Fenchurch Street railway station

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox London station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a key thoroughfare in the City. The station and all trains are operated by c2c. Services run on lines built by the London and Blackwall Railway (L&BR) and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) are to destinations in east London and south Essex, including Template:Stn, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Southend and Template:Rws.

The station opened in 1841 to serve the L&BR and was rebuilt in 1854 when the LTSR, a joint venture between the L&BR and the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR), began operating. The ECR also operated trains out of Fenchurch Street to relieve congestion at its other London terminus at Template:Rws. In 1862 the Great Eastern Railway was created by amalgamating various East Anglian railway companies (including the ECR) and it shared the station with the LTSR until 1912, when the latter was bought by the Midland Railway. The station came under ownership of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) following the Railways Act 1921, and was shared by LNER and London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) services until nationalisation in 1948. The line from the station was electrified in 1961, and closed for seven weeks in 1994.

Fenchurch Street is one of the smallest railway terminals in London in terms of platforms, but one of the most intensively operated. It is the only London terminal with no direct interchange with the London Underground. Plans to connect it stalled in the early 1980s because of the lack of progress on the Jubilee line, but it is within Template:Convert of both the Template:Lus station on the London Underground and the Template:Stl station on the Docklands Light Railway.

Location

The station has an entrance on Cooper's Row, close to Tower Hill on the London Underground network.

The station frontage is on Fenchurch Place, adjacent to Fenchurch Street in the City of London. The station has two entrances: one on Fenchurch Place and another on Cooper's Row, near Tower Hill. It has four platforms arranged on two islands elevated on a viaduct.<ref name=gmap>Template:Cite web</ref> The station has been Grade II listed since 1972<ref name=eh/>Template:Sfn and the conference venue One America Square is built adjacent to it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following rail privatisation in 1994, the station was run by Network Rail.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 1996, the station has been served by c2c.

Fenchurch Street is in the central London fare zone 1 like other terminal stations in the city,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but it does not have a direct link to the London Underground. The nearest stations on the London Underground network are Tower Hill about Template:Convert to the southeast<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn and Aldgate around Template:Convert to the northeast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

London and Blackwall Railway

The area around Fenchurch Street is one of the oldest inhabited parts of London; the name "Fenchurch" derives from the Latin faenum (hay) and refers to hay markets in the area.Template:Sfn The station was the first to be granted permission by the Corporation of London to be constructed inside the City of London, following several refusals against other railway companies.Template:Sfn

The original building, designed by William Tite opened on 20 July 1841, serving the London and Blackwall Railway (L&BR), replacing a nearby terminus at Minories that had opened in July 1840.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It had two platforms connected via a stairway to the booking hall.Template:Sfn Steam locomotives did not use the station until 1849 because before this time trains were dragged uphill from Template:Rws to Minories, and ran to Fenchurch Street via their own momentum. The reverse journey eastwards required a manual push from railway staff.Template:Sfn William Marshall's railway bookstall established at the station in 1841 was the first to be opened in the City of London.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Eastern Counties Railway and London, Tilbury and Southend Railway

The station in the early 1980s; this building was constructed in 1854 by George Berkley. The zig-zag canopy is an addition from the 1870s.

Following the opening of the London and Blackwall Extension Railway on 2 April 1849, services operated from Fenchurch Street to Bow & Bromley. Some were extended to Template:Rws where an interchange existed with the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) from Template:Rws.Template:Sfn

On 26 September 1850, the East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway (renamed the North London Railway (NLR) on 1 January 1853)Template:Sfn started operating a service from Template:Rws into Fenchurch Street and the L&BR withdrew its service, closing the line between Gas Factory Junction and Bow & Bromley.Template:Sfn The station had two heavily used platforms and a double track line from Stepney onwards.Template:Sfn Following a reduced income at Blackwall (the South Eastern Railway had opened a direct line from Template:Rws to London), LBR shareholders voted to align with the ECR and jointly construct the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) from Tilbury to Forest Gate Junction. Services would split at Template:Stn, one service to Bishopsgate and the other to Fenchurch Street along the reopened line via Bow & Bromley (although the station did not reopen). To accommodate this service a third line was built between Stepney and Fenchurch Street which was enlarged at this time. The new service commenced on 13 April 1854 using ECR locomotives and stock.Template:Sfn

