123-651: The Hainault Loop, originally opened as the Fairlop Loop , is a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) branch line of the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It once connected Woodford on the Ongar (now Epping ) branch to Ilford on the Main Line , with an eastward connection for goods, excursions and stock transfers to Seven Kings . The loop opened to freight on 20 April 1903 and to passengers on 1 May 1903. In 1923,
246-470: A crowd crush when a woman entering the shelter fell at the bottom of the steps and those following fell on top of her. Construction restarted after the war, and the western extension opened as far as Greenford in 1947 and West Ruislip in 1948. The powers to extend the line to Denham were never used due to post-war establishment of the Green Belt around London, which restricted development of land in
369-624: A British mariner who was executed by the Germans for attempting to ram a U-boat in 1915. The Great Eastern name has survived, being used both for the Great Eastern Main Line route between London and Norwich, and also for the First Great Eastern train operating company which served much of the old GER route between 1997 and 2004. The Great Eastern Railway was made up of a number of constituent companies when it
492-798: A centralised control centre in West London. The five-year Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP) to refurbish the 30-year-old trains started in 2023, as it was considered cheaper than replacing the trains. New motors, lighting, doors, and seats will be installed, and the trains will have passenger information displays, wheelchair areas and CCTV . The programme is being carried out at a new Train Modification Unit (TMU) in Acton, and had been expected to complete in late 2023. However in November 2020 TfL reported that this had been delayed due to
615-418: A couple of steps to street level. Goods yards were at Grange Hill (closed 1965), Hainault (closed 1908), Fairlop (closed 1958), Barkingside and Newbury Park (both closed 1965). One of the former sidings at Newbury Park is now the eastbound through line, with the former eastbound line normally used only for reversing, though it retains the connection facing Barkingside. The sidings at Grange Hill now form part of
738-484: A direct Spalding to Lincoln link. Board unity was about to be shattered when a short paragraph in The Times reported serious differences of opinions existed between the directors. In August 1865 deputy chairman Jervis-White-Jervis issued an appeal raising concerns about the management of the railway. This prompted an internal investigation and in a board meeting at the end of the month, an absent Jervis-White-Jervis
861-722: A goods station in 1881. In 1902 the Northern and Eastern Railway was finally absorbed by the GER, although it had been worked by the Eastern Counties Railway under a 999-year lease taken on 1 January 1844 whereby the Eastern Counties Railway would work the Northern and Eastern Railway in return for an annual rent and division of the profits. Despite several half-hearted attempts by the GER during
984-548: A lack of progress on amalgamation. By February 1862 the bill had its second reading and was then followed by a lengthy committee process where various parties petitioned against the bill. On 7 August 1862 the bill passed as the Great Eastern Railway Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. ccxxiii) and the Great Eastern Railway was formed by the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and
1107-504: A large marble memorial was installed at Liverpool Street station commemorating GER staff who had answered the call of duty to fight but died in action in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled by Sir Henry Wilson , who was assassinated by two Irish Republican Army gunmen on his way home from the unveiling ceremony. A smaller memorial to Wilson was later placed adjacent to the GER memorial, alongside one to Charles Fryatt ,
1230-490: A new underground line between Leytonstone and Newbury Park mostly under Eastern Avenue so as to serve the new suburbs of north Ilford and the Hainault Loop . Twenty two level crossings would also be removed, grade separating the line. Platforms at central London stations would also be lengthened to allow for 8-car trains. Construction started, the tunnels through central London being expanded and realigned and
1353-721: A number of smaller railways (the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway , the Eastern Union Railway , and the Norfolk Railway ). Unsurprisingly the first GER board had a strong Eastern Counties flavour with Horatio Love in the chair and James Goodson the deputy chair. The board consisted of six former ECR directors with two Eastern Union Railway , two Norfolk Railway and one each from the Northern and Eastern Railway (still an independent body at this point) and East Anglian Railway. Operational costs were high on
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#17327732714831476-519: A number of sub-sheds and locomotives would work from these sheds for significant periods. For instance it is estimated that some 150 engines were outbased from Stratford at any one time. Central line (London Underground) The Central line is a London Underground line that runs from Epping in the north-east to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip in the west, via the East End , the City , and
1599-576: A railway from Shepherd's Bush to Turnham Green and Gunnersbury , allowing the Central London Railway to run trains on London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) tracks to Richmond . The route was authorised in 1913, but work had not begun by the outbreak of war the following year. In 1919, an alternative route was published, with a tunnelled link to the disused L&SWR tracks south of their Shepherd's Bush station then via Hammersmith (Grove Road) railway station . Authorisation
1722-478: A result of a rear-end collision in a tunnel just to the east of Stratford station , caused by driver error after a signal failure. The Central line stations east of Stratford kept their goods service for a time, being worked from Temple Mills , with the Hainault loop stations served via Woodford. The BR line south of Newbury Park closed in 1956 and Hainault loop stations lost their goods service in 1965,
1845-752: A single track linking the two routes was laid in 1973. In the 2010s, the London Borough of Hillingdon has lobbied TfL to divert some or all Central trains along this to Uxbridge , as West Ruislip station is located in a quiet suburb and Uxbridge is a much more densely populated regional centre. TfL has stated that the link will be impossible until the Metropolitan line's signalling is upgraded in 2017. The Central line runs directly below Shoreditch High Street station and an interchange has been desired locally since it opened in 2010. The station would lie between Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green, one of
