Barking Riverside station opens for business
Barking Riverside became the sixth new station to join the network this year, when it opened on Monday July 18.
It brings to 94 the number of new stations that have opened this century, and is the 97th since privatisation. A further six stations are due to open this year in the UK, with eight more in 2023.
In the first extension of the London Overground since 2015, the route from Gospel Oak to Barking has been extended by 2.8 miles to Barking Riverside, in the heart of a redevelopment zone.
One mile is a new-build branch diverging south from the existing London, Tilbury and Southend line, using a viaduct to cross the main line, Ripple Lane container terminal and HS1 tunnels.
Space has been left for the proposed Renwick Road station, where the branch diverges from the Tilbury Loop Line, adjacent to Box Lane (the entrance to Ripple Lane Yard).
The opening means that journeys from Barking Riverside to Barking town centre now take just seven minutes, compared with 25 minutes by bus. Barking Riverside is also step-free, bringing the total across the London Overground network to 60 stations.
Over the weekend of July 23-24 (after this issue of RAIL went to press), the Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside route was set to close for engineering work.
After that, a seven-days-a-week service will operate with four trains per hour, connecting passengers from Barking Riverside with the District and Hammersmith & City lines into central London and c2c trains at Barking.
Passengers can also interchange with the newly opened Elizabeth line at Forest Gate - a short walk from Wanstead Park London Overground station.
The station also enables easy interchange with local bus services and River Bus services from Barking Riverside, and has extensive cycle parking.
“Hot on the heels of the opening of the Elizabeth line, this is more excellent news for east London,” said Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance.
“This new station will help to pave the way for up to 10,000 new homes in Barking Riverside, thousands of which will be genuinely affordable and will ensure residents have the high-quality transport links they need.
“I am particularly pleased that this station is fully step-free and is opening much earlier than planned.”
When work started in late 2018, it was expected to take three years and cost £260 million with the new station opening in December 2021.
Delays caused by COVID and utility diversions then led TfL to announce in December 2020 that the cost had risen to £327m and that the opening would be delayed until autumn 2022. After improved progress with driver training and support from Network Rail applying the finishing touches to the station, TfL re-revised the opening to the summer (RAIL 960).
Matthew Carpen, Managing Director of Barking Riverside Limited, said: “The early launch of this Overground service is due to the brilliant partnership we have had with TfL and the contractor Morgan Sindall Infrastructure VolkerFitzpatrick.
“We worked through COVID, and so the opening is the signal to help reconnect residents and visitors of this area to London.
“Following the successful launch of the new River Bus service, this vital piece of infrastructure will be a major component in the range of transport options for commuters and leisure visitors alike, making Barking Riverside an exciting destination for Londoners, as well as a well-connected home for our community.”