Hackney Central is a

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

station on the North London line in

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north o ...

, Greater London. It lies between and and is in

Travelcard Zone 2 Fare zone 2 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. Ba ...

. The station and all trains serving it are operated by

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

services under the control of the

London Rail London Rail is a directorate of Transport for London (TfL), involved in the relationship with the National Rail network within Greater London, UK which manages TfL's non-London Underground train services. Operations London Rail manages the ...

division of Transport for London. However, there is no standard red National Rail "double arrow" logo signage at the station, instead only the Overground roundel. The station is connected to by a direct passenger walkway linking the two stations (replacing an earlier such link) that was opened in July 2015. This walkway means passengers do not have to exit on to the street in order to continue their onward journey.

History

Early years

Hackney Central Railway Station - geograph

The

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fe ...

opened a station named ''Hackney'' on 26 September 1850, to the east of Mare Street, then in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. It closed on 1 December 1870 and was replaced the same day by a station to the west of Mare Street, designed by Edwin Henry Horne and also named ''Hackney''. This station passed in due course to the London and North Western Railway and later on to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which closed the entire North London line east of

Dalston Junction Dalston Junction (pronounced ) is an inter-modal rail and bus transport interchange in Dalston, London. It is located at the crossroads of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. The station served by London Overground East London li ...

to passenger traffic in 1944. Just to the west of the station a goods yard called Graham Road was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1894. Located just west of the GER Hackney Downs railway viaduct the depot consisted of seven sidings dealing with coal and general goods. The land had originally been purchased for a rail link between the North London and Great Eastern Railways. Graham Road goods yard closed in October 1965. The site was finally used to link the North London and Great Eastern lines when in anticipation of the closure of Broad Street railway station in 1985 the "Graham Road Curve" was opened to traffic.

Reopening

On 12 May 1980, the station was reopened by British Rail, this time named ''Hackney Central'', a little to the west of the 1870 station. The 1870 station building designed by Edwin Henry Horne is no longer in use by the railway, but is one of only two examples of

architecture still ''in situ'', the other being

Camden Road station Camden Road railway station in the London Borough of Camden, north London, is operated by London Overground. It is on the North London line and in Travelcard Zone 2. The first Camden Road station was opened by the North London Railway in 1850 ...

, which is still open. Access to the modern Hackney Central station is from an alleyway adjacent to the 1870 building on Mare Street, as well as a more direct access from Amhurst Road. The former station building is now a bar and music venue.

Line improvement

As part of the programme to introduce four-car trains on the London Overground network, the North London Line between and closed in February 2010 to enable the installation of a new signalling system and the extension of platforms across the network. The line reopened on 1 June 2010, initially with a reduced service and none on Sundays. The full seven-day service resumed on 22 May 2011, with extra services running all day in place of the additional shuttle trains which had previously run between Camden Road and Stratford stations in the morning and evening peaks.

Opening of second entrance

A new entrance from the south in Graham Road with ticket office and footbridge was opened in 2022.

Services

Hackney Central railway station MMB 11 378005

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is: *4 tph westbound to via , and *4 tph westbound to

Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...

*8 tph eastbound to

Future proposals

Crossrail 2

Hackney Central is a proposed stop on

Crossrail 2 Crossrail 2 is a proposed hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the ...

. It would be between

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

and Tottenham Hale or Seven Sisters. The platforms would be underground, with a connection to the existing surface station.

Docklands Light Railway

In February 2006 the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

(DLR) Horizon 2020 report, had suggested that the DLR be extended here from Bow Church via

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

and Homerton, taking over the old parts of the North London line to link up Poplar and

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

. Docklands Light Railway Ltd. - DLR Horizon 2020 Study Business Case Appraisal
/ref> However, most of the former North London line between Hackney Wick and Bow Church has been built on. .

Connections

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London b ...

routes 30, 38, 55, 106,

236 __NOTOC__ Year 236 ( CCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Africanus (or, less frequently, year 989 ''Ab ...

242 Year 242 (Roman numerals, CCXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 995 ...

253 __NOTOC__ Year 253 ( CCLIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Volusianus and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 100 ...

254 Year 254 ( CCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1007 ''Ab urbe ...

, 276, 277, 394 and W15 and night routes N38, N55 and N253 serve the station.

References

External links

Excel file displaying National Rail station usage information for 2005/06
{{Chelsea–Hackney line navbox Proposed Chelsea-Hackney Line stations Railway stations in the London Borough of Hackney Former North London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1870 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1870 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1944 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1980 Railway stations served by London Overground Hackney, London Hackney Central