1968-505: A uniform fare of 2 d the railway became known as the "Twopenny Tube". It was initially operated by electric locomotives , with motor armatures built directly on the axles to eliminate noise-producing gearboxes, hauling carriages. This did not allow springing, and the locomotives' considerable unsprung weight caused much vibration in the buildings above the line, so that the railway rebuilt the locomotives to use geared drives. This allowed higher-speed and lighter motors to be used, which reduced
2091-647: Is 147.1 kilometres (91.4 mi), of which 52.8 kilometres (32.8 mi) is in tunnel; this track is electrified with a four-rail DC system: a central conductor rail is energised at −210 V and a rail outside the running rail at +420 V, giving a potential difference of 630 V. The single-track line north of Epping, which closed in 1994, is now the Epping Ongar heritage railway . Shuttle services operate, mostly on some weekends and for special events, between North Weald and Ongar and North Weald and Coopersale . These do not call at Blake Hall , as
2214-457: Is now used by the heritage Epping Ongar Railway . The entire Central line was shut between January and March 2003, after 32 passengers were injured when a train derailed at Chancery Lane due to a traction motor falling on to the track. The line was not fully reopened until June. In 2003, the infrastructure of the Central line was partly privatised in a public–private partnership , managed by
2337-466: Is quite complex. In many cases the operation of the railway that built the line was taken over (usually by the Eastern Counties Railway before 1862 and the Great Eastern Railway after that date) although the original railway company often existed in legal form after that date. The Great Eastern Railway Act 1862 stated that the purpose of the legislation was "to amalgamate the Eastern Counties,
2460-422: Is still evident at ground level despite the track being lifted many years ago. From south to north, there are three road bridges - Vicarage Lane, Benton Road and Wards Road - crossing a missing alignment: much of the route was in a cutting that has been filled in since the line closed. South of Newbury Park, the inclines to/from the tunnel portals towards Gants Hill diverge away from the former route. Immediately to
2583-454: The COVID-19 pandemic , with expected completion by the end of 2025; as of September 2024 only one refurbished train had re-entered service. A timetable that would improve train frequencies, relieving delays and overcrowding, would not be implemented until December 2024. An expert suggested that in hindsight, given the problems with CLIP, it would have been better to buy new trains. In
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#17327732714832706-629: The Epping Ongar Railway . The Central line has mostly been operated by automatic train operation since a major refurbishment in the 1990s, although all trains still carry drivers. Many of its stations are of historic interest, from turn-of-the-century Central London Railway buildings in west London to post-war modernist designs on the West Ruislip and Hainault branches, as well as Victorian-era Eastern Counties Railway and Great Eastern Railway buildings east of Stratford , from when
2829-484: The First Central business park at Park Royal , west London, were planning a new station between North Acton and Hanger Lane . This would have served the business park and provided a walking-distance interchange with Park Royal Piccadilly line station . This is not being actively pursued; London Underground said that the transport benefits of a Park Royal station on the Central line were not sufficient to justify
2952-645: The Long Island Railroad in the USA. The Railway Executive Committee was set up in 1912 after an incident between France and Germany in the Moroccan Port of Agadir and would take directions from the military and liaise with the railway companies. As it adjoined the North Sea the GER undertook a significant role in the war. Had there been an invasion then the railways had evacuation plans for
3075-510: The Metronet consortium. Metronet went into administration in 2007, and Transport for London (TfL) took over its responsibilities. The Central line is 74 kilometres (46 mi) long and serves 49 stations. The line is predominantly double-track, widened to three tracks for short sections south of Leytonstone and west of White City; no track is shared with any other line, though some sections run parallel to other routes. Total track length
3198-709: The West End . Printed in red on the Tube map , the line serves 49 stations over 46 miles (74 km), making it the system's longest line. It is one of only two lines on the Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan line . One of London's deep-level railways traversing narrow tunnels, Central line trains are smaller than those on British main lines. The line
3321-668: The "Central line" in 1937. The 1935–40 New Works Programme included a major expansion of the line. To the west new tracks were to be built parallel with the Great Western Railway 's New North Main Line as far as Denham . To the east, new tunnels would run to just beyond Stratford station , where the line would be extended over the London & North Eastern Railway suburban branch to Epping and Ongar in Essex, as well as
3444-521: The 169 serves Ley Street and Horns Road, a few hundred yards west of Newbury Park. The 296 and 396 head west along the Eastern Avenue as far as Gants Hill before turning south, and the 169 is a less circuitous route. Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia . The company
3567-495: The Central line by 25%, with 36 trains per hour. In June 2018, the Siemens Mobility Inspiro design was selected. These trains would have an open gangway design, wider doorways, air conditioning and the ability to run automatically with a new signalling system. TfL could only afford to order Piccadilly line trains at a cost of £1.5bn. However, the contract with Siemens includes an option for 100 trains for
3690-631: The Central line in the future. This would take place after the delivery of the Piccadilly line trains in the 2030s. There are three depots: Ruislip , Hainault and White City . White City depot first opened in 1900 when the initial line went into operation; Ruislip and Hainault depots were completed in 1939. During the Second World War, anti-aircraft guns were made at Ruislip Depot and the U.S. Army Transportation Corps assembled rolling stock at Hainault between 1943 and 1945. As part of
3813-577: The Central line needed replacement by the late 1980s, it was decided to bring forward the replacement of the 1962 Stock, due at about the time as the replacement of the 1959 Stock. The signalling was to be replaced with an updated version of the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system used on the Victoria line, the line traction supply boosted and new trains built. Prototype trains were built with two double and two single doors hung on