To accommodate the changes, the station was enlarged to designs by George Berkley incorporating a Template:Convert by Template:Convert trussed-arch vaulted roof.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Two platforms were added at the same timeTemplate:Sfn as was a circulating area for L&BR and LTSR traffic.Template:Sfn The NLR, wanting its own London terminus instead of co-sharing Fenchurch Street, extended its railway towards the new Broad Street station in 1865.Template:Sfn

The railway through Stratford was unable to cope with the extra services, so the LTSR planned to build a more direct line from Template:Stn to Gas Factory Junction. The third track from Stepney to Fenchurch Street opened in 1856, followed by the direct line from Barking in 1858.<ref name=hce/> LTSR services were diverted from Stratford and a spur was opened at Abbey Mills Junction (east of Bromley) which allowed services to and from Template:Rws to operate directly from Fenchurch Street instead of via Stratford.Template:Sfn On 22 August 1856, the line to Loughton was opened, and Fenchurch Street became the usual terminus for its trains, being much more convenient for City commuters than Bishopsgate.

Great Eastern Railway

Railway Clearing House diagram of the Fenchurch Street area, 1906.

By the 1860s, railways in East Anglia were in financial difficulties, and most lines were leased to the ECR. Although the companies wished to amalgamate they could not obtain government consent until 1862, when the Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed.Template:Sfn In common with most railways, signalling was fairly basic and trains were separated by time interval. As traffic levels increased there was a need to improve signalling and, in 1869, the GER introduced absolute block working between Fenchurch Street, Gas Factory Junction and Bow Junction, opening signal boxes at all locations.Template:Sfn In the 1870s the flat awning over the station main's entrance was replaced with the current zig-zag canopy.Template:Sfn

The station's track layout was rearranged in 1883 with platform extensions, a fifth platform for use by the Blackwall services and a new gantry signal box (which lasted until the 1935 re-modelling).Template:Sfn The GER used the station as an alternative to Liverpool Street station during the late-19th and early-20th centuries for former ECR routes.<ref name=hce>Template:Cite book</ref> The GER took over operation of the NLR shuttle from Bow in 1869, which it operated until April 1892 when the second Bow Road railway station opened along with a passenger foot connection to the NLR station. Subsequent services into Fenchurch Street were operated by the GER and the LTSR, and three years later the viaduct from Stepney to Fenchurch Street was widened to accommodate a fourth track.Template:Sfn

Despite this, overcrowding of LTSR services was still occurring and this persisted until 1902 when the opening of the Whitechapel and Bow Railway offered an alternative route.Template:Sfn

In 1903, the GER built the Fairlop Loop, a short connecting line between Template:Rws and Woodford from where services ran to Liverpool Street and around 36 trains a day ran to Fenchurch Street.<ref name=hce/> In 1912, the Midland Railway (MR) bought and took over operation of the LTSR services.Template:Sfn

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

After the Railways Act 1921 the country's railways were grouped into four companies, with effect from 1 January 1923. At Fenchurch Street, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR) took over operations of the MR, whilst GER services were taken over by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). Direct trains to Template:Rws were usually routed via Bromley at off-peak hours and a peak shuttle service operated from Custom House to Gallions. Passengers for the Template:Rws branch changed at Template:Rws. The Blackwall and North Greenwich passenger services were scheduled for closure on 30 June 1926 but the general strike brought that forward to 3 May.Template:Sfn

The station was rebuilt in 1935 to address overcrowding and provide better accommodation for Southend line services.Template:Sfn When the former ECR lines transferred to the Underground's Central line in 1948, the station was served solely by the former LTSR services.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Nationalisation and beyond

