Blackhorse Road station

History

The station was opened by the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway on 9 July 1894, and was originally situated east of Blackhorse Road. Its opening changed the local area from a gentrified London suburb to industrial, with several works and units opening around Ferry Lane to the northwest.

The Victoria line station opened on 1 September 1968, across the road from the mainline station. It was planned as a simple two-platform station, and was the only station on the line with any new structures above ground level. The surface line station was re-sited by British Rail on 14 December 1981, to provide better interchange with the Underground station.

Design

Structure

The station contains two underground platforms for the Victoria line and two for the London Overground. Owing to budget restraints at the time of construction, the Underground station, like many stations on the Victoria line, was never completely finished to the standard of other lines. White ceiling panels were never fixed to the ceilings above the platforms; instead the steel tunnel segments were painted black and used to support the fixtures and fittings. This has had a detrimental effect on the lighting levels.

Artwork

There are two distinct works of art at the station, both depicting black horses, in reference to the station's name. One is in the form of a tile motif depicting a black horse on a white cameo against a light blue background, identical to the Victoria line's colour. It was designed by Hans Unger, who also did the tile motif at Seven Sisters tube station. The other is a mural of a black horse outside the station's entrance, by David McFall.

Location

It is the closest railway station to Walthamstow Wetlands.

London Bus routes 123, 158, 230, W11 and night route N73 serve the station.

Services

During peak periods, trains run approximately every two minutes on the Victoria line (up to 33 trains per hour) in both directions.

The typical off-peak service for the Suffragette line of the London Overground in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 4 tph westbound to
• 4 tph eastbound to

From June 2016 until February 2017, services on the route were suspended whilst it was electrified; this project involved lowering track in several places, rebuilding bridges and lengthening platforms as well as installing overhead wires. A replacement bus service was in operation for the duration of the closure period.

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. {{Cite map/Standard Tube Map
2. Padgett, David. (October 2016). "Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern". Trackmaps.
3. {{cite map/Standard Tube Map
4. (1895). "OS London 1:1,056 - Sheet III.39".
5. 'Walthamstow: Introduction and domestic buildings', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6, ed. W R Powell (London, 1973), pp. 240-250. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp240-250 [Retrieved 18 June 2019].
6. ""The Railway in a Bathroom": on the design of London's Victoria line at 50 | CityMetric".
7. The Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.Connor and B.Halford {{ISBN. 0 947699 17 1
8. Porter, Laura. "Blackhorse Road". GoLondon.
9. (20 October 2013). "Buses from Blackhorse Road".
10. "Victoria line timetable: From Blackhorse Road Underground Station to Walthamstow Central Underground Station".
11. "Victoria line timetable: From Blackhorse Road Underground Station to Tottenham Hale Underground Station".
12. (18 July 2022). "Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside route".
13. {{NRtimes. May 2025. 3
14. [http://www.globalrailnews.com/2016/02/02/eight-month-closure-planned-for-goblin-electrification/ "Eight-month closure planned for GOBLIN electrification"]''Global Rail News'' article 2 February 2016; retrieved 7 June 2016