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3936-540: The Central line of the London Transport Executive (LTE) during 1947 and 1948 as part of the war-delayed New Works Programme . The transfer brought fourth-rail electrification to replace steam and construction of a deep-level line connecting Leytonstone on the Ongar branch with Newbury Park on the loop, together with severing connections between Newbury Park and Ilford and Seven Kings. First to go
4059-415: The Central line, together with extra non-driving motor cars to lengthen the trains from 7-car to 8-car. 1962 Stock was ordered to release the 1959 Stock for the Piccadilly line. The last Standard Stock train ran on the Central line in 1963, and by May 1964 all 1959 Stock had been released to the Piccadilly line. The single track section from Epping to Ongar was not electrified until 1957, prior to which
4182-537: The ECR's successor, the Great Eastern Railway (GER), along with the section to Ongar. The Hainault Loop was originally the greater part of the Fairlop Loop opened by the GER on 1 May 1903. The line has three junctions: The line has the shortest escalator on the London Underground system, at Stratford (previously at Chancery Lane), with a rise of 4.1 metres (13 ft) and, at Stratford and Greenford,
4305-798: The East Anglian, the Newmarket, the Eastern Union and the Norfolk railway companies, and for other purposes". This suggests that despite the fact that some of these railway companies had been taken over by the Eastern Counties Railway prior to the 1862 act, they still legally existed. The table below shows the building dates of the railways that made up the Great Eastern and the companies that built them. Abbreviations from above list. Other railways Notes The Great Eastern had one of
4428-586: The GER may be about to appoint a receiver. Early April saw daily negotiations with the Union Bank although agreement was reached with the drivers by the middle of that month. May saw the company trying to raise further funds via a parliamentary bill. However, by 25 June the House of Lords had rejected the bill and the board took steps to protect the company's property from its creditors. Matters were hardly helped when deputy chairman Samuel Laing resigned to become
4551-624: The GER was "grouped" into the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), who provided passenger services until December 1947. After this date, the route was electrified for London Underground services from both the Woodford and Leytonstone directions (the latter via a pair of new tube tunnels) and the link to Ilford (and, eventually, Seven Kings) closed on the Central line , having been served by Tube trains since 1948 (Woodford and Newbury Park stations being served by December 1947). The GER built
4674-594: The Great Northern Railway as far as Wakefield and with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to interchange traffic at Lincoln and Retford. The crisis continued into 1867 and by March it was apparent that the preference share payments due in April could not be paid. The board also received a letter from the drivers seeking improved working conditions. Additionally The Times suggested
4797-545: The Hainault loop are notable for their architecture, dating from Edwardian to the London Transport style of the 1930s/1940s. The bus station shelter at Newbury Park won a Festival of Britain award in 1951, and both it and Barkingside station are Grade II Listed buildings . The interior of Gants Hill was heavily inspired by the Moscow Metro . Gants Hill lacks a proper station building, being directly underneath
4920-466: The Listing authorities credit William Burgess for Barkingside, possibly erroneously). Renowned London Underground architect Charles Holden designed the three new underground stations that opened in 1947. Typical off-peak service pattern (as of 2007): Typical service pattern by 1933 (LNER): The connection between Ilford/Seven Kings and Newbury Park is approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) long, and
5043-476: The London and Blackwell line and a cattle plague seriously affecting that traffic. By March the board was meeting most days in an effort to keep the railway running. The financial crisis of 1866 saw loan interest rates rise to 10% on 12 May. On 8 June the board approached Parliament for the right to borrow more money and raise additional money through new shares to fund the expansion programme outlined above. This
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5166-479: The T&;H and Great Northern Railway at Crouch Hill , Both links remain part of the national network in 2019 . When the war started several jobs fell to the railway – reserve troops and naval personnel had to be returned to their units and this saw an upsurge in usage of normal services. Various units were moved to the coast for defensive purposes and at the same time the government had started buying horses throughout
5289-469: The addition of Hainault Depot, was very similar to that at Fairlop. Roding Valley had rather basic buildings on opening, with a wooden shelter on the Woodford-bound side, replaced by more substantial structures when transferred to the Central line. Notable architects included Oliver Hill for Newbury Park bus station and W. N. Ashbee for the original six stations from Chigwell to Newbury Park (though
5412-471: The alignment of Wards Road, before curving northwards beneath Glebelands Avenue to reach the surface just south of Newbury Park, with the tracks passing to either side of the trackbed of the former line to Ilford: this explains the relatively long tunnel between Gants Hill and Newbury Park. The tunnels were essentially completed when the Second World War broke out in 1939, and between March 1942 and
5535-492: The area leading to additional trains. There were also then the units that were being moved to the front line. The Royal Navy was using coal as its primary source of propulsion and additional coal trains would have been operated through the area as well. In August 1914 the Germans disguised a passenger steamer (the Königin Luise ) in GER colours and deployed it as a minelayer. This ruse was spotted on 5 August 1914 and
5658-471: The area. The eastern extension opened as far as Stratford in December 1946, with trains continuing without passengers to reverse in the cutting south of Leyton. In 1947, the line opened to Leytonstone, and then Woodford and Newbury Park. Stations from Newbury Park to Woodford via Hainault and from Woodford to Loughton were served by tube trains from 1948. South of Newbury Park, the west-facing junction with
