Ilford railway station

Ilford

Entrance on Cranbrook Road
Ilford Location of Ilford in Greater London
Location	Ilford
Local authority	London Borough of Redbridge
Managed by	Greater Anglia
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	IFD
Number of platforms	5
Fare zone	4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2004–05	2.932 million
2005–06	2.624 million
2007–08	6.119 million
2008–09	5.559 million
1839	Opened
Lists of stations	DLR · Underground · National Rail · Tramlink
External links	Departures • Layout
	Facilities • Buses

Ilford railway station is a suburban National Rail station located in Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge. Passenger services are operated by Greater Anglia and most trains run between Shenfield and Liverpool Street. The station is located in Travelcard Zone 4.

History

The station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway, along with the Mile End (temporary terminus) to Romford section of what was to become the Great Eastern Main Line. Between 1903 and 1947, trains also ran through to Woodford via Hainault via the Fairlop Loop, most of which was transferred to London Underground's Central line. The triangular junction (Seven Kings being the third point of the triangle) is now the site of the Ilford Carriage Sheds and also a Maintenance Depot at present operated by Bombardier. Freight trains used the connection from the Fairlop Loop to Seven Kings until 1956.

On New Years Day 1915 the station was the scene of a collision in which 10 people were killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Heilgers, a British Member of Parliament was one of nine people killed in the 1944 Ilford rail crash.

Layout

The main entrance is in Cranbrook Road, which was heavily rebuilt during the 1980s, with architecture in keeping with other contemporary buildings in Ilford, such as the Central Library. This stretch of Cranbrook Road was originally called Station Road but this name was transferred to a short portion of Havelock Street immediately opposite the station. There is also a rear entrance from York Road, open peak hours only, from which the west (London) ends of the Platforms can be reached via a footbridge. This entrance is convenient for access from north and west of the station.

The station has five platforms, two "up" (headed west into Liverpool Street) and two "down" (towards Shenfield). The fifth platform, platform 5, is a bay platform, allowing peak services to start at Ilford – very useful, as many peak trains from Shenfield are already full by the time they reach Ilford in the mornings. Platforms 1 and 2 are rarely used, except during engineering works and line disruptions, as the two adjacent tracks are mainly reserved for fast trains that do not call at suburban stations. Immediately to the west of the station is a flyover that allows the fast tracks to change from being on the south side of the suburban tracks to being on the north. The tracks cross the River Roding at the same point, and pass under the North Circular Road.

The platforms are several metres below street-level, as the road rises up to pass over the railway line. The north side of the station is edged by an embankment lined with housing. The south side is lined with large buildings (the Valentine house office building, the former British Gas building now converted to residential use and a large British Telecom building, whose rooftop logo can be seen from passing trains) and platform level approximates to street level by the far end of the station. Despite the steps to the platforms, wheelchair lifts are available by prior arrangement. There are 2 access stairways from the concourse to Platforms 3 and 4 (platform 4 being the London-bound platform and therefore the most crowded. This is in order to segregate arriving and departing passengers. The down staircase goes immediately from the concourse to the station platform whilst the up staircase rises from approximately 100m along the platform and is connected by an elevated walkway to the concourse. A second entrance and footbridge from York Road is open for arriving and departing passengers during the morning and evening peak periods (06:00-10:00 and 16:00-20:00). This is convenient for access to the residential area at the west end of the station and also, via the Mill Road tunnel, to the commercial buildings south of the railway line.

An access road from Ilford Hill to the station at platform level is now the station car park (no access to adjacent Platform 1).

Train Services

The following service is the typical off peak service:

Operator	Route	Material	Frequency	Notes
Greater Anglia	London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Maryland - Forest Gate - Manor Park - Ilford - Seven Kings - Goodmayes - Chadwell Heath - Romford - Gidea Park - Harold Wood - Brentwood - Shenfield	Class 315	6x per hour

At peak hours some trains start or terminate at this station or at Gidea Park. Also at peak hours some Southend Victoria trains serve, these normally pass without stopping.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Seven Kings		Greater Anglia Shenfield Metro		Manor Park
Romford		Greater Anglia Great Eastern Main Line Limited peak only		Stratford
		Future Development
Manor Park towards Maidenhead or Heathrow Airport		Crossrail Line 1		Seven Kings towards Shenfield
	Disused railways
Newbury Park Line closed, station open		London and North Eastern Railway Fairlop Loop		Manor Park Line and station open

Services

Ilford is the first of the better served stations east of Stratford, as the intermediary stations are not served by all inner suburban trains. It is planned that Crossrail trains will call at Ilford in 2018. Ilford will be the northern terminus of phase one of the East London Transit.

Transport links

London Bus routes 147, School Bus routes 667, 679 and Night routes N86. and also:

Route Number	Route	Via	Operator	Operation
25	Ilford Hainault Street to Oxford Circus	Holborn , Aldgate , Stratford	First London	24 Hours. London Buses service. Times
86	Stratford Bus Station to Romford Station	Manor Park, Ilford , Seven Kings	Stagecoach London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
123	Ilford Hainault Street to Wood Green Bus Station	Gants Hill , Walthamstow, Tottenham, Turnpike Lane	Arriva London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
128	Claybury Broadway to Romford Station	Barkingside, Gants Hill , Ilford	Arriva London	24 Hours. London Buses service. Times
145	Leytonstone to Dagenham Asda	Redbridge , Ilford, Becontree	East London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
150	Chigwell Row to Becontree Heath Bus Station	Hainault Barkingside, Gants Hill , Ilford	Stagecoach London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
167	Debden to Ilford Hainault Street	Loughton , Barkingside, Gants Hill	Docklands Buses	Daily. London Buses service. Times
169	Barking Town Center to Clayhall The Glade	Ilford , Newbury Park, Barkingside	Stagecoach London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
179	Chingford to Ilford Hainault Street	Woodford Green, South Woodford , Gants Hill	First London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
296	Ilford Sainbury's to Romford Station	Gants Hill , Newbury Park, Rose Lane	East London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
366	Redbridge Falmouth Gardens to Beckton Station	Redbridge , Ilford, Barking	Stagecoach London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
396	Ilford Sainbury's to King George Hospital	Gants Hill , Newbury Park, Little Heath	East London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
462	Hainault The Lowe to Ilford Hainault Street	Grange Hill , Barkingside, Gants Hill	Arriva London	Daily. London Buses service. Times
EL1	Ilford Station to Thames View Estate Abridge Way	Ilford Lane, Barking , River Road	Blue Triangle	24 Hours. London Buses service. Times
EL2	Ilford Station to Dagenham Dock Station	Barking , Thames View Estate, Dagenham	Blue Triangle	Daily. London Buses service. Times
W19	Walthamstow Angel Avenue to Ilford Station	Walthamstow Central , Leytonstone , Manor Park	Blue Triangle	Daily. London Buses service. Times

Gallery

• 

  Staircase down to platforms 2 and 3. The sign reads 'Please do not run on these stairs. It's better to miss your train than to break your leg.'

• 

  Platforms 3 and 4 (slow) looking east

• 

  Platforms 3 and 4 (slow) and bay platform 5 (on the right) looking west

• 

  Entrance on York Road open weekdays peak hours only. The access to the footbridge is through the black gate on the left - the building itself is a maintenance facility.

• 

  Sign on platform, August 2008

External links

• Train times and station information for Ilford railway station from National Rail