Woolwich Arsenal station

Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the semi-slow, commuter service, corollary of the North Kent Line and also in its Dartford Loop services section between London and Dartford, run by Southeastern. Regular services beyond Dartford are to the Medway Towns, which start/finish in the opposite direction at Luton via the City of London, West Hampstead and St Albans. Its other part is the terminus of its own branch of the DLR, run by Transport for London.

This article is about the National Rail and DLR station. For the Elizabeth line station, see Woolwich railway station.

Woolwich Arsenal National Rail Docklands Light Railway
Woolwich Arsenal is located in Greater London
Woolwich Arsenal
Woolwich Arsenal
Location of Woolwich Arsenal in Greater London
LocationWoolwich
Local authorityRoyal Borough of Greenwich
Managed bySoutheastern
Station codeWWA
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms4 (2 underground platforms served by DLR)
AccessibleYes[1][2]
Fare zone4
OSIWoolwich Elizabeth Line[3]
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2018Decrease 14.588 million[4]
2019Increase 14.590 million[5]
2020Decrease 8.083 million[6]
2021Increase 8.492 million[7]
2022Decrease 7.730 million[8]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2017–18Increase 3.849 million[9]
2018–19Increase 4.371 million[9]
2019–20Increase 4.387 million[9]
2020–21Decrease 1.530 million[9]
2021–22Increase 2.805 million[9]
Key dates
1 November 1849Opened
12 January 2009DLR opened
Other information
External links
WGS8451.490°N 0.069°E / 51.490; 0.069
 London transport portal

The older part of the station, built in a modernist style, is located on a corner of General Gordon Square, a green town square. The newer part has entrances to Woolwich's subterranean end of the DLR, and faces the top of Powis Street, a long, semi-pedestrianised retail avenue. It is named after the area's Woolwich or Royal Arsenal, to distinguish the Arsenal site from the former Royal Dockyard, which before the 19th century was complemented with wharves and yards for large naval ships.[10] In zoning it is the furthest DLR station – in Travelcard Zone 4.

On the national network, it is 9 miles 32 chains (15.1 km) down from London Charing Cross.

History

The station opened in 1849, serving the North Kent Line from London to Gillingham. The station building was rebuilt in 1906 in a London brick form typical of southeast London. It was again rebuilt in 1992–93 to a modern design in steel and glass by the Architecture and Design Group of British Rail, under the leadership of Nick Derbyshire. It has a, clean, naturally-lit ellipsoid theme, contrasting with the earlier forms.

In 1973 a government report on the redevelopment of London's Docklands projected a greater form of the never-built "Fleet line" from Charing Cross via Fenchurch Street to Woolwich Arsenal and on towards Thamesmead, with a preceding stop at Silvertown. The Fleet line plans were shelved in favour of a route that became the western part of the Jubilee line. Council (local government)-approved however in 1980, finances meant that the Fleet line was never built.[11] By the start of the 1990s plans emerged in both levels of government and business forums for the Jubilee Line Extension to serve the south bank of the Thames twice on its way to Stratford. In the Royal Borough of Greenwich the line takes in a small area, North Greenwich (a peninsula).

Woolwich Arsenal was expanded in 2009, when Transport for London completed the construction of an extension of what was then termed the London City Airport branch of the Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal. The official opening took place on 12 January that year.

In 2014, a petition was started and presented to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station from Zone 4 to Zone 3. However he ruled this out, stating it would cause losses of over a million pounds a year.[12]

Accidents and incidents
  • On 18 November 1948, a train – an electric multiple unit – crashed into the rear of another train, killing two people. It had departed from Woolwich Dockyard against signals.[13]

Design
DLR train awaiting departure to Bank

The National Rail part of the station consists of two above-ground platforms. The up platform for London has a refreshment facility. The down platform serves trains going east, towards north Kent, via Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Slade Green.

The Docklands Light Railway part of the station is underground, and consists of two platforms in an island platform configuration. As Woolwich Arsenal is a terminus, both platforms serve an up line to Bank or Stratford International via London City Airport and Canning Town. Trains depart in the eastbound direction due to the curve under the River Thames.

Connections

A large number of London Buses routes serve the station.[14]

Crossrail station at the former Royal Arsenal base
Main article: Woolwich railway station

In May 2022 an Elizabeth line station opened in north-east Woolwich, after a campaign to complement housing developments built on former public-sector land. Among the successful lobbyists for this extra station were those who developed the land, including Berkeley Homes. The station is about 200 metres (660 ft) north of Woolwich Arsenal station, on the north side of the A206 road.

Services

National Rail

National Rail services at Woolwich Arsenal are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 376, 465, 466, 700 and 707 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[15]

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly circular service to and from London Cannon Street via Sidcup and Lewisham in the clockwise direction and via Greenwich in the anticlockwise direction.

DLR

The typical off-peak DLR service in trains per hour from Woolwich Arsenal is:[16]

Additional services during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 16 tph to and from the station, with up to 8 tph to Bank and Stratford International.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Thameslink
Southeastern
DLR
King George V
  Docklands Light Railway   Terminus
  Abandoned Plans  
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
Silvertown
towards Stanmore
   Jubilee line
Phase 3 (1980)
Never constructed
   Terminus

References
  1. Tube Map
  2. "Southeastern: Access Guide". Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  3. "Out-of-Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  6. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  9. "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  10. Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Woolwich', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 1 (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 441-454. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol1/pp441-454 [Retrieved 2 September 2018].
  11. Horne, Mike (2000). The Jubilee Line. Capital Transport. pp. 50–52. ISBN 1-85414-220-8.
  12. "Boris Johnson rejects popular petition to rezone Woolwich Arsenal station". News Shopper. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  13. Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 108. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
  14. "Buses from Woolwich" (PDF). TfL. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. Table 200, 201 National Rail timetable, December 2022
  16. "DLR train timetables". Transport for London. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
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