5781-659: The basis of standardisation over its disparate inherited fleet), carriages and wagons under construction. More ships were being ordered for Antwerp and Rotterdam traffic and proposals for 28 miles of new metropolitan lines and a new city terminus. In March 1864, a joint committee of the House of Commons and House of Lords approved the East London Line which would link the North London , Great Eastern and London and Blackwall railways. The parliamentary bill for
5904-430: The board were not pleased with this and it was not until 3 January 1868 that a reduced board of eleven members met with six new members including Watkin and Viscount Cranbourne MP who was elected as the new chairman. The new directors were all allocated specific roles and a number of changes were made to reduce costs and improve profitability. Cranbourne also approached the London & North Western Railway to report on
6027-482: The busy A12 roundabout. Due to bomb damage to Grange Hill in 1944, and expansion of the A12 Eastern Avenue at Newbury Park in 1956, the original station buildings were demolished. They were almost identical to that at Chigwell. Newbury Park was meant to receive a replacement building but it was never built, and the only entrance is via the bus station. Hainault's original structure, prior to rebuilding due to
6150-467: The carriages had been adapted to run as trailers and formed with new motor cars into electric multiple units . The Central London Railway trains normally ran with six cars: four trailers and two motor-cars, although some trailers were later equipped with control equipment to allow trains to be formed with 3 cars. Work started in 1912 on an extension to Ealing Broadway , and new more powerful motor-cars were ordered. These arrived in 1915, but completion of
6273-461: The chairman of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway on 1 July. On 2 July a suit was bought before vice-chancellor Sir Richard Malins and the GER was placed into chancery . Regrouping after this, the board pursued Edward Watkin , an MP with many other railway interests, as chairman. He did advise that the board that it needed to reconstitute itself in order to rebuild confidence in order to acquire new capital. Some existing members of
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#17327732714836396-463: The chairmanship of David Waddington had negotiated arrangements to work most of the other railways in East Anglia resulting in a network of lines totalling 565 miles (909 km). Whilst Parliament favoured competition it was also aware that the ECR was constantly at war with its neighbours and whilst these working arrangements were approved there was a condition that a bill for full amalgamation
6519-530: The civilian populations. The GER did require some upgrading to deal with the increased levels of traffic – lines were doubled, additional passing loops provided, platforms extended and watering facilities improved (for both the iron and more conventional horses). A number of link lines were provided including the link between the Tottenham and Hampstead at Gospel Oak to the Midland Railway and between
6642-642: The construction of the Westfield London shopping centre, the depot at White City was replaced underground, opening in 2007. During the off-peak, services on the Central line are grouped by branch lines: trains on the West Ruislip branch run to/from Epping, while trains to/from Ealing Broadway run on the Hainault Loop. Services at peak times are less structured, and trains can run between any two terminus stations at irregular intervals (e.g. from Ealing Broadway to Epping). As of January 2020 ,
6765-408: The early 1960s, there was a plan to re-equip the Piccadilly line with new trains and transfer its newer Standard Stock to the Central line to replace the older cars there, some of which had been stored in the open during the Second World War and were becoming increasingly unreliable. However, after the first deliveries of 1959 Stock were running on the Piccadilly it was decided to divert this stock to
6888-534: The east. These projects were mostly realised after the Second World War , when construction stopped and the unused tunnels were used as air-raid shelters and factories. However, suburban growth was limited by the Metropolitan Green Belt : of the planned expansions one (to Denham , Buckinghamshire) was cut short and the eastern terminus of Ongar ultimately closed in 1994 due to low patronage; part of this section between Epping and Ongar later became
7011-571: The end of hostilities they were used as an underground munitions factory , complete with its own 18 in (457 mm) railway, by Plessey , based in Ilford for many years. The factory extended almost 5 miles with about 300,000 sq. ft. of space. Redbridge is the shallowest "deep-level" station on the Underground, 26 feet (7.9 m) below street level, necessitating just a short of flight of stairs for entry. Gants Hill and Wanstead, due to their greater depth, have escalators, with additional ramps or stairs at
7134-428: The end of steam on the Great Eastern in 1959. Coaling at engine sheds was generally done by hand with the coaling stages constructed of wood. At a busy engine shed such as Stratford, each individual coaler employed on the coaling stage was expected to empty the contents of a 10-long-ton (10 t) coal truck during his shift. Turntables were generally small – in 1900 the longest was 50 feet (15 m) – enough to turn
7257-503: The expansion of which followed the initial severing of the Newbury Park Junction to Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction curve in November 1947. The route was abandoned when the connecting curve to Seven Kings West Junction was lifted in 1956, the site of which is occupied by the depot's "New Shed", opened in 1959. Little evidence remains for the junctions at the main line ends. The recent construction of residential blocks and
7380-522: The extension was delayed because of World War I , and the cars were stored. In 1917, they were lent to the Bakerloo line , where they ran on the newly opened extension to Watford Junction . Returning in 1920/21, and formed with trailers converted from the original carriages, they became the Ealing Stock. In 1925–28, the trains were rebuilt, replacing the gated ends with air-operated doors, allowing
7503-550: The following board meeting in February, Charles Turner was elected as the new chairman. The new board, facing a financial crisis, had identified a number of issues including the provision of a new terminus station at Liverpool Street , Bishopsgate (the existing terminus) was to be converted to a goods terminal and a new coal depot to be built in Whitechapel. The financial environment was still proving difficult with losses on
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#17327732714837626-550: The following year an extension to Liverpool Street was authorised, with a station at Bank instead of at Cornhill. The line was built following the streets above rather than running underneath buildings, because purchase of wayleave under private properties would have been expensive. While the tracks in opposite directions mostly run side-by-side, in some places one line runs above another due to lack of space, with platforms at different levels at St Paul's , Chancery Lane and Notting Hill Gate stations. The tunnels were bored with
