Whitechapel station

Whitechapel station stands in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, behind the Whitechapel Market and opposite the Town Hall. It is an interchange for London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line trains. The original entrance on Whitechapel Road dates from 1876 and is the only three-storey building built by the East London Railway. The station was rebuilt in the late 2010s and early 2020s as part of the Crossrail project, with new lifts, escalators and a wider concourse. The station is worth the journey because it connects three rail networks in one place. Between Aldgate East and Stepney Green on the District and Hammersmith & City lines, it links to Shoreditch High Street and Shadwell on the Overground. To the west on the Elizabeth line it reaches Liverpool Street, while to the east the line splits towards Stratford or Canary Wharf. The rebuild added step-free access to all platforms and a new public route through the station. A visitor finds the restored 1876 entrance on Whitechapel Road, now reopened after renovation. Inside, a new ticket hall and concourse sit above the live railway tracks, with escalators down to the Elizabeth line platforms. The Overground platforms retain their original 1876 retaining walls, while the sub-surface line platforms have been widened. Ten lifts provide access to every platform, and a new north–south route cuts through the station for local residents.