Woodford tube station

Woodford station stands on the Central line in East London, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It sits between South Woodford and Buckhurst Hill stations, with the Hainault loop branching off to Roding Valley. The station occupies Zone 4 of London’s fare system. Built in 1856 on the Eastern Counties Railway, it later became part of the Great Eastern Railway and then the London & North Eastern Railway. In 1947 the London Passenger Transport Board took control as part of the Central line extension. A bridge replaced the original level crossing at Snakes Lane when electrification arrived in 1948. The station’s importance grew when it became a Central line terminus, with steam shuttles running to Epping until 1970. Goods traffic once used a yard now turned into the car park. Plans to extend the Victoria line as far as Woodford were abandoned in 1961. Today the station has three platform tracks: a side platform on the west and an island platform on the east. The eastern side of the island holds a terminal track leading to five stabling sidings. Refurbishment added two-tone green stanchions, tactile strips, new public address systems and Help Points. Visitors enter either from The Broadway or from Snakes Lane East. The main entrance leads to the ticket office and car park, while the eastern gate is locked after 21:00. An owl decoration hangs from the station girder. Trains run every six to eleven minutes eastbound to Epping, every eleven to twenty-five minutes to Hainault, and every five to ten minutes westbound. London buses connect outside the station, linking Woodford to the surrounding area.