7749-632: The following year, providing access to the Great Eastern Railway station and the adjacent Broad Street railway station by escalators. The Central London Railway was absorbed into the Underground Group on 1 January 1913. In 1911, the Great Western Railway won permission for a line from Ealing Broadway to a station near to the CLR's Shepherd's Bush station , with a connection to the West London Railway , and agreement to connect
7872-411: The former. From north-west to south-east Fairlop Loop diverges from the Ongar (now Epping ) Branch at Woodford Junction Remainder of Fairlop loop connects with Central line tube from Leytonstone (nowadays both parts referred to as the "Hainault Loop") re-joins the Ongar (Epping) Branch at Leytonstone Junction Most of the surface stations on the Fairlop loop and the underground stations on
7995-470: The frequency in the morning peak period was increased to 35 trains per hour, giving the line the most intensive train service in the UK at the time. Before that date, the Victoria line held the record with 33 trains per hour; it regained it in May 2017 with an increased frequency of 36 trains per hour (one every 100 seconds) during peak periods. The Central crosses over the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines' shared Uxbridge branch near West Ruislip depot, and
8118-556: The largest engine sheds in the country at Stratford which in January 1923 had an allocation of 555 locomotives. At the other end of the scale, small engine sheds at the end of country branch lines had perhaps one or two locomotives in their charge. At this time the locomotives were generally allocated to the major shed in the area and the smaller sheds had no actual allocation. Before 1914 the engine sheds were organised into districts, with sheds at: Stratford; Ipswich; Norwich; Cambridge; Peterborough; King's Lynn; and Doncaster. In 1914 this
8241-589: The later B12 Class 4-6-0 locomotive . By 1932, with the advent of bigger locomotives and the working of other companies' locomotives onto GE territory, turntables had grown, with the major sheds generally having 60-or-65 ft (18-or-20 m) turntables. In 1922 the GER locomotive allocation across its sheds was: Cambridge - 178; Colchester - 47; Doncaster - 5; Ipswich - 131; King's Lynn - 37; Lincoln (Pyewipe Junction) - 12; Lowestoft - 22; March - 97; Norwich - 119; Parkeston - 20; Peterborough East - 86; Stratford - 555; Wisbech - 7; and Yarmouth - 20. Each main shed had
8364-405: The latter part of the nineteenth century, it was the Midland Railway (MR) that finally bought the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) in 1912 with the MR offering a better deal for the LT&SR shareholders than the GER ever had. The agreement was ratified by the LT&SR shareholders on 26 June 1911. During the following parliamentary session, the official parliamentary bill allowing
8487-409: The limited current. The section closed in 1994, and is now the heritage Epping Ongar Railway . A shuttle operated on the section from Hainault to Woodford after a train of 1960 Stock was modified to test the automatic train operation system to be used on the Victoria line . As each 1967 Stock train was delivered, it ran in test for three weeks on the shuttle service. When the signalling on
8610-405: The line over the road. Chigwell and Grange Hill were built in cuttings, Hainault and Fairlop on embankment, and most of the route south of Barkingside including Newbury Park was in a cutting. Only the platforms at Roding Valley and Barkingside (eastbound only) are accessible from street level. Works for accessibility to each of the platforms at Roding Valley were completed in 2009; hitherto there were
8733-426: The line to Epping was a rural branch line. In terms of total passengers, the Central line is the third busiest on the Underground. In 2019, over 300 million passenger journeys were recorded on the line. As of 2013, it operated the second-most frequent service on the network, with 34 trains per hour (tph) operating for half-an-hour in the westbound direction during the morning peak, and between 27 and 30 tph during
8856-477: The line to foster suburban growth in Edwardian Ilford and Chigwell; the results were mixed. Hainault station had so few passengers that it closed between 1908 and 1930. The loop passed to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923 after the grouping of railways into The Big Four. The LNER added a station at Roding Valley in 1936 to serve a housing development. Most of the route transferred to
8979-444: The line to the Central London Railway, and for the CLR to run trains to Ealing Broadway. Construction of the extension from the CLR to Ealing Broadway started in 1912, but opening was delayed by World War I . The CLR purchased new rolling stock for the extension, which arrived in 1915 and was stored before being lent to the Bakerloo line . The rolling stock returned when the extension opened in 1920. In 1912, plans were published for
9102-415: The long-standing and ongoing use of the alignment for allotment gardens mean that there can be no re-instatement of the line between Ilford and Newbury Park. The Central line serves both Stratford and Liverpool Street, just as Fairlop Loop services did, and to travel by rail between Newbury Park and Ilford requires a change of trains at Stratford. Alternatively, bus routes 296 and 396 serve both stations, and
9225-470: The longest gaps between stations in inner London. Although there would be benefits to this interchange, it was ruled out on grounds of cost, the disruption it would cause to the Central line while being built and because the platforms would be too close to sidings at Liverpool Street and would not be developed until after the Crossrail -developed Elizabeth line became fully operational. The developers of
9348-477: The main line closed in the same year to allow expansion of Ilford carriage depot. The extension transferred to London Underground management in 1949, when Epping began to be served by Central line trains. The single line to Ongar was served by a steam autotrain operated by British Rail (BR) until 1957, when the line was electrified. BR trains accessed the line via a link from Temple Mills East to Leyton. On 8 April 1953, 12 people were killed and 46 were injured as
9471-420: The mid 2010s, TfL began a process of ordering new rolling stock to replace trains on the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines. TfL explained that the 1992 Stock used on the Central and Waterloo & City lines was significantly less reliable than more modern rolling stock. A feasibility study into the new trains showed that new generation trains and re-signalling could increase capacity on
