Wapping railway station

Wapping
Wapping Location of Wapping in Greater London
Location	Wapping
Local authority	London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Transport for London
Station code	WPE
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	2
London Underground annual entry and exit
2007	1.561 million[1]
2008	0 (closed) million[1]
2009	0 (closed) million[1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11	0.719 million[2]
2011–12	1.081 million[2]
2012–13	1.271 million[2]
2013–14	1.371 million[2]
2014–15	1.569 million[2]
Key dates
1869	Opened as Wapping and Shadwell
1876	Renamed Wapping
1884	First Underground service
27 April 2010[3]	Reopened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°30′16″N 0°03′21″W / 51.5044°N 0.0558°W

Wapping railway station is on the northern bank of the river Thames in Wapping, East London, England. It is in Zone 2, and on the East London Line of London Overground between Shadwell and Rotherhithe.^{[note 1]}

After recent temporary closures for remodelling, the station reopened for preview services on 27 April 2010 for services to New Cross and New Cross Gate, and from 23 May 2010 trains to/from New Cross Gate were extended to West Croydon / Crystal Palace.^[4]

History

Construction

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines in South East London, including the southern portion of the East London Line

The station occupies the north end of the former Thames foot tunnel built by Marc Isambard Brunel between 1825–1843, and subsequently adapted for railway traffic. Access to the station is by lift or a flight of stairs built into one of the original access shafts of the Thames Tunnel.^{[note 2]}

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

Locomotive exiting the Thames Tunnel and arriving at what is now Wapping station. Illustrated London News 8 January 1870.

The station was originally opened as the northern terminus of the East London Railway^{[note 3]} on 7 December 1869 as Wapping and Shadwell, and the station was renamed Wapping on 10 April 1876,^{[note 4]} when the line was extended northwards to Liverpool Street,^{[note 3]} via a new station at Shadwell. The earliest trains were provided by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, whose system connected with the line at New Cross Gate.^{[5][note 3]}

London Underground

Wapping station as it appeared in 2006 with London Underground branding. The entrance has since been moved from the corner to the front.

Underground trains of the Metropolitan and the District Railways first served the station on 1 October 1884,^{[note 5]} but the station was last served by District trains on 31 July 1905.^{[note 5][note 6]}

The station was extensively remodelled between 1995 and 1998, when the entire East London Line - including Wapping station - was closed due to repair work on the tunnels under the Thames. Vitreous enamel panels by Nick Hardcastle^[6][7] showing the station and the area in former and modern times were installed on the platforms.

London Overground

London Overground train at the northbound platform of Wapping station in 2015. The station's narrow and curved platforms have been identified as a safety hazard.

The East London Line closed on 22 December 2007, and reopened on 27 April 2010 when it became part of the new London Overground system. During this time the station was heavily refurbished.

The proposed extension of the East London Line raised concerns that the station would have to be closed due to its platforms being too short (only four cars long) to accommodate the new rolling stock planned for the extended line (which could be six or eight cars long). The narrowness of the platforms was also a concern. The station does not fully meet the safety standards for an underground station but is permitted to operate under a derogation from Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate.^[8] Despite this, on 16 August 2004 then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced that the station would remain open.^[9]

Services

London Overground East London Line
Legend
Highbury & Islington    Canonbury Dalston Junction Kingsland Viaduct ▼ Haggerston Hoxton Kingsland Viaduct ▲ Shoreditch High Street Whitechapel Shadwell Wapping Thames Tunnel under River Thames Rotherhithe Canada Water Surrey Quays Queens Road Peckham New Cross Peckham Rye New Cross Gate Denmark Hill Brockley Clapham High Street Honor Oak Park Wandsworth Road Forest Hill Clapham Junction Sydenham Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon

All times below are correct as of the December 2010 timetables.

London Overground

East London Line

Mondays to Saturdays there is a service every 5–10 minutes throughout the day, while on Sundays before 13:00 there is a service every 5–9 minutes, changing to every 7–8 minutes until the end of service after that.^[10] Current off peak frequency is:

• 8 northbound to Highbury & Islington
• 8 northbound to Dalston Junction
• 4 southbound to Clapham Junction via Peckham Rye
• 4 southbound to Crystal Palace
• 4 southbound to New Cross
• 4 southbound to West Croydon

Connections

London Buses routes 100 and D3 serve the station.

References

1. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLS). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. BBC London:The new East London Line opens to the public Accessed 27 April 2010
4. "Mayor accused of railway 'stunt'". BBC News. 14 April 2010.
5. "Key facts: East London line history". Transport for London. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
6. "Editorial Artist and Illustrator in Sussex and London-Nick Hardcastle". nickhardcastle.co.uk.
7. diamond geezer (6 June 2006). "Wapping". Retrieved 27 May 2012.
8. http://moderngov.towerhamlets.gov.uk/Data/Public%20Transport%20Forum/20030128/Minutes/Future%20of%20Wapping%20Ldn%20U'Ground%20Station.pdf
9. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/rail/initiatives/ell-stations.shtml Archived 15 February 2005 at the Wayback Machine
10. https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/highbury-and-islington-to-west-croydon-and-clapham-junction-timetable.pdf

1. Baker 2007, p. 22, section B1
2. Day 1979, p. 33
3. Day 1979, p. 31
4. Butt 1995, p. 241
5. Rose 2007
6. Day 1979, p. 32

Bibliography

• Baker, S.K. (April 2007) [1977]. Rail Atlas Great Britain & Ireland (11th ed.). Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-86093-602-2. 0704/K.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
• Day, John R. (1979) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (6th ed.). Westminster: London Transport. ISBN 0-85329-094-6. 1178/211RP/5M(A).
• Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-315-0.