Woolwich Arsenal station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Southeastern and DLR station. For the Crossrail station, see Woolwich railway station.

Woolwich Arsenal National Rail Docklands Light Railway
Woolwich Arsenal station MMB 04 376024.jpg
Woolwich Arsenal is located in Greater London
Woolwich Arsenal
Woolwich Arsenal
Location of Woolwich Arsenal in Greater London
LocationWoolwich
Local authorityRoyal Borough of Greenwich
Managed bySoutheastern
Station codeWWA
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms4 (2 underground platforms served by DLR)
AccessibleYes[1][2]
Fare zone4
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2016Increase 14.684 million[3]
2017Increase 15.516 million[4]
2018Decrease 14.588 million[5]
2019Increase 14.590 million[6]
2020Decrease 8.083 million[7]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2016–17Decrease 3.648 million[8]
2017–18Increase 3.849 million[8]
2018–19Increase 4.371 million[8]
2019–20Increase 4.387 million[8]
2020–21Decrease 1.530 million[8]
Key dates
1 November 1849Opened
12 January 2009DLR opened
Other information
External links
WGS8451°29′24″N 0°04′08″E / 51.490°N 0.069°E / 51.490; 0.069Coordinates: 51°29′24″N 0°04′08″E / 51.490°N 0.069°E / 51.490; 0.069
Underground sign at Westminster.jpg London transport portal

Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the semi-slow, commuter service, corollary of the North Kent Line and also in its Dartford Loop services section between London and Dartford, run by Southeastern. Regular services beyond Dartford are to the Medway Towns, which start/finish in the opposite direction at Luton via the City of London, West Hampstead and St Albans. Its other part is the terminus of its own branch of the DLR, run by Transport for London.

The modernist, but older, part of the station is on a corner of General Gordon Square, a green town square. The newer part has entrances to Woolwich's subterranean end of the DLR, and faces the top of Powis Street, a long, semi-pedestrianised retail avenue. It is named after the area's Woolwich or Royal Arsenal due to the district's former leading ordnance base (divided into civil and military branches) which were complemented before the 19th century with wharves and yards for large naval ships.[9] In zoning it is the furthest DLR station – in Travelcard Zone 4.

On the national network, it is 9 miles 32 chains (15.1 km) down from London Charing Cross.

History[]

The station opened in 1849, serving the North Kent Line from London to Gillingham. The station building was rebuilt in 1906 in a London brick form typical of southeast London. It was again rebuilt in 1992–93 to a modern design in steel and glass by the Architecture and Design Group of British Rail, under the leadership of Nick Derbyshire. It has a, clean, naturally-lit ellipsoid theme, contrasting with the earlier forms.

In 1973 a government report on the redevelopment of London's Docklands projected a greater form of the never-built "Fleet line" from Charing Cross via Fenchurch Street to Woolwich Arsenal and on towards Thamesmead, with a preceding stop at Silvertown. The Fleet line plans were shelved in favour of a route that became the western part of the Jubilee line. Council (local government)-approved however in 1980, finances meant that the Fleet line was never built.[10] By the start of the 1990s plans emerged in both levels of government and business forums for the Jubilee Line Extension to serve the south bank of the Thames twice on its way to Stratford. In the Royal Borough of Greenwich the line takes in a small area, North Greenwich (a peninsula).

Woolwich Arsenal was expanded in 2009, when Transport for London completed the construction of an extension of what was then termed the London City Airport branch of the Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal. The official opening took place on 12 January that year.

In 2014, a petition was started and presented to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station from Zone 4 to Zone 3. However he ruled this out, stating it would cause losses of over a million pounds a year.[11]

Accidents and incidents[]

  • On 18 November 1948, a train – an electric multiple unit – crashed into the rear of another train, killing two people. It had departed from Woolwich Dockyard against signals.[12]

Design[]

DLR train awaiting departure to Bank

The National Rail part of the station consists of two above-ground platforms. The up platform for London has a refreshment facility. The down platform serves trains going east, towards north Kent, via Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Slade Green.

The Docklands Light Railway part of the station is underground, and consists of two platforms in an island platform configuration. As Woolwich Arsenal is a terminus, both platforms serve an up line to Bank or Stratford International via London City Airport and Canning Town. Trains depart in the eastbound direction due to the curve under the River Thames.

Connections[]

London Buses routes 51, 53, 54, 96, 99, 122, 161, 177, 178, 180, 244, 291, 301, 380, 386, 422, 469, 472, school route 658 and night routes N1 and N53 serve the station.[13]

Crossrail station at the former Royal Arsenal base[]

Main article: Woolwich railway station

A Crossrail station is to be opened in north-east Woolwich, after a campaign to complement housing developments on public sector land. Among the successful lobbyists for this extra station were those who developed the land, including Berkeley Homes. It will be about 200m north of the main station on the north side of the A206 road.

Services[]

National Rail[]

National Rail services at Woolwich Arsenal are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 376, 465, 466, 700 and 707 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[14]

  • 2 tph to London Cannon Street via Greenwich
  • 2 tph to London Charing Cross via Lewisham
  • 2 tph to Luton via Greenwich
  • 2 tph to Crayford, returning to London Cannon Street via Sidcup and Lewisham
  • 2 tph to Dartford
  • 2 tph to Rainham via Dartford and Gravesend

During the peak hours, the station is also served by direct trains to and from Bexleyheath and Barnehurst.

DLR[]

The typical DLR service in trains per hour is:[15]

  • 6 tph to Bank
  • 6 tph to Stratford International
Preceding station   DLR no-text roundel.svg DLR   Following station
towards Bank, Tower Gateway or Stratford International
Docklands Light RailwayTerminus
National Rail National Rail
Thameslink
North Kent Line
Southeastern
North Kent Line
  Abandoned Plans  
Preceding station   Underground no-text.svg London Underground   Following station
Silvertown
towards Stanmore
Jubilee line
Phase 3 (1980) (never constructed)
Terminus

References[]

  1. ^ Tube Map
  2. ^ "Southeastern: Access Guide". Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Passenger Numbers - Docklands Light Railway Limited" (XLSX (after downloading zip)). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2017. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  9. ^ Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Woolwich', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1 (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 441-454. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol1/pp441-454 [Retrieved 2 September 2018].
  10. ^ Horne, Mike (2000). The Jubilee Line. Capital Transport. pp. 50–52. ISBN 1-85414-220-8.
  11. ^ "Boris Johnson rejects popular petition to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station". News Shopper. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. ^ Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 108. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
  13. ^ "Buses from Woolwich" (PDF). TfL. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  14. ^ Table 200, 201 National Rail timetable, December 2021
  15. ^ "DLR train timetables". Transport for London. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""