9594-486: The new freight line failed although other bills including the construction of a new London terminus were approved. Later that year the GER was in talks about expansion northwards with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) which lead to the deposition of a bill in early 1865. The board meeting of February 1865 saw passenger receipts outstripping goods receipts. Fish traffic from Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth
9717-422: The new railway and new sources of revenue needed quickly. Work at improving suburban services was put in hand and trains from London to Norwich speeded up to give businessmen and merchants more time to conduct their business. A new suburban line to Enfield Town via Seven Sisters was proposed as well as a new London terminus to replace an inadequate Bishopsgate . By August 1863 receipts were increasing and many of
9840-412: The nominal diameter of 11 feet 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (3.562 m), increased on curves, reduced to 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) near to stations. The tunnels generally rise approaching a station, to aid braking, and fall when leaving, to aid acceleration. The Central London Railway was the first underground railway to have the station platforms illuminated electrically. All
9963-490: The north-facing access from Hainault Depot. They extend parallel to the station platforms, and there are also sidings at the southern end of the depot next to the platforms at Hainault. East of Chigwell a short siding served Chigwell Nursery in GER days, but this was closed, probably before Grouping into the LNER (the nursery was sold in 1922). The line between Leytonstone and Newbury Park is of standard twin-bore construction, with
10086-402: The northern end at Woodford Junction let trains leave or join the Ongar branch. A triangular junction at the southern end gave access to the main line, the site now occupied by Ilford carriage sheds and a maintenance depot run by Bombardier . The apex of the triangle was Newbury Park Junction (just south of Vicarage Lane), the western side was Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction, and the eastern side
10209-477: The number of guards to be reduced to two. After reconstruction of the Central London Railway tunnels, the trains were replaced by Standard Stock transferred from other lines and the last of the original trains ran in service in 1939. The Standard Stock ran as 6-car trains until 1947, when 8-car trains became possible after Wood Lane was replaced by a new station at White City . More cars were transferred from other lines as they were replaced by 1938 Stock . In
10332-464: The only stations where escalators take passengers up to the trains. The escalator at Greenford was the last one with wooden treads on the system until it was replaced in March 2014. They were exempt from fire regulations because they were outside the tunnel system. The line has the shallowest underground Tube platforms on the system, at Redbridge , just 7.9 metres (26 ft) below street level, and
10455-463: The outside of each carriage of the train, and with electronic traction equipment that gave regenerative and rheostatic braking . In accordance with this plan, the first 8-car trains of 1992 Stock entered service in 1993, and while the necessary signalling works for ATO were in progress, One Person Operation (OPO) was phased in between 1993 and 1995. Automatic train protection was commissioned from 1995 to 1997 and ATO from 1999 to 2001, with
10578-574: The platforms were lit by Crompton automatic electric arc lamps , and other station areas by incandescent lamps . Both the City and South London Railway and the Waterloo and City Railway were lit by gas lamps, primarily because the power stations for these lines had been designed with no spare capacity to power electric lighting. With the white glazed tiling, all underground Central London Railway platforms were very brightly lit. The use of electric lighting
10701-808: The pre-amalgamation disputes were being settled. The GER and Great Northern Railway each submitted bills for a line from March to Spalding and although the GNR was successful the GER was awarded running rights over the new line which would later become part of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway . Steamboat services were also seen as a new source of revenue with services running from Harwich to Rotterdam, Flushing and Antwerp. A change of leadership also occurred with Horatio Love being replaced by James Goodson as chairman with Captain Henry Jervis-White-Jervis as his deputy. Love
10824-534: The railway was extended westwards from an earlier temporary terminus in Devonshire Street , near Mile End . The station was renamed Bishopsgate on 27 July 1847. The Great Eastern attempted to obtain a West End terminus, alongside the one in east London, via the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway , formed by an act of Parliament , the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. cc) of 28 July 1862. Plans to extend
10947-408: The rest of the peak. The Elizabeth line , which began most of its core operation from 24 May 2022, provides interchanges with the Central line at Stratford, Liverpool Street , Tottenham Court Road , Ealing Broadway , and Bond Street , relieving overcrowding. The Central London Railway (CLR) was given permission in 1891 for a tube line between Shepherd's Bush and a station at Cornhill , and
11070-399: The rest of the stations on the line following in 1966. Early morning passenger trains from Stratford (Liverpool Street on Sundays) ran to Epping or Loughton until 1970. The single-track section from Epping to Ongar was electrified in 1957 and then operated as a shuttle service using short tube trains. However, carrying only 100 passengers a day and losing money, the section closed in 1994, and
11193-564: The rest was adjacent to Stratford Regional station. The GER owned 1,200 miles (1,931 km) of line and had a near-monopoly in East Anglia until the opening of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway in 1893 although there were a number of minor lines, such as the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway that stayed resolutely independent until after the grouping in 1923. Between 1851 and 1854 the Eastern Counties Railway under
11316-466: The service was operated by an autotrain , carriages attached to a steam locomotive capable of being driven from either end, hired from British Railways, and an experimental AEC three-car lightweight diesel multiple unit operated part of the shuttle service Monday-Friday in June 1952. Upon electrification, 1935 Stock was used, until replaced by four-car sets of 1962 Stock specially modified to cope with
