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Woolwich railway station

Coordinates: 51°29′30″N 0°04′19″E / 51.491578°N 0.071819°E / 51.491578; 0.071819
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Elizabeth line station. For the National Rail and DLR station, see Woolwich Arsenal station.
For other uses, see Woolwich station.

Woolwich Elizabeth line
Station entrance seen in May 2022
Woolwich is located in Greater London
Woolwich
Woolwich
Location of Woolwich in Greater London
LocationWoolwich
Local authorityRoyal Borough of Greenwich
Managed byElizabeth line
OwnerTransport for London
Station code(s)WWC
Number of platforms2
Fare zone4
OSIWoolwich Arsenal National Rail Docklands Light Railway[1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2021–22N/A[2]
2022–23  8.340 million[2]
Key dates
24 May 2022Opening
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°29′30″N 0°04′19″E / 51.491578°N 0.071819°E / 51.491578; 0.071819
London transport portal

Woolwich railway station is an Elizabeth line station in Woolwich in London, England which opened on 24 May 2022,[3][4] and has up to 12 trains per hour to Canary Wharf and Central London.[3]

This station received almost 9 million passengers in the first year of its opening.[5]

History

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Woolwich railway station (not to be confused with the similarly named Woolwich Arsenal station) was built as part of the Crossrail rail project to provide infrastructure for the Elizabeth line. Crossrail was jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL).[6] The construction of a station at Woolwich was not proposed as part of the original Crossrail route. However, after talks between Greenwich London Borough Council and developer Berkeley Homes about the £162 million required for the station, the House of Commons Select Committee recognised its inclusion in March 2007.[6]

Construction

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In May 2021, Crossrail said that Woolwich station had recently entered the T-12 process, meaning that the station was considered to be 12 weeks away from handover to TfL. Reaching this milestone meant that work was now focused on testing and commissioning systems, and the contractor began demobilising staff across the site.[7] The station was officially handed over to TfL on 25 June 2021,[8] and opened along with the rest of the Elizabeth line from Paddington to Abbey Wood on 24 May 2022.[9]

Site

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The ticket hall and gateline

The station was built on the southeast portion of the Crossrail line that ends at Abbey Wood, and is the penultimate station on this branch. The Woolwich redevelopment site at Royal Arsenal is a modern waterside housing and retail development area adjacent to the station. It is spread across approximately 30 hectares (75 acres) of land and is being developed by Berkeley Homes.[6]

The site was developed with the construction of approximately 2,517 new homes, in addition to the 1,248 homes already built.[10] The area is also to include a new cultural quarter known as Woolwich Works,[11] as well as infrastructural developments such as retail stores, restaurants and cafes, offices, hotels and a cinema.[10]

Design

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Woolwich station platform

The station box is 276 m (906 ft) long and 14 m (46 ft) below ground, and sits below a major housing development site. The station was built by Balfour Beatty after a design by Weston Williamson, Mott MacDonald and Arup Group (engineering). The station entrance in Dial Arch Square features a 30-metre wide (98 ft) bronze-clad portal.[10][12] Natural light will enter through the main entrance and ceiling into the ticket hall, whilst a connection to daylight is present below ground on the platforms.[10]

Set back from the main street and surrounded by a series of heritage listed buildings and a large retail unit, the station acts as a simple portal connecting all these elements together.[10] The station entrance opens out on to Dial Arch Square, a green space, flanked by a series of Grade I and II listed buildings. In addition to enhancing the experience in and out of the station, the urban realm design also helps connect the station with the wider town centre.[10] In addition to the station improvements, Crossrail has been working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich on proposals for improvements to the area around the station.[10]

The station was awarded a Civic Trust Award in 2023.[13]

Services

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Woolwich station TfL roundel

All services at Woolwich are operated by the Elizabeth line using Class 345 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[14]

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 12 tph in each direction.

Preceding station   Elizabeth line   Following station
Custom House
  Elizabeth line   Abbey Wood
Terminus

Connections

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The closest existing station is Woolwich Arsenal which has National Rail and Docklands Light Railway services. The stations are separate but within a short walking distance of each other, and have an out-of-station interchange.[1] There are also Thames Clippers river bus services from Woolwich (Royal Arsenal) Pier to central London.[15] London Buses routes 53, 54, 96, 99, 122, 161, 177, 180, 244, 291, 301, 380, 422, 469, 472 and night routes N1 and N53 serve the station.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Out-of-Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. ^ a b "Woolwich Station". Crossrail. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Crossrail Project Update". Crossrail. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ "TfL FOI".
  6. ^ a b c "Crossrail Woolwich Station". railway-technology.com. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Elizabeth Line Committee" (PDF). Transport for London. 20 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Woolwich Elizabeth line station transfers from Crossrail to Transport for London". Crossrail. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Woolwich is transformed by the Elizabeth Line". News Shopper. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Woolwich station". crossrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Woolwich Works - Official Site". Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Crossrail Media Briefing Note - May 2016" (PDF). Crossrail. May 2016. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  13. ^ "2023 Civic Trust Award Winners" (PDF). Civic Trust Awards. p. 4. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Elizabeth Line Timetable: May 2023" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Buses from Woolwich" (PDF). TfL. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
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