Woolwich Arsenal station

Woolwich Arsenal
Woolwich Arsenal Location of Woolwich Arsenal in Greater London
Location	Woolwich Arsenal
Local authority	Royal Borough of Greenwich
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code	WWA
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	4 (2 underground platforms served by DLR)
Accessible	Yes [1][2]
Fare zone	4
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2012	8.789 million[3]
2013	9.474 million[4]
2014	10.800 million[4]
2015	12.668 million[4]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2011–12	3.559 million[5]
2012–13	3.724 million[5]
2013–14	3.551 million[5]
Key dates
1 November 1849	Opened
12 January 2009	DLR opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°29′24″N 0°04′08″E / 51.490°N 0.069°E

Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway interchange station located in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It acts as a local station on the North Kent Line between London and Gillingham, served by Southeastern, and is the southern terminus of the Woolwich Arsenal branch of the Docklands Light Railway. The station faces General Gordon Square and is named after the nearby Woolwich Arsenal. It is the only DLR station to be located in Travelcard Zone 4.

History

The station opened in 1849, serving the North Kent Line from London to Gillingham. The station building was rebuilt in 1906 with a London brick-built structure, very typical of southeast London. The current station building dates from 1996, and has a modern design in steel and glass. It has a circular theme, quite different from what existed before.

Woolwich Arsenal was expanded in 2009, when Transport for London completed the construction of an extension of the London City Airport branch of the Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal, which is the branch's new terminus. The official opening took place on 12 January 2009.

In 2014, a petition was started and presented to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station from Zone 4 to zone 3. However, Mr Johnson ruled this out, stating it would cause losses in over a million pounds per annum.^[6]

Accidents and incidents

• On 18 November 1948, an electric multiple unit ran into the rear of another, killing two people. It had departed from Woolwich Dockyard against signals.^[7]

Design

DLR train awaiting departure to Bank

The National Rail part of the station consists of two above-ground platforms. The up platform for London has a refreshment facility. The down platform serves trains going east, towards north Kent, via Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Slade Green.

The Docklands Light Railway part of the station is underground, and consists of two platforms in an island platform configuration. As Woolwich Arsenal is a terminus, both platforms serve an up line to Bank or Stratford via London City Airport and Canning Town. Trains depart in the eastbound direction due to the curve under the River Thames.

Connections

London Buses routes 51, 53, 54, 96, 99, 122, 161, 178, 244, 291, 380, 386, 422, 469 and 472 and night route N1 serve the station.

Crossrail station

As of 2014 it was planned that a Crossrail station, initially ruled out, was to be opened in Woolwich, after a vigorous campaign to include it in the scheme run by Greenwich Council and Berkeley Homes. It will be about 200m north of Woolwich Arsenal station on the north side of the A206 road, on the site of the Royal Arsenal, but will not serve as a direct interchange.

Future

On the 8th December 2015 it was proposed that a DLR Extension across the Gallions Reach Crossing could link with Thamesmead, Abbey Wood and Woolwich.^[8]

Services

The typical off-peak National Rail service from the station is:

• 6tph (trains per hour) to London Cannon Street via Greenwich
• 2tph to London Charing Cross via Lewisham
• 4tph to Slade Green, returning to London Cannon Street 2tph via Sidcup and 2tph Bexleyheath
• 2tph to Dartford
• 2tph to Gillingham (Kent) via Dartford

Destination	Trains per hour	Rolling Stock
London Cannon Street via Greenwich	6	Class 376, Class 465, Class 466
London Charing Cross via Lewisham	2	Class 465, Class 466
Slade Green	4	Class 376, Class 465, Class 466
Dartford	2	Class 376, Class 465, Class 466
Gillingham	2	Class 465, Class 466

Off-peak, Docklands Light Railway trains run every ten minutes to Bank, using 3-car trains. In the peak, this service is every eight minutes, while a service to Stratford International station operates every eight minutes, providing a service every four minutes to Canning Town station.^[9]

References

1. Tube Map
2. Southeastern: Access Guide
3. Transport for London (12 February 2013). "Freedom of Information DLR usage 1213". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
4. "Up-to-date DLR entry/exit statistics for each station" (XLSX). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
5. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
6. "Boris Johnson rejects popular petition to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station". News Shopper. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
7. Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 108. ISBN 0 7110 1929 0.
8. "Vision for East London 8 new crossings". Retrieved 8 December 2015.
9. "DLR frequencies". Transport for London. Retrieved 6 February 2012.