Dalston Junction railway station

Dalston Junction railway station is in the Dalston area of the London Borough of Hackney at the crossroad of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. It is on the London Overground East London Line, in Travelcard Zone 2.

Original station
The station was first opened on 1 November 1865 by the North London Railway on its "City Extension" from the North London Line to Broad Street in the City of London. It had three island platforms with four through lines joining the west side or the North London line, and two joining the east. The station had no overall roof.

The line to Broad Street and the station closed on 27 June 1986. However, the location at the corner of Kingsland High Street and Dalston Lane retained the name Dalston Junction on road and bus signs throughout the period that the station was closed.

Re-opened station
Rebuilding the station for the London Overground network began with site clearance in early 2005. The station was opened by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on 27 April 2010. A limited weekday "preview" service started that day with the first train leaving Dalston Junction at 12.05. The service was of eight trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Surrey Quays station from 07:00 to 20:00; four of the eight trains continued to New Cross Gate and four to New Cross.

The full service to West Croydon with branches to New Cross and Crystal Palace began on 23 May 2010, at hours similar to those of the London Underground. The service interval to each of the three southern terminals is approximately fifteen minutes for most of the day, though greater early mornings, late evenings, and parts of Sundays.

In the first phase of the extension of the East London Line, Dalston Junction was the temporary northern terminus for all trains. Since 28 February 2011, trains from West Croydon and Crystal Palace have continued beyond Dalston Junction taking the relaid west curve north of the station to. Dalston Junction still remains a terminal for New Cross trains, using the two bay platforms in the middle of the station. Transport for London and Hackney London Borough Council plan to develop the extensive station site with a bus interchange and high-rise towers above the new station.

The new station has two platform islands, the outer sides of each providing through services, the inner bay faces supporting terminating services. Although the route eastward at the north end of the station has been protected it would require substantial reconstruction first. The entire station is covered by a new building.

Track layout
The western of the two chords north of the station was reinstated on 28 February 2011 for East London Line services to. There are no plans to rebuild the eastern chord but its alignment has been safeguarded. The eastern chord was used by Broad Street services to Poplar. The City Extension to the south was mainly four-track but now has only two. The wide site at Dalston Junction has in the past had six platforms.

Possible development
Dalston Junction has been proposed as a station on the Chelsea–Hackney Line route between and, should it be built.

Services
All times below are correct as of the December 2010 timetables.

East London Line
Mondays to Saturdays there is a service every 5-10 minutes throughout the day, while on Sundays before 13:00 there is a service every 5-9 minutes, changing to every 7-8 minutes until the end of service after that. Current off peak frequency is:


 * 8 Northbound to Highbury & Islington
 * 4 Terminate here from New Cross
 * 4 Southbound to West Croydon
 * 4 Southbound to Crystal Palace
 * 4 Southbound to New Cross

From 2012, 4 additional trains per hour will go to Clapham Junction via Peckham Rye on the new Clapham Junction Extension, due to open in May that year.

Transport links
London bus routes 30, 38, 56, 67, 76, 149, 242, 243, 277 and night routes N38 and N76 all serve the station.

Out of station interchange is allowed with Dalston Kingsland station distant some six minutes walk. However, with two major roads to cross, it may be more convenient to change directly at Canonbury or Highbury & Islington.