Becontree tube station

Becontree
Entrance to Gale Street
Becontree Location of Becontree in Greater London
Location	Becontree
Local authority	London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	2.84 million[1]
2013	3.04 million[1]
2014	3.40 million[1]
2015	3.49 million[1]
Key dates
1926	Opened as Gale Street Halt
1932	Enlarged and renamed
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°32′25″N 0°07′37″E / 51.54027°N 0.12694°ECoordinates: 51°32′25″N 0°07′37″E / 51.54027°N 0.12694°E
London Transport portal

Becontree is a London Underground station on Gale Street in the Becontree neighbourhood of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in northeast London, England. The station is on the District line, between Upney and Dagenham Heathway stations and is in Travelcard Zone 5.^[2] The station was originally opened as Gale Street Halt in 1926 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on the existing route from Fenchurch Street to Southend. The station was renamed and completely rebuilt in 1932 with an additional pair of platforms to serve the electric District Railway local service.

History

Gale Street Halt had been opened on the London Tilbury & Southend (LT&S) line in 1926. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (owners of the LT&S line)(LMS) quadrupled their line between Barking and Upminster^[3] and constructed a common station with their existing line and the new trains of the Metropolitan District Railway. The 1932 station was constructed and initially operated by the LMS with services provided by the District line from the outset.^[4] The new District line's platforms opened on 18 July 1932 and its route from Barking to Upminster had been electrified on 12 September of the same year.^[4]

The railway here was crossed by a temporary railway constructed as part of the building of the Becontree housing estate which operated between 1921 and 1934.^[5]

Design

The station has four platforms which two are used by the District line and another two are disused since the LT&S service was withdrawn in 1962.^[4] The single storey brick station buildings are of typical 1930s design which are also constructed at Dagenham East, Hornchurch and Upminster at the time. The station was refurbished by Metronet in 2006.^[6]

Services and connections

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 12 tph eastbound to Upminster^[4] (6tph on Sundays^[4] )
• 6 tph westbound to Ealing Broadway^[4]
• 6 tph westbound to Richmond^[4]

London Bus routes 62 and 145 serve the station.^[7]

In popular culture

The station is said to be haunted by a faceless woman with long blonde hair that several staff members have sighted.^[8]

References

1. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLS). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
2. Transport for London (January 2016). Standard Tube Map (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2015.
3. "The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway" (PDF). Local Studies Information Sheet No. 10. London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
4. Feather, Clive. "District line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
5. Colin & David 2009.
6. "Station Refurbishment Summary" (PDF). London Underground Railway Society. July 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
7. "Buses from Becontree" (PDF). Transport for London. 28 July 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
8. http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=135129

Further reading

• McCarthy, Colin; McCarthy, David (2009). Railways of Britain – London North of the Thames. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-7110-3346-7.