West Ham station

West Ham
District and Hammersmith & City line platforms at the station
West Ham Location of West Ham in Greater London
Location	West Ham
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Managed by	London Underground
Station code	WEH
DfT category	C1
Number of platforms	8
Accessible	Yes[1][2]
Fare zone	2 and 3
London Underground annual entry and exit
2020	3.28 million[3]
2021	2.72 million[4]
2022	4.51 million[5]
2023	5.34 million[6]
2024	5.26 million[7]
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2020	2.044 million[3]
2021	2.006 million[4]
2022	included in Underground usage[5]
2023	included in Underground usage[6]
2024	included in Underground usage[7]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2020–21	4.012 million[8]
– interchange	2,994[8]
2021–22	7.451 million[8]
– interchange	5,371[8]
2022–23	9.052 million[8]
– interchange	5,268[8]
2023–24	9.647 million[8]
– interchange	4,932[8]
2024–25	11.065 million[8]
– interchange	5,599[8]
Railway companies
Original company	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 February 1901	Opened (LT&SR/NLR)
1902	District line started
1913	London–Southend withdrawn
1 January 1916	NLR withdrawn
1936	Hammersmith & City started
14 May 1979	North London service started
14 May 1999	c2c and Jubilee line started
9 December 2006	North London service withdrawn
31 August 2011	DLR started
Other information
External links	TfL station info page Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°31′43″N 0°00′22″E / 51.5286°N 0.0061°E / 51.5286; 0.0061
London transport portal

West Ham (/ˈwɛst ˈhæm/) is an interchange station in West Ham, London. It provides London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and National Rail services. The station was opened in 1901 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on the route from Fenchurch Street to Barking. In the late 1990s, the station was rebuilt and significantly expanded as part of the Jubilee Line Extension, fully opening in 1999. The station is in London fare zone 2 and zone 3.

The first railway through the current station site was the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway (ECTJR) that was constructed north–south and opened on 29 April 1846, linking Stratford with Thames Wharf via Canning Town.^[9][a] Platforms were not provided at the location.^[10] 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.^[11] Prior to the building of the line, trains took a longer and more congested route via Stratford and Forest Gate.^[12] The new line initially had stations at Bromley, Plaistow and East Ham.^[13] In November 1897 Arnold Hills, the owner of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, whose football team Thames Ironworks F.C. played at the Memorial Grounds, secured an agreement with the LTSR to build a station. The company board approved this in February 1898 and Mowlem's was given the contract to build a four platform station, which allowed for the proposed quadrupling of the line. The station, initially known as West Ham, was completed in May 1900, but did not open until 1 February 1901.

The North London Railway was already running a daily service to Plaistow via the Bow-Bromley curve since 18 May 1869 and when West Ham opened it called there using the northern platforms. In 1905 they switched to the southern platforms.^[14][b] The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened on 2 June 1902 and allowed through services of the District Railway (DR) to operate to Upminster.^[15] The DR converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were cut back to East Ham. LTSR trains from Fenchurch Street used the southern platforms when the DR services began but stopping was reduced to a few a week in 1908 and to nil in 1913. The LTSR became part of the Midland Railway (MR) in 1912. The NLR service to Plaistow ceased on 1 January 1916.^[14][c] The MR was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923.^[16] The station was renamed West Ham (Manor Road) on 11 February 1924. The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line.^[17]

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.^[d] West Ham 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.^[19] This was increased to ten trains per hour at West Ham from 8 May 1938.^[e] 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.^[20] The southern platforms were removed after war damage in 1940 which had completely closed the station from 7 September 1940 until 11 August 1941.^[21] After nationalisation of the railways in 1948, management of the station passed to British Railways.^[22] On 1 January 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground.^[23] The station was renamed back to West Ham on 1 January 1969.

