South Woodford tube station

South Woodford
Western entrance on George Lane
Location	South Woodford
Local authority	London Borough of Redbridge
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes(Eastbound only)
Fare zone	4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	5.27 million
2020	2.31 million
2021	2.38 million
2022	3.79 million
2023	4.05 million
Key dates
1856	Opened
6 January 1964	Goods yard closed
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
London transport portal

South Woodford tube station is a London Underground station on the Central line, between Snaresbrook and Woodford in Zone 4.

History

The station opened as South Woodford (George Lane) on 22 August 1856 as part of the Eastern Counties Railway branch to Loughton, which was eventually extended to Epping and Ongar in 1865. The station then formed part of the Great Eastern Railway's system until that company was merged into the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923. The station was subsequently transferred to form part of London Underground's Central Line from 14 December 1947. This formed a part of the long planned, and delayed, Eastern Extension of the Central line that was part of the London Passenger Transport Board's "New Works Programme" of 1935 - 1940.

The station underwent considerable renovations in 2006, 150 years after its first opening.

The suffix "George Lane" has been officially dropped since 1947, upon transfer to the Underground, but is, unusually, retained on the station's nameplate roundels.

Platform

It was once suggested that the Victoria line could be extended to Woodford or South Woodford stations.

The Station today

The Station has two entrances, one on each side of the line. Both are on George Lane, a road split in half when the level crossing was removed during electrification. The footbridge can be used without a ticket, as unusually for stations on the Epping branch, the footbridge is outside the ticket gate line.

The eastbound ticket office is open each morning for ticket sales. The westbound ticket office is no longer in use. Self-service ticket/oyster machines are in operation.

Connections

London Buses Routes 679, 179, 549, W12, W13, W14 and Night Route N55 serve the station.