Hackney Downs

 

A shorter route to Edmonton was provided by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in 1872, from Bethnal Green via Hackney Downs and Stoke Newington, which opened on 27 May; the section via Seven Sisters and Lower Edmonton, at a new high-level station provided adjacent to the old low-level station, opened on 22 July. It was originally named Downs Junction station. The Downs open space was originally common land, preserved from the 1860s as parkland as a result of pressure by the Commons Preservation Society. At 16 hectares (40 acres), the park is one of the larger open spaces wholly within the London Borough of Hackney. It has a play area, basketball courts, football pitches and a bowling green. Occupying, as it does, a fairly central place in Hackney, the park used to be the yearly venue for the popular Hackney Show, but this event — which helped to give a sense of community and identity to an often-troubled borough — has been discontinued in recent times as a cost-cutting measure, as have the regular Fireworks Night shows. The ticket hall was rebuilt in the early 1980s along with changes to the roofs on the platforms. The island platforms wooden roof was replaced with steel sheeting on the existing frames whilst the side platforms were left unaltered other than the removal of their 'dog-tooth' fascia boards. The signal box, installed in 1960 when the line was electrified, closed in the early 2000s when signalling on the line was centralised.

 

Ticket barriers were installed in 2011. The current pedestrian link between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central was opened in July 2015. Until Hackney Central's closure in 1944, a passenger connection had linked the two stations. However, when Hackney Central reopened in 1985, the footway did not reopen, and passengers transferring between the two stations were obliged to leave the station and transfer at street level until the link was reinstated in 2015. The Liverpool Street-Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford services were previously operated by Abellio Greater Anglia as part of the Greater Anglia franchise. On 31 May 2015 they transferred to London Overground concession holder London Overground Rail Operations. Some Abellio Greater Anglia West Anglia Main Line services still however continue to call at Hackney Downs. The typical off-peak service from the station is: 8tph (trains per hour) to London Liverpool Street, 4tph to Chingford, 2tph to Cheshunt via Seven Sisters, 2tph to Enfield Town via Seven Sisters. Platforms 1 and 3 are used for Liverpool Street trains, platform 4 for Enfield or Cheshubt trains and platform 2 for Chingford trains. The station is in Travel Card Zone 2. Banner Repeater is an artist run reading room and project space located in the station. The station has wi-fi, payphones and help points, but no toilets.

 

Connections: National Rail. London Buses routes 30, 56 and 276 serve the station.

• Next Train