Platforms were constructed on the former ECTJR line at West Ham and opened on 14 May 1979 when the Crosstown Linkline service began between Camden Road and North Woolwich.^[24] The Crosstown Linkline was replaced with the electric North London Line service between Richmond and North Woolwich on 13 May 1985. On 30 July 1990, the Hammersmith–Barking service of the Metropolitan line gained a separate identity as the Hammersmith & City line.^[25]

In the 1990s, the station was comprehensively rebuilt as part of the Jubilee Line Extension (JLE).^[26] Jubilee line services began on 14 May 1999.^[27] The District and Hammersmith & City line platforms were reconstructed.^[28] As part of the work, the existing entrance was closed, and the refurbished ticket hall became a connecting concourse to the new ticket hall and the rest of the station. The station was made fully accessible.^[26] Separately, platforms were re-established on the London, Tilbury and Southend line from Fenchurch Street, now operated by c2c.^[29]

North London Line services at the station ceased on 9 December 2006, when the line from Stratford to North Woolwich was closed, to allow for the line to be converted for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). From 13 December 2009, off-peak Hammersmith & City line service was extended from Whitechapel to Barking with a daily all-day service at Plaistow.^[30] The former NLL platforms reopened on 31 August 2011 as part of the DLR extension to Stratford International.^[31] The station was temporarily modified to allow it to cope with an increase in passenger numbers during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A footbridge was constructed to connect the station to the Greenway foot and cycle path, which connected directly to the Olympic Park in Stratford.^[32]

On 15 March 1976, nine people were injured here by an explosion on a train by a member of the Provisional IRA. Julius Stephen, the driver of the train, was shot dead at the scene when he attempted to pursue the fleeing bomber.^[33]

The station buildings are from the JLE rebuild in the 1990s.^[26][34] The majority of the station design was by van Heyningen and Haward Architects, with the District and Hammersmith & City line platforms designed by Jestico + Whiles.^[28] The station design was considered to evoke work by Charles Holden in the 1930s, with use of brick and glass blocks, as well as a clock tower.^[26][35] The station was designed in 27 weeks, and was the cheapest of the new stations to be built.^[34] Critics called the station "effortlessly elegant"^[34] and an "impressive architectural essay in brick, concrete and glass".^[35] It was later awarded a Royal Fine Art Commission Trust Award.^[34] The station was built at a fraction of the cost of other JLE stations, just £10.5 million compared to over £100 million at stations like Canary Wharf.^[36]

The station consists of four sets of island platforms, two on an elevated east–west alignment and another perpendicular pair at street level, giving a total of eight platform faces. The former entrance is now closed, with the old ticket hall refurbished as a connecting concourse to the District and Hammersmith & City line platforms and the c2c platforms. The ticket hall facing onto Manor Road connects this concourse to the Jubilee line and DLR platforms via a high level bridge that spans four rail lines and a main road. The station building and connecting passageways are finished in a mixture of red brick, concrete and glass, inspired by Charles Holden.^[26][37]

The island platform for c2c services, along with the access staircases, are narrow and get easily congested. To ensure safety for passengers, staff must be present on the platforms at peak times. c2c have proposed an escalator to replace the stairs. The construction of an additional platform for westbound trains would eliminate the problem.^[38][39] As part of the TwelveTrees Park development southwest of the station on the former Parcelforce distribution depot, a new station entrance is being built to connect to the upper Jubilee line concourse.^[40][41] As well as this, two new pedestrian bridges over the railway will be built.^[40][41]

The station is located at the corner of Durban Road and Manor Road, in the London Borough of Newham. The station is named after the former parish and borough of West Ham within which it was located to the west of the centre. The neighbourhood of West Ham is located some distance to the north-east. Since West Ham United Football Club moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, the station is no longer located near their home ground. East London Rugby Football Club is situated nearby on Holland Road, which is also home to Kings Cross Steelers RFC and Phantoms RFC.^[42]London Bus route 276 serves the station.^[43]

Services at West Ham are operated by National Rail, Docklands Light Railway and London Underground. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

The Jubilee line station is also served by a night service on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Night Tube.^[49]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Ham station.

• Train times and station information for West Ham station from National Rail