White Hart Lane

White Hart Lane
Opened	July 22 1872
CRS code	WHL
Operator	[[]]
Platforms	2
Adventure Details
Number	281
Community Details
Station of the Month	October 2021
Category	London

White Hart Lane station was opened on July 22 1872 as part of the Stoke Newington & Edmonton Railway, a new line by the Great Eastern Railway running from Stoke Newington to Lower Edmonton that was intended to speed up journey times between London and Enfield Town by taking a more direct route. By 1880, an intensive four trains per hour service was already running to Enfield - as well as additional peak-time trains terminating or starting their journeys at White Lane - with a further extension to Cheshunt opening in 1891.

The opening of the nearby White Hart Lane football stadium in 1899 only served to increase the station's importance, with additional match day services often operating from Hertford East, Bishop's Stortford, Barking and beyond. At their peak following electrification of the line in the early 1960s, services operated every four minutes through the station - fifteen trains per hour is an impressive feat even today for a heavy-rail service. Whilst this frequency is no longer provided, additional trains - including Greater Anglia services to Hertford - operate during the rush hour and on match days, although not all stop at White Hart Lane..

A new ticket hall was built at the station to accommodate increased passenger numbers as part of the expansion of White Hart Lane stadium, opening in 2019. The ticket hall also brings step-free access to the station for the first time, and drastically increases the station's ability to handle large crowds on match days. It replaces an older structure which opened in 1978, itself replacing the original 1872 ticket hall which was fire damaged during the 1970s.

Operation and management of the station is in the hands of London Overground, who took over the Lea Valley Lines from Greater Anglia in May 2015. Two trains an hour run to each of Enfield Town and Cheshunt from London Liverpool Street, with additional services also operating in the peak. All services are now in the hands of class 710 Aventra trains, which were introduced to the route from February 2020 and totally replaced the class 315 and class 317 units by October the same year.

A PEP adventure

Our visit to White Hart Lane coincided with the final days of the class 315, or 'PEP-derivative', trains, which had plied the route from their construction in 1980 until withdrawal from London Overground services on October 20 2020. Despite this, we arrived on a new class 710 unit prior to our exploration of the recently-finished new station building, before leaving on foot to rejoin the network at Bruce Grove.

Station of the Month

The station featured in the inaugural October 2021 Stations of the Month competition in the NR London category.

Preceding station	On Our Lines			Following station
Stamford Hill				Bruce Grove
	National Rail
Bruce Grove towards London Liverpool Street		London Overground		Silver Street towards Cheshunt or Enfield Town