East Ham tube station

East Ham (/ˈiːst ˈhæm/) is a London Underground station, located on High Street North in the East Ham neighbourhood of the London Borough of Newham in east London, England. It is on the District and Hammersmith & City lines, between Upton Park and Barking stations. It is in London fare zones 3 and 4.

East Ham
Entrance to High Street North
East Ham Location of East Ham in Greater London
Location	East Ham
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes[1]
Fare zone	3 and 4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	13.01 million[2]
2020	8.49 million[3]
2021	5.97 million[4]
2022	9.89 million[5]
2023	10.79 million[6]
Railway companies
Original company	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
31 March 1858	Opened
2 June 1902	District line started
30 March 1936	Metropolitan line started
1 January 1948	Ownership transferred to British Railways
14 June 1962	London–Southend withdrawn
1 January 1969	Ownership transferred to London Transport
Listed status
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1245066[7]
Added to list	20 January 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-20)
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51.539°N 0.0516°E / 51.539; 0.0516
London transport portal

The station was originally opened on 31 March 1858 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a new more direct route from Fenchurch Street to Barking. It became an interchange station in 1894 when it was connected to the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway. The large Edwardian station building was constructed to accommodate the electric District Railway services on an additional set of tracks opened in 1905. Metropolitan line service commenced in 1936. British Railways service to Kentish Town was withdrawn in 1958 and the Fenchurch Steet–Southend service was withdrawn in 1962, leaving abandoned platforms.

History

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) direct line between Bow and Barking was constructed east–west through the middle of the parish of East Ham with service starting on 31 March 1858.^[8] Prior to the building of the line, trains took a longer route via Stratford and Forest Gate to the north.^[9] The new line initially also had stations at Bromley and Plaistow, with Upton Park added as the next station to the west of East Ham on 1 September 1877. A bay platform was added to the north of the station on 1 July 1894 that connected to the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway.^[10] This was used to provide a frequent local service to St Pancras or Moorgate via a circuitous route from 8 July 1894.^[11] East Ham was the interchange station for connections from this line to Tilbury and Southend.^[a]

The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened on 2 June 1902 and allowed through services of the District Railway to operate as far as Upminster. Service began at East Ham on 2 June 1902.^[12] The District Railway was electrified over a second pair of tracks, and the service was cut back from Upminster to East Ham with the station then serving as the eastern terminus from 30 September 1905. The station, which had been described as very inadequate, was rebuilt to coincide with electrification.^[13] Passengers travelling further east transferred to steam trains, until 1 April 1908 when electrification was extended to Barking.^[b] East Ham was a calling point for peak time "non-stop" trains that were introduced in December 1907.^[14] Service frequency was limited east of Whitechapel by the signalling system. Taking advantage of longer platforms on the LTSR section through East Ham, longer trains were run at peak times that split at Whitechapel into non-stop and stopping sections.^[14]

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway became part of the Midland Railway in 1912. The Midland Railway was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923. The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line.^[15]

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.^[c] East 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.^[15] This was increased to ten trains per hour at East Ham from 8 May 1938.^[d] 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.^[15]

After nationalisation of the railways in 1948 management of the station passed to British Railways.^[15] Service to Kentish Town and St Pancras was withdrawn from 15 September 1958 and the northern bay platform was taken out of use.^[16] The remaining Fenchurch Street–Southend services were withdrawn on 14 June 1962 with the introduction of full overhead line electric service.^[15] On 1 January 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground.^[17] On 30 July 1990, the Hammersmith–Barking service of the Metropolitan line gained a separate identity as the Hammersmith & City line.^[12] From 13 December 2009 off-peak service was extended from Whitechapel to Barking with an all-day daily service at East Ham.^[18]

Accidents and incidents

• On 12 November 1959, a passenger train overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with another standing at the station. Thirteen people were injured.^[19]
• On 14 February 1990, an empty stock train formed of a Class 305 and a Class 308 electric multiple unit was derailed.^[20]

Design

The station consists of two side platforms—numbered 1 for westbound and 2 for eastbound—located either side of the running tracks.^[21] Much of the Edwardian station architecture has been retained and some restoration work was carried out during 2005. The station is Grade II listed.^[7]

The disused platforms of the Fenchurch Street to Southend services are to the south of the operational platforms and there is a disused bay platform to the north of the station.^[22]

Location

The station is named after the suburb of East Ham in which it is located, on High Street North. London Buses routes 101, 147, 238, 300, 304, 325, 376 and 474 serve the station.^[23]

Services

The station is in London fare zone 3 and 4. The typical off-peak service from the station is 12 District line trains per hour to Upminster with a further three trains to Barking. There are 15 trains westbound to Earl's Court, of which six continue to Ealing Broadway, six continue to Richmond and three to Wimbledon.^[24] At peak periods the number of trains per hour increases.^[24] There are six Hammersmith & City line trains an hour to Barking and six to Hammersmith at all times.^[25]

Services towards central London operate from approximately 05:00 to 00:00 and services to Upminster operate from approximately 06:00 to 01:15.^[26] The journey time to Upminster is approximately 20 minutes, to Barking 3 minutes and to Tower Hill in central London 29 minutes.^[24] With 10.8 million entries and exits in 2023, it ranked 57th busiest London Underground station.^[27]

Gallery

• 
  District line train at the eastbound platform.
• 
  'Lightbox' destination display and canopy support detail 'LTSR' on eastbound platform.
• 
  Close-up of 'LTSR' detail on canopy support.

Notes

1. A limited number of express through trains avoiding East Ham commenced 1895.
2. District service was extended to Upminster in 1932.
3. This was achieved by diverting Metropolitan line trains that had previously been routed onto the East London Line at Whitechapel.
4. The two extra trains terminated at East Ham.