Contents

Epping tube station

Epping
Station entrance
Epping Location of Epping in Essex
Location	Epping
Local authority	District of Epping Forest
Grid reference	TL462015
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes (Platform 1 is step free exit only but Platform 2 is fully accessible.) [1]
Fare zone	6
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018	3.66 million[2]
2019	4.08 million[3]
2020	1.91 million[4]
2021	1.89 million[5]
2022	3.02 million[6]
Key dates
1865 (1865)	Opened
1949	London Underground services start
18 April 1966	Goods yard closed[7]
1994	Ongar services end
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51°41′38″N 0°06′49″E / 51.6938°N 0.1137°E / 51.6938; 0.1137
London transport portal

Epping is a London Underground station in the market townofEppinginEssex, England. The station serves as the north-eastern terminus of the Central line. Located in Travelcard Zone 6, it is one of eight London Underground stations in the Epping Forest District.^[8] The station before Epping is Theydon Bois, which is about three minutes' travelling time away.

History[edit]

In 1856, the Eastern Counties Railway opened a double-track railway between Stratford and Loughton. In 1865, its successor, the Great Eastern Railway, added a single-track extension from Loughton to Ongar. The popularity of the line led to the doubling of the track between Loughton and Epping in 1892.^[9] The line was well served, with 50 trains operating between Liverpool Street and Loughton each day, a further 22 continuing to Epping and 14 more to Ongar.

Loughton to Epping became part of the London Underground Central line on 25 September 1949, leaving the single track line from Epping to Ongar as the last steam-worked section. British Railways continued running Ongar services until 1957 when the line was electrified and became part of the Central line.^[10] However, services did not run through to the rest of the Central line except for occasional depot workings, so passengers to/from stations beyond Epping normally had to change platforms for the single-track line to Ongar, North WealdorBlake Hall stations.^[11] On 2 November 1981, Blake Hall closed and trains passed through the station. On 30 September 1994 London Underground withdrew the service between Epping and Ongar and subsequently sold off that section of the Central line.

On 11 May 2008 an e-petition calling for the reopening of North Weald and Ongar stations was created on the Downing Street website.^[12][13] It closed on 11 December 2008 with 1012 signatures. Part of the Epping-Ongar line is now a heritage railway, the Epping Ongar Railway. Subject to finance and planning, the heritage railway propose to build a new station close to the tube station called Epping Forest as the heritage line cannot run in to the original station.

Epping Station was to be the terminus of the proposed London Underground Chelsea-Hackney line (Crossrail 2).^[14] However, since 2013, the route options for this proposed line have been amended to terminate at New Southgate instead and no longer include the Epping branch.^[15]

Epping station saw a growth in passenger numbers in the mid 1990s due to the closures of nearby North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar stations. This growth has continued due to significant development in Epping itself and surrounding villages. Another major contributing factor is that many people living in not too distant towns such as Harlow, Bishop's Stortford, and Chelmsford use the station instead of their own National Rail stations, because it is considerably cheaper to travel to London by London Underground than it is to use National Rail services. Growth is now at such a point where the station's car park is full by 6:30 am on weekdays, and parking around the station (as with other stations on this part of the line, e.g. Theydon Bois and Debden) has become a serious problem for local residents, which in turn has caused many residents and local groups to call for the re-opening of North Weald and Ongar stations to help ease demand on Epping station.^[16][17]

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Theydon Bois towards Ealing BroadwayorWest Ruislip		Central line Epping branch		Terminus
Historical railways
Theydon Bois Line and station open		Great Eastern Railway Loughton-Ongar		North Weald Line closed, station open
Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Terminus		Central line Epping-Ongar branch		North Weald towards Ongar
Heritage railways
Terminus		Epping Ongar Railway		North Weald

Trivia[edit]

• The longest possible journey on the London Underground without changing trains is the Central line route between West Ruislip and Epping (34.1 miles / 54.9 km).^[18]
• In 2022, Epping station had an annual usage of 3.02 million and was the 176th busiest station on the London Underground.^[5]
• Epping has the largest public London Underground station car park with 519 spaces.^[19]
• It is the only London Underground station located outside the M25 motorway that is not served by the Metropolitan line.

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epping tube station.

• London's Abandoned Tube Stations – Epping to Ongar branch
• Epping station in 1952
• Epping station in 1953