Upminster station

Upminster
The side entrance to Upminster station (outdated signage)
Upminster Location of Upminster in Greater London
Location	Upminster
Local authority	London Borough of Havering
Managed by	c2c
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	UPM
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	7
Accessible	Yes (except platform 6)
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	5.842 million
– interchange	1.046 million
2020–21	1.786 million
– interchange	0.343 million
2021–22	3.711 million
– interchange	0.690 million
2022–23	4.406 million
– interchange	0.765 million
2023–24	4.613 million
– interchange	0.952 million
Railway companies
Original company	London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 May 1885	Opened
1902	District line started
1905	District line paused
1932	District line resumed
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.559°N 0.2511°E / 51.559; 0.2511
London transport portal

Upminster is an interchange station serving the town of Upminster in the London Borough of Havering, Greater London. It is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line (LTSR), 15 miles 20 chains (24.5 km) down the line from London Fenchurch Street; it is the eastern terminus of the District line on the London Underground; and it is the eastern terminus of the Liberty line on the London Overground network. Upminster is the easternmost station on the London Underground network as well as the easternmost National Rail station in London.

The station is managed by c2c, which operates the LTSR main line services. The station was opened in 1885 by the LTSR; its original entrance and structure beside the main line platforms survive from that date. A larger entrance and ticket hall on Station Road was built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1932 and has since been extensively modernised and includes a number of retail units. Today the station is owned by Network Rail. Upminster is located within Travelcard Zone 6.

History

The London Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) connected the City of London and its terminal station at Fenchurch Street with the port at Tilbury Dock in 1854, extending out to the seaside town of Southend in 1856. The route to Southend was not direct, taking a considerable diversion in order to serve the docks at Tilbury. Between 1885 and 1888 a new direct route from Barking to Pitsea was constructed, with the station at Upminster opening on 1 May 1885. The next station to the east was East Horndon (now called West Horndon) and to the west was Hornchurch.

Branches were opened by the LTSR to Grays in 1892 and Romford in 1893. The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened in 1902 and allowed through-services of the Metropolitan District Railway to operate on the LTSR line to Upminster. The District Railway converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were lost at Upminster when they were curtailed at East Ham due to the tracks between that station and Upminster not yet having been electrified. The LTSR was purchased by Midland Railway in 1912 and was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR) from 1 January 1923.

The District Railway electric service extended eastward as far as Barking in 1908. Delayed by World War I, an additional pair of electrified tracks were extended by the LMSR and services of the District continued to Upminster in 1932. The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line. A new station at Upminster Bridge on the District line became the next station to the west in 1934. After nationalisation of the railways in 1948, management of Upminster station passed to British Railways.

The London Overground service at the station was rebranded as the Liberty line from November 2024.

Design

London Underground signal box at Upminster.

The station was greatly expanded in 1932 by the LMSR and the main station building, the two footbridges and the buildings on the remaining platforms were constructed in typical 1930s style. A further platform for services to Romford was a later addition. The primary station building, which gives access to the main Station Road, has been extensively redeveloped in contemporary style and includes three retail units. The original Victorian station structures remaining beside the main-line platform 1 have been refurbished and now include a secondary ticket office and waiting room with an exit to Station Approach and the car-park. The original platforms were linked by a subway which has since been abandoned. Step-free access is available to all platforms with the exception of platform 6, for the Romford branch line.

Floodlight tower at the Upminster depot which illuminates the whole site and can be seen miles beyond.

The station is the location of a London Underground signal box at the eastern end of the platforms and, several hundred yards further east, the modern signal control centre for all main-line operations on the LTSR. Further beyond the station to the east is Upminster Depot, one of the main railway depots for the District line.

Platforms

London Overground
Cheshunt Theobalds Grove Enfield Town Turkey Street Romford Bush Hill Park Southbury Emerson Park Upminster Edmonton Green Silver Street Chingford White Hart Lane Highams Park Watford Junction Bruce Grove Wood Street Watford Seven Sisters Walthamstow Central High Street Harringay Blackhorse Road Walthamstow Queen's Road Bushey Green Lanes Carpenders Park Crouch Hill South Tottenham St. James Leyton Midland Road Hatch End Upper () Stamford Hill Street Leytonstone Headstone Lane Holloway Stoke Newington Clapton High Road Harrow & Kentish Town West Rectory Road Wanstead Park () Wealdstone Gospel Oak Camden Road () Hackney Woodgrange Park () Kenton () Caledonian Road Canonbury Downs Barking South Kenton & Barnsbury Barking Riverside () North Highbury & Islington Dalston Kingsland Hackney Central Wembley Hampstead Heath Dalston Wembley Finchley Road & Frognal () Junction London Fields Central West Hampstead ( ) Haggerston Cambridge Homerton Stonebridge Brondesbury Hoxton Heath Hackney Wick Park Brondesbury Park Shoreditch High Street Bethnal Green Stratford Harlesden Kensal Rise Kensal Green Liverpool Whitechapel Willesden Queen's Park Street Shadwell () Junction Kilburn High Road Wapping South Hampstead Rotherhithe Shepherd's Bush () Euston () Canada Water Kensington (Olympia) Surrey Quays West Brompton Battersea Park Imperial Wharf () (limited service) New Cross Clapham Queens Road Peckham New Cross Gate Junction Peckham Rye Brockley Acton Central Wandsworth Road Denmark Hill Honor Oak Park South Acton () Clapham Forest Hill Gunnersbury High Street Sydenham Kew Gardens Richmond Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon ()
Legend
Station National Rail Liberty line Accessible station Thameslink Lioness line Interchange station Elizabeth line Mildmay line Accessible interchange Docklands Light Railway Suffragette line Internal interchange London Underground Weaver line Out-of-station interchange London Trams Windrush line (   ) Nearby interchange London River Services The new London Overground line names and colours were introduced across the London rail network in November 2024

Class 357 Electrostar at Upminster

A London Overground train awaiting departure for Romford from Platform 6

• Platform 1A, a bay platform, is only used during engineering works when c2c to operate a shuttle between Upminster & Grays. It is only accessible by trains arriving from the branch and leaving to the branch.
• Platform 1 for services to Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street.
• Platform 2 for Grays, Southend and Shoeburyness.
• Platforms 3, 4 and 5 are served by the District line.
• Platform 6 is used for shuttle service to/from Romford, operated by London Overground.

Services

The typical off-peak Monday to Friday service of trains per hour (tph) is:

• London Underground, District line
  • 6 tph westbound to Richmond
  • 6 tph westbound to Ealing Broadway
• c2c, London, Tilbury and Southend line
  • 6 tph westbound to London Fenchurch Street
  • 4 tph eastbound to Shoeburyness via Basildon (2 tph all stations and 2 tph semi-fast)
  • 2 tph eastbound to Southend Central via Ockendon
• London Overground, Liberty line
  • 2 tph westbound to Romford

Connections

London Buses routes 248, 346, 347, 370 and school routes 646 and 652 serve the station.

External links

• Media related to Upminster station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Upminster station from National Rail
• Upminster station images in the collection of London Transport Museum
• c2c information for Upminster station

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Upminster Bridge towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		Terminus
Preceding station	London Overground			Following station
Emerson Park towards Romford		Liberty line Romford–Upminster line		Terminus
Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Barking		c2c London, Tilbury and Southend line		West Horndon
				Ockendon