Just to let you know, I'm no longer updating this page. This entry is a work in progress, and this tag will be removed if work resumes.

This Entry is part of the epic Stations of the London Underground project.

(History to be added at a later date)

The Central line runs for over 40 miles¹ from Epping through central London to West Ruislip. The line also has a short branch terminating at Ealing Broadway, and a loop which branches off towards the north from Wanstead² and back up to Woodford. Until 1994 a shuttle service ran between Epping and Ongar - see Abandoned Lines and Stations for more information. A track layout diagram can be found here.

Epping

Theydon Bois

Debden

Loughton

Buckhurst Hill

The original station to the south was replaced by the current station in 1892.

Woodford

This station lies on both the main section of the line and at the end of the loop back. Trains no longer run continuously from the loop back onto the main line, and so passengers from the loop must change at this station. For details of the stations on the loop, see the later part of this entry. The exits to the east and west sides of the station lead to areas otherwise separated by 20 minutes of walking, and so it helps to choose the correct way out. The two platforms are connected via a bridge inside the station and a subway just outside. In the evenings the exit of the westbound platform is locked, meaning that passengers must walk over the bridge to the eastbound platform, exit and then pass underneath the platforms and back out to the westbound exit of the station. Both exits feature an array of shops, though the westbound side has fewer and is surrounded by a large residential area. Meanwhile, the eastbound side has an abundance of shops, a mini-cab service, car park with a much smaller amount of houses and a few flats.

South Woodford

Snaresbrook

Leytonstone

This station lies just after the loop joins back onto the main part of the Central line. For details of the stations on the loop, see the bottom of this section.

Leyton

Stratford

See the Jubilee Line section of this guide.

Mile End

See the District Line: East of South Kensignton section of this guide.

Bethnal Green

This station also serves the District and Hammersmith & City lines. During World War Two, this station was the site of the Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster.

Stations on the loop

The loop splits from the line north of Leytonstone, and then runs in a square shape roughly similar to that depicted on the London Underground map, ending at separate terminus platforms at Woodford. Starting from the southern end of the loop at Leytonstone, the stations on it are:

Wanstead

Redbridge

Gants Hill

Newbury Park

This station opened in 1903 on the Great Eastern Railway, orginally on a line from Woodfood to Ilford. It became a Central line station when the tunnel from Leytonstone was finished after the war, and the first underground train called in December 1947, with the tracks to Ilford being torn up in 1956. It is the only underground station with a synagogue, but its most memorable feature is the copper roofed arched bus shelter designed by Oliver Hill, and opened on 6 July 1949. It is an open air station and occational terminus of east bound trains. Most of the trains to Hainault are announced going via Newbury Park

Barkingside

Fairlop

Hainalt

Some trains running on the loop terminate here and then head southwards again.

Grange Hill

Chigwell

Roding Valley