Epping London Underground
Station entrance
Epping is located in Essex
Epping
Epping
Location of Epping in Essex
LocationEpping
Local authorityDistrict of Epping Forest
Grid referenceTL462015
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes (Platform 1 is step free exit only but Platform 2 is fully accessible.) [1]
Fare zone6
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018Decrease 3.66 million[2]
2019Increase 4.08 million[3]
2020Decrease 1.91 million[4]
2021Decrease 1.89 million[5]
2022Increase 3.02 million[6]
Key dates
1865 (1865)Opened
1949London Underground services start
18 April 1966Goods yard closed[7]
1994Ongar services end
Other information
External links
WGS8451°41′38″N 0°06′49″E / 51.6938°N 0.1137°E / 51.6938; 0.1137
 London transport portal

Epping is a London Underground station in the market town of Epping in Essex, England. The station serves as the north-eastern terminus of the Central line. Located in Travelcard Zone 6, it is one of eight London Underground stations in the Epping Forest District.[8] The station before Epping is Theydon Bois, which is about three minutes' travelling time away.

History

In 1856, the Eastern Counties Railway opened a double-track railway between Stratford and Loughton. In 1865, its successor, the Great Eastern Railway, added a single-track extension from Loughton to Ongar. The popularity of the line led to the doubling of the track between Loughton and Epping in 1892.[9] The line was well served, with 50 trains operating between Liverpool Street and Loughton each day, a further 22 continuing to Epping and 14 more to Ongar.

Loughton to Epping became part of the London Underground Central line on 25 September 1949, leaving the single track line from Epping to Ongar as the last steam-worked section. British Railways continued running Ongar services until 1957 when the line was electrified and became part of the Central line.[10] However, services did not run through to the rest of the Central line except for occasional depot workings, so passengers to/from stations beyond Epping normally had to change platforms for the single-track line to Ongar, North Weald or Blake Hall stations.[11] On 2 November 1981, Blake Hall closed and trains passed through the station. On 30 September 1994 London Underground withdrew the service between Epping and Ongar and subsequently sold off that section of the Central line.

On 11 May 2008 an e-petition calling for the reopening of North Weald and Ongar stations was created on the Downing Street website.[12][13] It closed on 11 December 2008 with 1012 signatures. Part of the Epping-Ongar line is now a heritage railway, the Epping Ongar Railway. Subject to finance and planning, the heritage railway propose to build a new station close to the tube station called Epping Forest as the heritage line cannot run in to the original station.

Epping Station was to be the terminus of the proposed London Underground Chelsea-Hackney line (Crossrail 2).[14] However, since 2013, the route options for this proposed line have been amended to terminate at New Southgate instead and no longer include the Epping branch.[15]

The station today

Epping station saw a growth in passenger numbers in the mid 1990s due to the closures of nearby North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar stations. This growth has continued due to significant development in Epping itself and surrounding villages. Another major contributing factor is that many people living in not too distant towns such as Harlow, Bishop's Stortford, and Chelmsford use the station instead of their own National Rail stations, because it is considerably cheaper to travel to London by London Underground than it is to use National Rail services. Growth is now at such a point where the station's car park is full by 6:30 am on weekdays, and parking around the station (as with other stations on this part of the line, e.g. Theydon Bois and Debden) has become a serious problem for local residents, which in turn has caused many residents and local groups to call for the re-opening of North Weald and Ongar stations to help ease demand on Epping station.[16][17]

Preceding station London Underground Following station
Theydon Bois
towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip
 Central line
Epping branch
 Terminus
Historical railways
Theydon Bois
Line and station open		   Great Eastern Railway
Loughton-Ongar		   North Weald
Line closed, station open
Preceding station London Underground Following station
Terminus Central line
Epping-Ongar branch
 North Weald
towards Ongar
Heritage railways
Terminus   Epping Ongar Railway   North Weald
Train at the station

Trivia

  • The longest possible journey on the London Underground without changing trains is the Central line route between West Ruislip and Epping (34.1 miles / 54.9 km).[18]
  • In 2022, Epping station had an annual usage of 3.02 million and was the 176th busiest station on the London Underground.[5]
  • Epping has the largest public London Underground station car park with 519 spaces.[19]
  • It is the only London Underground station located outside the M25 motorway that is not served by the Metropolitan line.

References

  1. ↑ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be – freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News. London Underground Railway Society (591): 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
  8. ↑ "The Tube". Epping Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  9. ↑ Follenfant 1974, p. 117.
  10. ↑ Green 1987, p. 54.
  11. ↑ Follenfant 1974, p. 120.
  12. ↑ "New fight to reopen Ongar rail line". 9 July 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
  13. ↑ "Local news from Epping – Epping Forest Guardian".
  14. ↑ Feather, Clive. "Technical information about the Chelsea-Hackney Line". Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  15. ↑ Crossrail 2 June 2014 Consultation
  16. ↑ "Epping Tyres Slashed in Parking Row". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  17. ↑ "Our Village Was Not Built To Become A Car Park For Those Outside The Area". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  18. ↑ "Line facts: Central line". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  19. ↑ "Epping station to be refurbished and improved". Transport for London. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.

Bibliography

  • Follenfant, H G (1974). Reconstructing London's Underground. London Transport Executive. ISBN 978-0-85329-039-1.
  • Green, Oliver (1987). The London Underground An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-1720-7.
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