Shoreditch High Street railway station

History

On the 1994 planning version of the underground map, the station was called 'Bishopsgate'.

In May 2008 Abdal Ullah, a Tower Hamlets London Borough Councillor, called for the new station to be renamed Banglatown, claiming this would better reflect the area in which it will stand, being a centre of the Bangladeshi community. However Transport for London noted that changing the name would cost £2 million and "cause confusion". Councillor Ullah had previously campaigned to change the name of Aldgate East Underground station to "Brick Lane".

The station was built on the former site of the Eastern Counties Railway's Shoreditch station, built in 1840. The original station was later renamed Bishopsgate and converted for use as a goods yard. It was destroyed by fire in 1964 and remained derelict until being demolished in 2003–04, with the exception of a number of Grade II listed structures: ornamental gates on Shoreditch High Street and the remaining 850 ft of the "Braithwaite Viaduct", one of the oldest railway structures in the world and the second-oldest in London, designed by John Braithwaite.

The present station is built on upright supports as a viaduct, being fully enclosed in a concrete box structure. This is so future building works on the remainder of the Bishopsgate site can be undertaken keeping the station operational. Future buildings have the option of being constructed over the station. The station is situated on a section of track constructed to link the original East London line and the formerly disused North London Railway's Kingsland Viaduct. Construction of the link included a new bridge over Shoreditch High Street and links to Whitechapel via a bridge over Brick Lane and a ramp on the site of the former Shoreditch tube station.

London Overground began running 24-hour trains on Friday and Saturday nights between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate which called at Shoreditch High Street from 15 December 2017.

On 7 August 2024, an artwork by Banksy, featuring three monkeys apparently swinging from the parapet, appeared on the Brick Lane bridge.

Services and connections

Shoreditch High Street is served by the Windrush line of the London Overground. On Mondays to Saturdays there is a service every 5–10 minutes throughout the day, while on Sundays before 13:00 there is a service every 5–9 minutes, changing to every 7–8 minutes until the end of service after that.

Current off peak frequency in trains per hour is:

• 16 tph to , of which 8 continue to Highbury & Islington
• 4 tph to
• 4 tph to
• 4 tph to West Croydon
• 4 tph to via

London Bus routes 8, 26, 35, 47, 78, 135, 149, 205, 242, 388 and night routes N8, N26, N205 and N242 serve the station.

Future proposals

There have been discussions of creating an interchange with the Central line between Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green, due to the line's tunnels running almost underneath the station. However, it was said that it wouldn't start until the Elizabeth line project was completed, due to extreme crowding on the Central line during peak hours.

References

1. (27 April 2010). "The new East London Line opens to the public". [[BBC News]].
2. (20 May 2008). "Calls to rename East End station". [[BBC News]].
3. (15 December 2006). "Bid to name Tube stop Brick Lane". [[BBC News]].
4. Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford
5. "Bishopsgate station". Subterreanea Britannica.
6. (27 April 2010). "New era of rail travel as London Overground's east London route opens to the public". Transport for London.
7. (23 May 2010). "Full service begins on newly extended East London Line". BBC News Online.
8. (15 December 2017). "London Overground goes 24-hour, joining night tube". The Guardian.
9. (3 June 2017). "London Overground to run a 24-hour service just like the Night Tube". [[Metro (British newspaper).
10. (7 August 2024). "Three monkeys is third Banksy artwork in three days".
11. "Archived copy".
12. "Shoreditch High Street Station (Stop E)".
13. "Bethnal Green Rd / Shoreditch High Street Stn (Stop J)".
14. "Shoreditch High Street Station (Stop N)".
15. "Central Line interchange for ELL could come as part of new Shoreditch terminus".
16. "Meeting Reports: The East London Line Extension".