Bethnal Green railway station
Bethnal Green is a railway station on the Lea Valley lines in Bethnal Green, in East London. The station is down the line from London Liverpool Street; the next station is either or . It is an interchange station between three services operated by London Overground. Its three-letter station code is BET and it is in Travelcard zone 2.
The station was opened in 1872 and was formerly called Bethnal Green Junction until 1946; it was also formerly served by trains on the Great Eastern Main Line via. The station is situated on Three Colts Lane and is within walking distance to Bethnal Green Road via Wilmot Street. It is some distance from the other Bethnal Green station on the London Underground's Central line.
History
In 1872 the Great Eastern Railway opened a new branch from to ; to serve this line a new junction was built to the west of Cambridge Heath Road. Bethnal Green Junction station was constructed immediately to the west. It replaced a nearby station called Mile End which was located on the eastern side of Cambridge Heath Road. The new station served both of the Great Eastern Railway's routes and had four platforms.In 1946 trains on the Great Eastern Main Line between Liverpool Street and Stratford ceased calling at Bethnal Green and two platforms were closed, though the remains of the eastbound platform are still in situ and visible from the GEML. The London-bound platform was demolished and the tracks rearranged, coinciding with the swapping of services from the former "fast" tracks onto the former "slow" tracks, resulting in the arrangement utilised today.
The station and all services that call were previously operated by Abellio Greater Anglia as part of the East Anglia franchise. In 2015 it transferred to London Overground and now appears on the tube map.
Services
The following off-peak weekday services currently call at Bethnal Green:| Operator | Route | Rolling stock | Frequency |
| London Overground | London Liverpool Street - Bethnal Green - Cambridge Heath - London Fields - Hackney Downs - Rectory Road - Stoke Newington - Stamford Hill - Seven Sisters - Bruce Grove - White Hart Lane - Silver Street - Edmonton Green - Southbury - Turkey Street - Theobalds Grove - Cheshunt | Class 315, Class 317 | 2x per hour |
| London Overground | London Liverpool Street - Bethnal Green - Cambridge Heath - London Fields - Hackney Downs - Rectory Road - Stoke Newington - Stamford Hill - Seven Sisters - Bruce Grove - White Hart Lane - Silver Street - Edmonton Green - Bush Hill Park - Enfield Town | Class 315, Class 317 | 2x per hour |
| London Overground | London Liverpool Street - Bethnal Green - Hackney Downs - Clapton - St James Street - Walthamstow Central - Wood Street - Highams Park - Chingford | Class 315, Class 317 | 4x per hour |
Accidents and incidents
- On 4 September 1953, a passenger train derailed when a set of points moved under it.
- On 17 June 1962, a southbound passenger train was derailed due to a track fault. Seventeen passengers were injured.