11439-518: The sharpest curve, the Caxton Curve, between Shepherds Bush and White City. When the railway opened in 1900, it was operated by electric locomotives hauling carriages with passengers boarding via lattice gates at each end. The locomotives had a large unsprung mass, which caused vibrations that could be felt in the buildings above the route. After an investigation by the Board of Trade , by 1903
11562-593: The ship sunk by the British light cruiser HMS Amphion and destroyers HMS Landrail and HMS Lance . The GER employed significant numbers of women during this period as many men had joined the army. By 1916 unnecessary travel was being discouraged to conserve coal supplies. The company set up a section dedicated to the movement of military traffic and between 1914 and 1918 nearly 10.5 million men were moved on GER services as well as significant numbers of horses and supplies. Specific military traffic
11685-443: The south is an electrical substation off Glebelands Avenue. Further south there is derelict land followed by a small area of allotment gardens north of Wards Road, with more allotments to the south and north of Benton Road. South of Benton Road, an outbuilding of St Aidan's School and Friars Close blocks of flats occupy the alignment as far south as Vicarage Lane. South of there are Piper Way flats just north of Ilford Carriage Sheds,
11808-481: The state of the permanent way and rolling stock. By August 1868 the tide was turning with increased receipts and some debts being paid off. The GER had done a deal with the Midland Railway to route their coal traffic via their lines and a new coal depot at Whitechapel opened in December further improving profitability. By August 1869 the financial position had improved enough to restore a dividend and this
11931-404: The station platform was removed by London Transport after the station closed, and the remaining building is now a private residence. The section between Leyton and just south of Loughton is the oldest railway alignment in use on the current London Underground system, having been opened on 22 August 1856 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). Loughton to Epping was opened on 24 April 1865 by
12054-413: The stations lengthened, but it proved impossible to modify Wood Lane station to take 8-car trains and a new station at White City was authorised in 1938. The line was converted to the London Underground four-rail electrification system in 1940. The positive outer rail is 40 mm (1.6 in) higher than on other lines, because even after reconstruction work the tunnels are slightly smaller. Most of
12177-648: The takeover by the MR was passed on 7 August 1912 although it was legally backdated to 1 January 1912. At the time of the sale the LT&;SR was one of the most prosperous railways in the UK but too small to fund the changes it needed to make. In 1914 the GER became the first UK railway company to employ a general manager from overseas, Henry Worth Thornton . He had previously worked as the General Superintendent of
12300-473: The three intermediate stations all having central platforms. The route diverges from the Ongar branch east of Leytonstone at Leytonstone Junction, with the tracks passing either side of the latter and immediately diving underground. The route heads mostly beneath the A12 Eastern Avenue as far as Gants Hill . East of here it turns southeast along Perth Road, then east to pass beneath Ley Street to
12423-610: The tunnels for the extensions to the east of London had been built by 1940, but work slowed due to the outbreak of the Second World War until eventually being suspended in June. The unused tunnels between Leytonstone and Newbury Park were equipped by the Plessey Company as an aircraft components factory, opening in March 1942 and employing 2,000 people. Elsewhere, people used underground stations as night shelters during air raids. The unopened Bethnal Green station had space for 10,000 people. In March 1943, 173 people died there in
12546-501: The typical off-peak service, in trains per hour (tph), is: The above services combine to give a total of 24 trains per hour each way (one every 2 minutes and 30 seconds) in the core section between White City and Leytonstone. At peak times, the frequency increases further, with up to 35 trains per hour each way in the core section. A 24-hour Night Tube service began on the Central line on 19 August 2016, running on Friday and Saturday nights. Night tube services are: In September 2013,
12669-613: The unsprung, and total, weight of the locomotive. The railway also tried an alternative approach: it converted four coaches to accommodate motors and control gear. Two of these experimental motor coaches were used in a 6-coach train, the control gear being operated by the system used on the Waterloo and City Railway. The modified locomotives were a considerable improvement, but lighter purpose-designed motor coaches were even better. The CLR ordered 64 new motor cars designed to use Sprague 's recently developed traction control system. The CLR
12792-606: The western end of this line via a proposed 'London Main Trunk Railway', underneath Hampstead Road, the Metropolitan Railway (modern Circle line ) and Tottenham Court Road, to Charing Cross , were rejected by Parliament in 1864. A new London terminus at Liverpool Street was opened to traffic on 2 February 1874, and was completely operational from 1 November 1875. From this date the original terminus at Bishopsgate closed to passengers, although it reopened as
12915-427: Was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. Formed in 1862 after the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and several other smaller railway companies the GER served Cambridge , Chelmsford , Colchester , Great Yarmouth , Ipswich , King's Lynn , Lowestoft , Norwich, Southend-on-Sea (opened by the GER in 1889), and East Anglian seaside resorts such as Hunstanton (whose prosperity
13038-526: Was Seven Kings West Junction. The topography challenged engineers. The line was on the surface but 260 yards (238m) of tunnel was bored immediately north of Grange Hill . The line between Roding Valley and Chigwell was on an embankment, and a three-arch viaduct was built over the River Roding . Further east, the embankment was bisected by the London end of the M11 motorway in 1977, a concrete bridge carrying
13161-450: Was confirmed on 4 July. By this time there was little money available for dividends and the company looked very carefully at their expansion programme and unprofitable branch lines. By December 1866 little interest was being shown in the new shares, so the board went unsuccessfully to the Bank of England and Union Bank for further loans. The GER did, however, manage to agree running rights via
13284-425: Was considered too cautious and some on the board still resented his role prior to amalgamation at the ECR. Various directors were allocated specific responsibilities (generally running these through committees) leaving Goodson free to develop new schemes and represent the GER on lines where they had a financial interest. Following an accident at North Wootton in early August 1863, where the deaths of five passengers
