Editing White Hart Lane

{{Infobox station
|image=White Hart Lane Station exterior - December 2020.jpg
|caption=
|sign=
|signcap=
|opened=22 July 1872
|code=WHL
|operator=LO
|platforms=2
|visiteddd=6
|visitedmmyy=October 2020
|number=281
|blog=
|community=1
|sotm=October 2021
|cat=l
}}

'''White Hart Lane''' station was opened on 22 July 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 20 October 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 [[:Category:London|NR London]] category.

{{OOL start}}
{{Line|previous=[[Stamford Hill]]|next=[[Bruce Grove]]|route= |col={{Brand colour|main}}}}
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{{Line|previous=[[Bruce Grove]]|term1=[[London Liverpool Street]]|next=[[Silver Street]]|term2=[[Cheshunt]]|term22=[[Enfield Town]]|route=[[London Overground]]|col={{TOC colour|lo}}}}
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[[Category:London Overground]] [[Category:Greater London]] [[Category:Mainline stations]] [[Category:Stations opened in 1872]]