Whitechapel tube station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | |||
| Place | Whitechapel | ||
| Local authority | Tower Hamlets | ||
| Operations | |||
| Managed by | London Underground | ||
| Platforms in use | 6 | ||
| Transport for London | |||
| Zone | 2 | ||
| Annual entry/exit | 8.858 million † | ||
| History | |||
| Key dates | Opened 1869 | ||
| Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail |
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| † Data from Transport for London [1] | |||
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Whitechapel is a London Underground station in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is in Zone 2.
It is on the Hammersmith & City and District lines between Aldgate East and Stepney Green, and until 2010 it will be the northern terminus of the East London Line; Shadwell is the next station to the south. Until 9 June 2006 services ran north from Whitechapel to Shoreditch during peak hours and on Sunday mornings. Following Shoreditch's closure, a bus link will run to Shoreditch from Whitechapel until the East London Line's temporary closure in 2008. Whitechapel also acts as the eastern terminus for some Hammersmith & City Line trains, particularly at weekends and outside peak hours.
The station consists of six platforms – two westbound and two eastbound for the Hammersmith & City and District Lines, and one north and southbound (which now serve as terminal platforms) on the East London Line. It is situated in a cutting behind Whitechapel Road, with the East London Line bisecting it in a deeper cutting.
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[edit] History
Whitechapel station was originally opened in 1869 as a stop on the mainline East London Railway from Liverpool Street station to points south. The passenger service between Whitechapel and Liverpool Street was withdrawn in 1885. The station joined the Underground network on 6 October 1884 under the name of "Whitechapel (Mile End)" as the eastern terminus of the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways, the new station being built on top of the earlier and deeper East London Railway station. It gained its present name on 13 November 1901.
In 1902 the Metropolitan District Railway extended the eastbound line to Bromley-by-Bow, with Whitechapel becoming the western end of the new Whitechapel & Bow Railway. It was electrified in 1905, though the East London Railway station at Whitechapel had to wait until 1913 for its own electrification. Steam-hauled goods services from Liverpool Street continued to pass through Whitechapel until as late as April 1966. The East London Line platforms were closed between March 1995 and March 1998 during the renovation of the line; the station was also renovated at the same time.
The District Line track connects with the East London Line just west of Whitechapel station, at St Mary's Curve. This was used for passenger traffic until 1941 but is now only used to transfer empty trains to and from the other sub-surface lines. The curve is often lit and can easily be seen from the left-hand side of East London Line trains entering Whitechapel station from the south.
Also just west of Whitechapel is the former St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) tube station, one of the many closed London Underground stations.
[edit] Future plans
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future railway station. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the railway station approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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Work is underway to extend the East London Line to Highbury & Islington via a disused railway viaduct from Shoreditch to Dalston. Once completed the tracks north of Whitechapel will be reopened on a new alignment, bypassing the former Shoreditch station. The extended line is scheduled for completion by 2010 and will then form part of the London Overground. Whitechapel will then have the odd situation where the London Underground part of the station is above the London Overground part.
It is proposed that Crossrail line 1 will call at Whitechapel, forking into two eastbound branches after the station.
[edit] Local sights
Nearby places of interest include the Royal London Hospital, the Blind Beggar public house, and the former Wickham's department store.
[edit] External links
| Preceding station | Underground Lines | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldgate East | Hammersmith & City Line | Stepney Green | ||
| District Line | ||||
| Terminus (bus link to Shoreditch) |
East London Line | Shadwell | ||