13407-472: Was exclusively using the resulting electric multiple units by 1903. In July 1907, the fare was increased to 3d for journeys of more than seven or eight stations. The line was extended westwards with a loop serving a single platform at Wood Lane for the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition . A reduced fare of 1d, for a journey of three or fewer stations, was introduced in 1909, and season tickets became available from 1911. The extension to Liverpool Street opened
13530-416: Was formed in 1862. The most notable was the Eastern Counties Railway, which had taken over most of the main companies by this time. After 1862 there were still a number of companies operating independently in East Anglia, but most of these were eventually taken over by Great Eastern, although some such as the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway survived until 1923. The history and exact status of many of these railways
13653-530: Was further made possible because the Central London was also the first tube railway to use AC electrical distribution and the substation transformers , not compatible with DC, were able to reduce the voltage to the level required for lighting. Earlier tube lines used DC power generators at the 500 volts required to run the trains. The line between Shepherd's Bush and Bank was formally opened on 30 June 1900, public services beginning on 30 July. With
13776-428: Was generated at Brimsdown , Ponders End and Stowmarket . Because of attacks on east coast shipping, traffic previously moved by sea was also carried on the GER (and more specifically the Great Eastern and Great Northern Joint Railway). The GER also suffered from a number of Zeppelin attacks with, amongst others, the dormitory at Stratford engine shed and the royal shelter at King's Lynn both being hit. In 1922,
13899-628: Was granted in 1920, but the connection was never built, and the L&;SWR tracks were used by the Piccadilly line when it was extended west of Hammersmith in 1932. On 1 July 1933, the Central London Railway and other transport companies in the London area were amalgamated to form the London Passenger Transport Board , generally known as London Transport . The railway was known as the "Central London Line", becoming
14022-402: Was growing and money was being spent on stations, replacing wooden bridges and upgrading the track. However, a number of shareholders voiced concern. The following month the House of Commons rejected the joint GER/L&YR bill forcing the GER to restart negotiations with the Great Northern Railway. The chairman of the parliamentary committee suggested to the board that the next bill should include
14145-448: Was largely a result of the GER's line being built) and Cromer . It also served a suburban area, including Enfield , Chingford , Loughton and Ilford . This suburban network was, in the early 20th century, the busiest steam-hauled commuter system in the world. The majority of the Great Eastern's locomotives and rolling stock were built at Stratford Works , part of which was on the site of today's Stratford International station and
14268-490: Was opened as the Central London Railway in 1900, crossing central London on an east–west axis along the central shopping street of Oxford Street to the financial centre of the City of London . It was later extended to the western suburb of Ealing . In the 1930s, plans were created to expand the route into the new suburbs, taking over steam-hauled outer-suburban routes to the borders of London and beyond to
14391-456: Was partially attributed to the poor state of the rolling stock, a large rolling stock order was placed. By December 1863 the financial picture was looking better and in early 1864 the GER started looking a new railway to move coal from South Yorkshire to London via Spalding and the GN link from Spalding to March. The Great Eastern was clearly in an expansionist phase with further locomotives (forming
14514-413: Was presented by 1861. Waddington departed under a cloud in 1856 and was replaced by Horatio Love. By 1860 many shareholders were unhappy listing several grievances they saw as getting in the way of their dividend payments. These included continual conflict over working of other lines, suspicion and distrust of the joint committee, inadequate services to and from London, on-going litigation and law costs and
14637-424: Was provided on the former track-bed south of Newbury Park: after goods trains were withdrawn it was used by engineers' trains until 1992. The Loop was double track and all six original stations had two 600 ft (183 m) platforms: the 1936 station at Roding Valley had 500 ft (152 m) platforms. Hainault station re-opened in 1948 with a third platform It is today used by terminating Central line trains. A fork at
14760-592: Was reduced to five with King's Lynn and Doncaster being abolished. By 1915 they were organised onto four districts (primary sheds in parentheses): Southern (Stratford); Eastern (Ipswich); Northern (Norwich); and Western (Cambridge/Peterborough). The Great Eastern did not see the maintenance of engine sheds as one of its top priorities. Many original structures it inherited from constituent railways struggled on in various states of disrepair, not only through Great Eastern days, but through its successor company London & North Eastern Railway from 1923 until 1947 and indeed to
14883-456: Was replaced by William Shaw as deputy chairman. The internal investigation concluded that many of Jervis-White-Jervis's concerns were relevant including borrowing more money than authorised and the poor deal the GER got on leasing the London and Blackwell Railway. In a meeting in January the following year many of the directors were duly replaced (by members of the investigating committee) and at
15006-450: Was the westward curve between Newbury Park Junction and Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction, on 30 November 1947. The other connection to Seven Kings West Junction was goods only and survived until 19 March 1956. The whole triangular junction disappeared under expansion of Ilford carriage sheds in 1959. Goods trains operated by British Rail continued using the loop via Woodford as far as Newbury Park until 4 October 1965. A short turn-back siding
15129-539: Was whilst the Walthamstow line (now the Chingford branch line ) was under construction. In the same month, Deputy Chairman Charles Turner resigned due to suspected fraud which was to lead to his bankruptcy later in the year. Although proceedings were initiated no prosecution resulted. The original London terminus was opened at Shoreditch in east London by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) on 1 July 1840 when
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