Leyton Midland Road railway station

"Leyton railway station" redirects here. For the London Underground station, see Leyton tube station.

Leyton Midland Road is a London Overground station in Leyton of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line, 9 miles 18 chains (14.8 km) down the line from Gospel Oak and situated between Walthamstow Queen's Road and Leytonstone High Road stations in Travelcard Zone 3. It is the closest railway station to Bakers Arms.^[3]

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Leyton Midland Road
Leyton Midland Road station entrance in 2024
Leyton Midland Road Location of Leyton Midland Road in Greater London
Location	Leyton
Local authority	Waltham Forest
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	LEM
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19	1.178 million[1]
2019–20	1.014 million[1]
2020–21	0.631 million[1]
2021–22	1.102 million[1]
2022–23	1.193 million[1]
Key dates
9 July 1894	Opened as "Leyton"
1 May 1949	Renamed "Leyton Midland Road"
6 May 1968	Goods yard closed[2]
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
Coordinates	51.5693°N 0.0072°W / 51.5693; -0.0072
London transport portal

History

The station opened on 9 July 1894 as part of the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway and was originally called "Leyton".^[2][4]

On 17 August 1915, three explosive bombs from the German Zeppelin L.10 landed on or near the station, destroying the ticket office and a billiard hall in the arches under the platform and damaging several houses nearby. Four people were killed.^[5]

The station was renamed Leyton Midland Road on 1 May 1949.^[2][4] The goods yard, which was just beyond the station, closed on 6 May 1968.^[2] As with Leytonstone High Road and Wanstead Park stations, the booking office was built into the viaduct arch. By the 1980s all the old buildings had been removed and the Greater London Council built a new booking office on Midland Road itself.^[2] A few years later that was closed and demolished when, like other stations, Leyton Midland Road became unstaffed.^[2]

Station today

Since the takeover by London Overground the station has benefited from a major refit including deep clean, new signing, a ticket machine and additional waiting shelters. The community garden which was started by members of the GOBLIN support group is tended by station staff now, one of whom recently^[when?] won an award for outstanding service to passengers.^{[citation needed]} The station also contains help points^[6] and automatic ticket gates have now been installed.^[7] Controversially, the Midland Road entrance is now closed.^[8]

Services

All services at Leyton Midland Road are operated by London Overground using Class 710 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service is four trains per hour in each direction between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside. During the late evenings, the service is reduced to three trains per hour in each direction.^[9][10]

Preceding station		London Overground		Following station
Walthamstow Queen's Road towards Gospel Oak		Gospel Oak to Barking line		Leytonstone High Road towards Barking Riverside
	Disused railways
Walthamstow Queen's Road		Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway		Leytonstone High Road

Connections

London Buses routes 69, 97 and W16 and night route N26 serve the station.^[11]

Recent proposals

In common with other stations on the line, usage has greatly increased in recent years, following improvements in train services and the reintroduction of station staff, and peak-hour overcrowding of the two-car diesel trains is now a major issue.^[12] Electrification of the line was finally approved after a long campaign and was achieved for 2017.^[13] Services from the station were suspended for 8 months (June 2016 – February 2017) whilst the work was carried out.

References

1. "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Barking to Gospel Oak Rail User Group - A Short History of the Line
3. Standard Tube Map (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. April 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
4. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
5. London 1914-17: The Zeppelin Menace, Ian Castle, Christa Hook, Osprey Publishing 2008, p.30
6. Leyton Midland Road Rail Station
7. Leyton Midland Road (LEM)
8. Closure of Midland Road entrance
9. Table 62 National Rail timetable, December 2023
10. "London Overground Timetable: Gospel Oak to Barking" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
11. Leyton Midland Road Rail Station - Bus
12. ‘Overcrowded’ trains danger on Gospel Oak to Barking line Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
13. "CP5 Enhancements Delivery Plan June 2015" (PDF). Network Rail. June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.

External links

• Train times and station information for Leyton Midland Road railway station from National Rail