Fenchurch Street station in 1961, immediately before electrification

Following nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948, the station transferred under British Railways to the Eastern Region although the old LTSR network west of Gasworks Junction was controlled by the London Midland Region. On 20 February 1949, the whole LTS line was transferred to the Eastern Region, yet despite the organisational changes, the old LTSR still was a distinctive system operated by former LTS and LMS locomotives until electrification.Template:Sfn

British Railways electrified the former LTSR line in 1959.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Electric services began on 6 November 1961 and a full electric timetable was introduced on 18 June the following year.Template:Sfn In the 1980s, the station roof was dismantled and high-rise office blocks were built above the station leaving the 1854 facade intact.Template:Sfn

C2C Class 357 at Fenchurch Street

Fenchurch Street station suffered a negative reputation under public ownership. By the end of the 1980s, the former LTSR line was carrying over 50,000 passengers a day on a 50-year old infrastructure. The persistent overcrowding and uncleanliness on trains led to it being dubbed "the misery line". In 1989 Sir Robert Reid called the service from Fenchurch Street "wholly unacceptable",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while Teresa Gorman, Member of Parliament for Billericay, subsequently called it "one of the disgraces of our public railway service for many years".<ref name=gorman/> Between 1982 and 1992, the station was operated by Network SouthEast, one of British Rail's three passenger business sectors, before being handed over to a business unit in preparation for privatisation.<ref name="Thomas">Template:Cite Q</ref>

In July 1994, shortly before rail privatisation, the station closed for seven weeks for an £83 million project to replace signals, track and electrification works. It was the first significant closure of a London terminal station,<ref name=gorman>Template:Cite web</ref> albeit planned and temporary.

The development of Lakeside Shopping Centre, near Chafford Hundred and Thurrock, increased demand for services from the station.<ref name=routef/> In 2013, Network Rail announced a £3.4m upgrade creating a third exit on Cooper's Row to make connections with Tower Hill easier.<ref name=nrmc>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, a planning application <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was submitted to the City of London (planning authority) for permission to revamp the station building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Underground

Space for a planned Underground station was allocated beneath an office block adjacent to Fenchurch Street Station

In the 1970s, it was planned to include Fenchurch Street as a station on the planned London Underground Fleet line. Space was allocated for a new Fenchurch Street Tube station in the basement of New London House, an office block that was constructed next to the main railway station in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Construction of the line by Mott, Hay and Anderson and Sir William Halcrow and Partners was completed as far as Charing Cross in 1979, and the line came into operation as the Jubilee line. It was planned to extend the line eastwards from the end of the track terminus at Charing Cross to Fenchurch Street via Aldwych and Ludgate Circus. From Fenchurch Street, the line would have crossed the River Thames and continued southeastwards towards Surrey Docks and Template:Rws.Template:Sfn A revised scheme approved in 1980 envisaged a more northerly route to Woolwich Arsenal and Beckton.Template:Sfn By 1981, rising costs and high inflation led to London Transport abandoning the eastwards extension.Template:Sfn

The Jubilee line extension that was eventually completed completed in 1999 followed a different route south of the river, bypassing both Charing Cross and Fenchurch Street and instead heading east via Waterloo and the Greenwich Peninsula to Template:Rws. The extended Jubilee line crosses the LTS line from Fenchurch Street at Template:Rws, and this interchange has altered demand for Fenchurch Street, with many passengers from Essex changing there instead.Template:Sfn<ref name=routef>Template:Cite web</ref>

Services

View of the platforms

Services from Fenchurch Street run towards East London and south Essex, including Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws (for Lakeside Shopping Centre), Template:Rws (for the Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry and cruise services) Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws. As of the June 2024 timetable the typical Monday to Friday off-peak service is:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Abbr	Destination	Route	Stopping pattern
2	Shoeburyness	via Basildon	semi-fast
2	Shoeburyness	via Basildon	all stations
2	Southend Central	via Ockendon and Tilbury Town	all stations
2	Grays	via Rainham	all stations

During peak periods services are increased up to 20 trains per hour. Most peak services have 12 cars.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

