Contents
Introduction to Stratford Station – London
The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) opened Stratford station of London on June 20, 1839. The station’s original building was located on an over-bridge east of the station, on Angel Lane.
Stratford is a large and important interchange station that serves the district of Stratford and the mixed-use development called Stratford City, located in the London Borough of Newham, in East London. The station provides access to the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), and Elizabeth Line services. It is also a stop for National Rail services that operate on the West Anglia Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line, situated 4 miles 3 chains (6.5 km) away from Liverpool Street.
About Stratford Station of London
It is the busiest station outside of the London Station Group, the sixth busiest railway station in the United Kingdom, and the busiest station on the London Underground network outside of Travelcard Zone 1.
It is located between Mile End and Leyton stations on the Central line of the London Underground. It is also where the Jubilee line ends in the east. It serves as both a terminus and a through-station on the DLR between Stratford High Street and Stratford International for various services. It is the endpoint of the North London Line on the Overground; Elizabeth line stopping services between Paddington and Shenfield as well as medium- and longer-distance services to and from other East Anglian locations are provided by Greater Anglia on the main line. Additionally, there are a few restricted off-peak services run by c2c that link to the Southend, Tilbury, and London lines at Shoeburyness.
Network Rail’s goal is to provide solutions that will enhance Stratford station for all Greater Anglia and TfL users.
Their daily goal is to guarantee that everyone gets home safely by easing traffic and crowding in one of London’s busiest stations.
The demand for Stratford Station has increased dramatically.
Demand at Stratford Station has increased dramatically during the 2012 Olympics, and even with the pandemic’s effects, this rise is predicted to continue as the region continues to rehabilitate.
Before the epidemic, Stratford station was the busiest non-terminal station in London, with around 42 million people using it to begin, continue, or finish a journey between 2019 and 2020.
As a reference, this is the approximate equal of Birmingham New Street station with just a sixth of the area available to manage the same amount of people.
During peak periods, the station may be highly busy and requires congestion management measures like one-way systems around the station and onto the platforms to protect passenger safety.
What is Network Rail doing?
The Department of Transport (DfT) has granted us a £2 million increase so that we may continue our investigation into ways to reduce traffic at the station without creating needless commotion.
The DfT financing will assist us in creating plans for the TfL controlled station, ensuring the safety of the station environment for users during peak hours and enhancing the user experience in general, especially as the number of users continues to climb.
The upgrades may assist increase the amount of space on particular platforms and surrounding entrances to enhance circulation space, pending permission and additional funds. Additional improvements might include better navigation and information displays made in conjunction with TfL.
Passengers may see the first phase of the project starting in 2023, with more work possibly taking place over the next five years. The construction may be completed in phases.
History of Stratford Station of London – briefly explained
Early Stratford history
Stratford was first mentioned in history in 1067. The location was known as Straetforda at this time, which translates to “the Ford on a Roman road.” At the time, Stratford was simply a little settlement beside a River Lea crossing that was a section of the Roman route connecting Colchester and London.
Stratford was formerly an agricultural community and was mostly rural for many centuries, much like much of the East End. Stratford Langthorne Abbey was constructed nearby in the 1130s. Before it was shut down in the 1500s when Henry VIII declared the dissolution of the monasteries, this was to grow into one of the biggest monastic sites in the nation, utilizing most of the territory in and around Stratford.
Stratford was a major supplier of agricultural products to London throughout its agricultural heyday and up to the middle of the 19th century; it became well-known for producing potatoes. In the middle of the 1700s, industrial production began to replace farming.
The industrial past of Stratford
During this period, the Bow porcelain factory was one of the most well-known businesses operating in the region. This factory is regarded as one of the first in the nation to manufacture porcelain using a soft paste. Stratford had become more industrialized by the 19th century, with a wide range of firms operating there. For example, by the 1820s, its location halfway between London and the country’s east made it a rather important transit center with its dock and wharves.
Stratford opened its railroad station in 1839 and later added a depot and works where locomotives, coaches, and cargo wagons were manufactured. By the middle of the 1800s, the railway was believed to have employed 2,500 people in the area, making it a major employer. A new town was constructed to house railroad workers as a result, and the area’s infrastructure also needed to be renovated. This was formerly known as Hudson Town, but Stratford New Town was the final name given to it. More than 20,000 people were employed in the region by the 1860s.
Stratford’s Railway Works: An Account of Locomotive Construction and Maintenance
East London’s Stratford is a well-known neighborhood, particularly after it hosted the 2012 Olympic Games. However, did you know that Stratford has a lengthy history with railroads? One of the nation’s most significant locomotive plants, which produced and maintained engines and carriages for the Great Eastern Railway and its successors, was located in Stratford for more than a century. The history of the Stratford railway works, from its beginnings in the 19th century until its closing in the 20th, will be covered in this page.
The History of the Stratford Railway Works
Stratford’s railway history dates back to 1840, when the Northern and Eastern Railway constructed the Polygon, a roundhouse, to maintain its engines. This was close to Stratford station, in the “V” formed by the main line and the Stratford to Lea Bridge route. One of the pioneers of railway engineering, Robert Stephenson, built the roundhouse.
The Eastern Counties Railway developed the location into a fully functional locomotive plant in 1847. The ECR required extra room and amenities since it had outgrown its prior location at Romford. In the vicinity, which was dubbed Hudson Town after George Hudson, the “Railway King,” who was driving the development, the ECR also constructed homes for its employees.
In Stratford Works, the first locomotive was finished in 1850. In a class of six locomotives constructed by John Viret Gooch, the locomotive superintendent of the ECR, it was engine number 20, a 2-2-2T. In the next years, more locomotives were added, and other railroad hardware, such as fog signals, was produced in a specially reinforced structure and included gunpowder.
The Golden Era of the Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway emerged in 1862 when the ECR combined with other railroads. The GER carried on running and expanding the railway works at Stratford, turning it into one of the biggest and busiest locomotive operations in the nation. In addition, the GER constructed new locomotive sheds and workshops on property it had bought to the north and west of Stratford station. High Meads was another name for this location.
During this time, the GER’s locomotive superintendents Robert Sinclair, James Holden, and Stephen Holden developed some of the most well-known locomotives ever built at Stratford Works. Among them were the T19s, B12s, and Clouds. Additionally, wagons and carriages for freight and passenger transportation were constructed by the company.
For the installation of locomotives, Stratford Works achieved a new world record in 1891. In under 9½ hours, the labor force put together a 0-6-0 freight engine. Thousands of people saw this achievement, and newspapers all around the country covered it.
Visits Our Relevant Pages