbury Dock in 1854, extending out to the seaside town of Southend in 1856. The route to Southend was not direct, taking a considerable diversion in order to serve the docks at Tilbury. Between 1885 and 1888 a new direct route from Barking to Pitsea was constructed, with the station at Upminster opening on 1 May 1885.^[5] The next station to the east was East Horndon (now called West Horndon) and to the west was Hornchurch.^[5]

The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened in 1902 and allowed through-services of the Metropolitan District Railway to operate on the LTSR line to Upminster.^[6] The District Railway converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were lost at Upminster when they were curtailed at East Ham^[7] due to the tracks between that station and Upminster not yet having been electrified.^[6] Branches were opened by the LTSR to Grays in 1892 and Romford in 1893. The LTSR was purchased by Midland Railway in 1912 and was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR) from 1 January 1923.

The District Railway electric service extended eastward as far as Barking in 1908.^[6] Delayed by World War I,^[5] an additional pair of electrified tracks were extended by the LMSR and services of the District resumed to Upminster in 1932.^[6][7][8] The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line. A new station at Upminster Bridge on the District line became the next station to the west in 1934.^[7] After nationalisation of the railways in 1948, management of Upminster station passed to British Railways.

Design

London Underground signal box at Upminster.

Floodlight tower at the Upminster depot which illuminates the whole site and can be seen miles beyond.

The station was greatly expanded in 1932 by the LMSR and the main station building, the two footbridges and the buildings on the remaining platforms were constructed in typical 1930s style. A further platform for services to Romford was a later addition. The primary station building, which gives access to the main Station Road, has been extensively redeveloped in contemporary style and includes three retail units. The original Victorian station structures remaining beside the main-line platform 1 have been refurbished and now include a secondary ticket office and waiting room^[2] with an exit to Station Approach and the car-park. The original platforms were linked by a subway which has since been abandoned.

The station is the location of a London Underground signal box at the eastern end of the platforms and, several hundred yards further east, the modern signal control centre for all main-line operations on the LTSR.^[9] Step-free access is available to all platforms with the exception of platform 6, for the Romford branch line.^[1][2]

Services

Platforms 1A is a bay platform used by a limited number of services via Ockendon only to start or terminate at Upminster. Platform 1 is generally used by main-line services to Fenchurch Street and platform 2 for Grays and Shoeburyness. Platforms 3, 4 and 5 are served by the District line, and platform 6 is utilised by services to Romford operated by London Overground.

The typical off-peak service of trains per hour (tph) is:

• c2c, main-line:
  • 6tph to London Fenchurch Street;
  • 4tph to Shoeburyness via Basildon;
  • 2tph to Southend Central via Ockendon.

• London Overground, Romford to Upminster Line:
  • 2tph to Romford.

• London Underground, District line:
  • 6tph to Richmond;^[10] (7tph at peak times)^[6]
  • 6tph to Ealing Broadway.^[6][10]

Connections

London Bus routes 248, 346, 347 and 370 serve the station.^[11]

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2015.
2. Our route - Upminster
3. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLS). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
4. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
5. "London, Tilbury and Southend Railway" (PDF), Local Studies Information Sheets (Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council), 2008, retrieved 12 January 2010
6. Clive's Underground Line Guides - District line
7. Douglas Rose (1999). The London Underground: A diagrammatic history (7 ed.). Douglas Rose. ISBN 1-85414-219-4.
8. Wolmar, Christian (2005). The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever. Atlantic Books. p. 268. ISBN 1-84354-023-1.
9. c2c - Train name unites c2c and Network Rail
10. "District line timetable: From Upminster Underground Station to Upminster Bridge Underground Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
11. "Buses from Upminster" (PDF). Transport for London. March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

External links

• Train times and station information for Upminster station from National Rail

• London Transport Museum - Photographic collection images
• c2c information for Upminster station