Upton Park tube station

Upton Park
Main entrance on Green Street
Upton Park
Location of Upton Park in Greater London
LocationUpton Park
Local authorityLondon Borough of Newham
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
Fare zone3
London Underground annual entry and exit
2020 6.68 million[1]
2021 4.78 million[2]
2022 7.69 million[3]
2023 8.49 million[4]
2024 11.75 million[5]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 September 1877Opened
2 June 1902District line started
30 March 1936Metropolitan line started
1 January 1948Ownership transferred to British Railways
14 June 1962London–Southend withdrawn
1 January 1969Ownership transferred to London Transport
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°32′06″N 0°02′04″E / 51.535°N 0.0344°E / 51.535; 0.0344
London transport portal

Upton Park is a London Underground station, located on Green Street in the London Borough of Newham, East London. It is on the District and Hammersmith & City lines, between Plaistow to the west and East Ham to the east. Designed and built by the developer of the Upton Park housing estate, the station was opened by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on 1 September 1877 as an infill station on the route from Fenchurch Street to Barking. The large Edwardian station building was constructed to accommodate the electric District Railway services on an additional set of tracks opened in 1905. Metropolitan line service commenced in 1936. British Railways Fenchurch Street–Southend service was withdrawn in 1962, leaving abandoned platforms. It is in London fare zone 3.

History

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) direct line between Bow and Barking was constructed east–west through the middle of the parish of West Ham with service starting on 31 March 1858.[6] Prior to the building of the line, trains took a longer and more congested route via Stratford and Forest Gate.[7] The new line initially had stations at Bromley, Plaistow and East Ham.[8] Upton Park added as an infill station between Plaistow and East Ham on 1 September 1877.[9] It was the first station on the LTSR to be built by a property developer. It was designed and constructed by Read, the developer of the Upton Park housing estate.[9]

The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened on 2 June 1902 and allowed through services of the District Railway to operate to Upminster.[10] Service began at Upton Park on 2 June 1902.[11] The District Railway was electrified over a second pair of tracks, with electric service operating from 30 September 1905. The station was rebuilt to coincide with electrification, replacing the 1877 Read buildings.[9] The District provided the majority of services at the station from this date. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway became part of the Midland Railway in 1912. With 2.9 million passengers in 1921 it was the 2nd busiest station on the London, Tilbury and Southend line.[12] The Midland Railway was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923. The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line.[13]

The eastern section of the District line was very overcrowded by the mid 1930s. In order to relieve this, the Metropolitan line service was extended to Barking.[a] Upton Park was served by a single daily Metropolitan line train from Hammersmith from 30 March 1936. This was expanded from 4 May 1936 with an eight trains per hour service between Barking and Hammersmith at peak times.[14] This was increased to ten trains per hour at Upton Park from 8 May 1938.[b] The Hammersmith service was swapped for longer Uxbridge trains from 17 July 1939, at eight trains per hour at peak times. This service was suspended on 6 October 1941 with Hammersmith trains again running to Barking.[15]

After nationalisation of the railways in 1948, management of the station passed to British Railways.[16] The Fenchurch Street–Southend services were withdrawn on 14 June 1962 with the introduction of full overhead line electric service.[17][c] On 1 January 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground.[19][20] On 30 July 1990, the Hammersmith–Barking service of the Metropolitan line gained a separate identity as the Hammersmith & City line.[11] From 13 December 2009, off-peak Hammersmith & City line service was extended from Whitechapel to Barking with a daily all-day service at Upton Park.[21]

Design

The station consists of two operational platforms on an east–west alignment. Platform 2, the northernmost, is for eastbound service. Platform 1 is for westbound service.[22] The Edwardian brick station building is from the 1902 rebuild for District Railway service.[23] The disused platforms of the Fenchurch Street to Southend services are to the south of the operational platforms.[24]

Location

The station is located on Green Street, in the London Borough of Newham. It is named after the Upton Park housing development built in the Victorian era.[9] It is served by London Buses routes 58, 104, 330 and 376.[25]

