Walthamstow Central is a London Underground and commuter rail station. It is the terminus of the Victoria line, and is on the branch of the London commuter rail network operated by Greater Anglia (commuter trains in northeast London originating at ). It is a short walk from London Overground railway station .

History

The station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway (as Hoe Street) in 1870 and London Underground services started on 1 September 1968. The up-side station building is a remarkably well preserved example of a mid-Victorian country station. The station's present name was only given when the Victoria line arrived.

The underground station, like many stations on the Victoria line, was never completely finished. White ceiling panels were never fixed to the ceilings above the platforms; instead the steel tunnel segments were painted black and used to support the fixtures and fittings. This has had a detrimental effect on the lighting levels. There is a concrete stairway between the two escalators instead of a third escalator; this caused a hugely disruptive station closure for several weeks in 2004 when both escalators went out of service.

The main entrance to the above-ground station is on the down side and is opposite the local bus station, which was revamped in summer 2004. There are three staffed ticket windows and a number of ticket machines to serve the majority of the traffic that enters the station. The entrance to the tube was revamped in early 2006. There is a smaller entrance and ticket office on the up line, providing convenient access to the car park; however, the ticket office here is normally unstaffed outside peak hours.

A subway was built in 2005 under the busy Selborne Road linking a new bus station with a new Victoria line ticket office. The original plan was to fit out and open the new subway and ticket office in spring 2005 but problems with insufficient power capacity to supply two new lifts, together with planning and contractual errors, delayed the opening. The subway and ticket office were finally opened on 19 November 2007, albeit without the completion of the new lifts (completed in late 2008) and with unfinished building work.

Ticket barriers control access to the Victoria line platforms but the Lea Valley Line platforms are open.

According to Transport for London, the construction of a footpath to nearby is in planning. The link will significantly shorten the walking time between the two stations.^[1]

Transport Link

London Bus routes 20, 34, 48, 58, 69, 97, 212, 215, 230, 257, 275, 357, W11, W12, W15, W19, School bus routes 675 and Night routes N26, N38 and N73.

Services

The typical off-peak service provided by Greater Anglia is:

• 4tph to
• 4tph to (doesn't stop at , )

Gallery

Victoria line (London Underground)

File:Walthamstow Central stn Victoria line look south.JPG|North Victoria line platform looking West File:Walthamstow Central stn Victoria line look north.JPG|South Victoria line platform looking East File:Walthamstow Central stn Victoria roundel.JPG|Victoria line platform roundel File:Walthamstow Central stn Victoria motif.JPG|Victoria line platform motif by June Black, inspired by the designs of William Morris

Lea Valley Lines (Greater Anglia)

File:Walthamstow Central Hoe Street.JPG|Walthamstow Central railway station viewed west from the A112 overbridge File:Walthamstow Central stn mainline look north.JPG|Platforms looking westwards File:Walthamstow Central stn mainline look south.JPG|Platforms looking eastwards File:Walthamstow Central stn old building.JPG|Original station building on the London-bound side

References

External links

ar: ( ) de:Bahnhof Walthamstow Central es:Walthamstow Central fr:Walthamstow Central (m tro de Londres) gan: nl:Station Walthamstow Central no:Walthamstow Central stasjon pl:Walthamstow Central (stacja kolejowa) simple:Walthamstow Central station