Hackney Downs railway station

Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs railway station in 2008
Hackney Downs Location of Hackney Downs in Greater London
Location	Hackney Downs
Local authority	London Borough of Hackney
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	HAC
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	4
OSI	Hackney Central [1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11	1.629 million[2]
2011–12	1.781 million[2]
2012–13	1.809 million[2]
2013–14	2.035 million[2]
– interchange	0.926 million[2]
2014–15	2.164 million[2]
– interchange	0.897 million[2]
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°32′54″N 0°03′36″W / 51.5483°N 0.0601°WCoordinates: 51°32′54″N 0°03′36″W / 51.5483°N 0.0601°W
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

Hackney Downs is a London Overground and National Rail main line station on the Lea Valley Lines forming part of the West Anglia Main Line, serving the Hackney Central area of the London Borough of Hackney, east London. It is 2 miles 78 chains (4.8 km) down-line from London Liverpool Street.

On the London Overground network the station is situated between London Fields and either Clapton (for the Chingford branch) or Rectory Road (for the Cheshunt/Enfield Town branch). Main line trains, operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, call at Hackney Downs between Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale. Its three-letter station code is HAC and it is in Travelcard zone 2.

The station was originally named Hackney Downs Junction until 1896.^[3][4] Today, it has a direct passenger link to Hackney Central station, providing interchange with the North London Line of the Overground network.

History

Hackney Downs railway station in 1993

The ticket hall was rebuilt in the early 1980s along with changes to the roofs on the platforms. The island platform's wooden roof was replaced with steel sheeting on the existing frames whilst the side platforms were left unaltered other than the removal of their "dog-tooth" fascia boards. The signal box, installed in 1960 when the line was electrified, closed in the early 2000s when signalling on the line was centralised. Ticket barriers were installed in 2011.

A pedestrian link between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations was opened in 2015. Until Hackney Central's closure in 1944, a passenger connection had linked the two stations. However, when Hackney Central re-opened in 1985, the footway was not reinstated and passengers transferring between the two stations were obliged to leave one and walk along the street to the other, until the link was rebuilt.^[5]

The Lea Valley Lines were previously operated by Abellio Greater Anglia as part of the East Anglia franchise. In 2015 they transferred to London Overground operation.^[6][7] Some West Anglia Main Line services continue to call at Hackney Downs.

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

London Overground:

• 8tph (trains per hour) to London Liverpool Street;
• 4tph to Chingford;
• 2tph to Cheshunt;
• 2tph to Enfield Town.

Abellio Greater Anglia (main line):

• 2tph (trains per hour) to London Liverpool Street;
• 2tph to Hertford East via Tottenham Hale.

Connections

London Buses routes 30, 56 and 276 serve the station.

References

1. "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLS). Transport for London. May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012.
2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford
4. Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley
5. http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/new_bridge_to_cut_commute_between_hackney_downs_and_central_1_4204521
6. TFL appoints London Overground operator to run additional services Transport for London 28 May 2014
7. TfL count on LOROL for support Rail Professional 28 May 2014

External links

• Media related to Hackney Downs railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Hackney Downs railway station from National Rail