East Ham is 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) to the east of the station and Plaistow is 1.29 kilometres (0.80 mi) to the west. It is 8.65 kilometres (5.37 mi) along the line from Tower Hill in Central London and 16.03 kilometres (9.96 mi) from the eastern terminus at Upminster.[26] The station is 5 miles 28 chains (8.6 km) down the line from Fenchurch Street.[22]

Services

The station is managed by London Underground.[27] It is in London fare zone 3. The typical off-peak service from the station is 12 District line trains per hour to Upminster with a further three trains to Barking. There are 15 trains westbound to Earl's Court, of which six continue to Ealing Broadway, six continue to Richmond and three to Wimbledon.[26] At peak periods the number of trains per hour increases.[26] There are six Hammersmith & City line trains an hour to Barking and six to Hammersmith at all times.[28]

With 11.8 million entries and exits in 2024, it ranked 57th busiest London Underground station.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ This was achieved by diverting Metropolitan line trains that had previously been routed onto the East London Line at Whitechapel.
  2. ^ The two extra trains terminated at East Ham.
  3. ^ Limited summer services to Southend continued throughout the 1960s.[18]

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 31 May 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2024. Transport for London. 8 October 2025. Archived from the original on 10 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  6. ^ Phillips, Charles (2024). The Great Eastern Railway, the Early History, 1811-1862 (1st ed.). Havertown: Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 9781399024716.
  7. ^ Kay 1996, pp. 25–28.
  8. ^ Kay 1996, p. 26.
  9. ^ a b c d Kay 1997, p. 113.
  10. ^ Horne 2018, pp. 160–171.
  11. ^ a b Rose, Douglas (1999). The London Underground: A diagrammatic history (7 ed.). Douglas Rose. ISBN 1-85414-219-4.
  12. ^ Kay 2010, p. 154.
  13. ^ Horne 2019, p. 353.
  14. ^ Horne 2019, p. 354.
  15. ^ Horne 2006, p. 68.
  16. ^ Horne 2006, pp. 82–83.
  17. ^ Horne 2006, p. 82.
  18. ^ Kay 2020, p. 610.
  19. ^ Kay 2020, pp. 612–613.
  20. ^ "The Upminster Line" (PDF). Underground. 8 (90). London Underground Railway Society: 92–93. June 1969. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Review of the New Sub-Surface Railway Service Pattern Introduced on 13 December 2009" (PDF). Transport for London. 8 February 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  22. ^ a b Padgett, David; Kelman, Leanne (2024) [1994]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (5th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 44B. ISBN 1999627172.
  23. ^ "London Underground: Station Design Idiom" (PDF). Transport for London. p. 214. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  24. ^ Kelman, Leanne (2025) [1988]. Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 4A. ISBN 9781999627188.
  25. ^ "Buses from Upton Park" (PDF). TfL. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  26. ^ a b c "District line working timetable 156" (PDF). Transport for London. 12 January 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  27. ^ "Station list by line". Transport of London. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Circle and Hammersmith & City line working timetable 39" (PDF). Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

Sources

  • Horne, Mike (2006). The District Line. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-292-5.
  • Horne, Mike (2018). London's District Railway: A History of the Metropolitan District Railway Company. Twentieth Century. Volume one. Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1854144256.
  • Horne, Mike (2019). London's District Railway: A History of the Metropolitan District Railway Company. Twentieth Century. Volume two. Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85414-430-0.
  • Kay, Peter (1996). The London, Tilbury & Southend Railway: A History of the Company and Line Volume 1. Wivenhoe: P. Kay. ISBN 189-9-890106.
  • Kay, Peter (1997). The London, Tilbury & Southend Railway: A History of the Company and Line Volume 2. Wivenhoe: P. Kay. ISBN 189-9-89019X.
  • Kay, Peter (2010). The London, Tilbury & Southend Railway: A History of the Company and Line Volume 3. Wivenhoe: P. Kay. ISBN 978-1-899890-43-9.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Upton Park tube station.
Preceding station London Underground Following station
Plaistow
towards Hammersmith
 Hammersmith & City line East Ham
towards Barking
Plaistow
towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway
 District line
 East Ham
towards Upminster
Former services
Plaistow   Eastern Region of British Railways
London, Tilbury and Southend 		  East Ham
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