Although the station's capacity is small compared to other London terminals, it has a high footfall, averaging around 16 million passengers annually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A report in 2001 showed approximately 3,000 people commuted daily from Castle Point to the city via Fenchurch Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while a 2013 report said it was the busiest station on the LTSR route, with 46,000 daily peak-time passengers.<ref name=nrmc/>

Future

There have been proposals to move the station 380 yards to the east to allow the station to expand to 6 platforms, (up from the current 4) and would be built partly on the site of Tower Gateway DLR station, which would likely be permanently closed.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The new station could be built with direct interchange with Tower Hill tube station,<ref name=":0" /> which could also have a replacement DLR station for Tower Gateway as Transport for London have looked into closing Tower Gateway and constructing a replacement on the Bank branch to increase capacity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Incidents

• On 1 August 1859, two trains collided head-on at low speed when an arriving North Woolwich service passed a signal at danger and struck a stationary Tilbury Riverside service. No-one was injured.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 28 November 1860, a track defect caused the first four carriages of a departing train to Benfleet to derail at low speed. No-one was injured.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 24 June 1872, a service arriving from Template:Rws collided with the buffer stops at the platform end, resulting in injury to three passengers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 17 August 1872, two people were injured when their train collided with an empty train being shunted out of a siding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 4 May 1893 a bricklayer, described at the time as "deaf and dumb", who was working on lineside alterations on the Blackwall line, near the station, was stuck by a train as he crossed the line, after not hearing shouted warnings. He later died from his injuries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 2 September 1903, 11 passengers and a crew member were injured when a train hit the buffers as it arrived from Template:Rws.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 9 March 1908, a point cleaner working near the station was injured. A Board of Trade enquiry criticised the lack of look-outs for railway workers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 3 February 1912, approximately 86 people were injured when a train hit the buffer stops as it arrived from Template:Rws. An estimated 860 passengers were aboard at the time. Driver error and excessive speed were blamed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 26 January 1927, 10 people were injured on a train to Westcliff in a head-on collision and subsequent derailment caused by defects in the signal detection and signals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Goods depots

An abandoned hydraulic accumulator tower to the east of Fenchurch Street station, now demolished

A number of goods depots were established near Fenchurch Street owing to the station's proximity to the City of London. This table lists the depots connected to the line between the station and Christian Street Junction just east of Template:Rws:Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Name	Company	Opening	Closed	Notes
Cable Street	Great Eastern Railway	1870s<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	??	Coal depot – leased by Charringtons
City Goods	Midland Railway	Template:Nowrap	1 July 1949	Closed after nationalisation (duplication of facilities). An hydraulic accumulator tower lasted until 2015 when it was demolished
Commercial Road	LTSR	17 April 1886	3 July 1967
East Smithfield	Great Eastern Railway	17 June 1864	Template:Nowrap	Short quarter-mile branch that led to the Thames riverside. Marked as London Docks on Railway Clearing House diagram above.
Goodmans Yard	L&BR	Template:Nowrap	1 April 1951	Built later for ECR and LTSR traffic. Badly damaged during London Blitz.
Haydon Square	London North Western Railway	12 March 1853	2 July 1962	A short fragment of the viaduct serving the depot can be seen today (2015).
Mint Street	L&BR then leased to the Great Northern Railway from 1861	1 August 1858	1 April 1951	Contained part of the original Minories station building. Known as Royal Mint Street c1870. Badly damaged by bombs on 29 December 1940. – closed after nationalisation (duplication of facilities)

Cultural references

The poet John Betjeman passed through the station on day-trips to Southend, and described it as a "delightful hidden old terminus".Template:Sfn

The first documented murder on the British rail network occurred on 9 July 1864, when Franz Muller murdered Thomas Briggs shortly after a train left the station en route to Template:Rws.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Fenchurch Street is one of four railway stations on the standard UK Monopoly board, alongside Liverpool Street, Marylebone and King's Cross. All are former LNER terminal stations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The 2005 football hooliganism film Green Street used the station to represent Manchester Piccadilly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the Douglas Adams novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Fenchurch was so-named because she was conceived at the station.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

References

Sources

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External links

• Fenchurch Street Station – Transport for London journey planner