The Anonymous Widower

The New Entrance At Hackney Central Station – 2nd July 2022

The new entrance at Hackney Central station opened yesterday.

Note.

1. The cafe must be fairly good, as it has two flavours of gluten-free brownies.
2. I may have a touch of arthritis these days, but stairs like these are fine for me, as there are two right-handed paths.
3. There is a second set of stairs down from the footbridge to speed passengers on their way to Hackney Downs station.
4. There is a light-controlled crossing over Graham Road.
5. Bus stops in both directions are only about twenty metres from the crossing.
6. The station buildings appear to have green roofs.
7. The is plenty of bike storage, but no car parking.
8. There is no lift, although the design should allow one to be added later, if it is thought one is needed.

I’ve seen bigger budgets produce worse designed station entrances than this one.

My Use Of The Graham Road Entrance At Hackney Central Station

I suspect, I will use the new entrance mainly in one of two ways.

Going West On The North London Line

If I want to go west on the North London Line, the obvious one is to get a bus to Highbury & Islington station from the closest stop to my house and get the train from there.

But that route has got more difficult in recent years.

• Our South London Mayor in his wisdom cut the 277 bus back to Dalston Junction station.
• So there is only the 30 bus left and the route uses badly-designed Egyptian-built buses. I’ve nothing against Egyptians, but these buses don’t have the flat floor, that people expect from a bus these days.
• Since the roundabout was rebuilt, it seems to be a longer and more difficult walk for pedestrians.

So I’d prefer to take another route.

• Canonbury station is probably the closest station, but it is an uphill walk from my house.
• Dalston Kingsland station is a possibility, but the steps to the platform aren’t the safest.
• Dalston Junction station is another possibility, as it is step-free, but it means more changes of mode and train.

Going via the new Graham Road entrance has advantages.

• From my house, there are frequent 38 buses to the new entrance.
• The 38 bus stop at Hackney Central is only a few metres from the station entrance.
• There is a coffee stall in the station entrance.
• The steps in the entrance are easy for me.

I will try out this route the next time, that I go to the West on the North London Line.

Coming Home From Stratford With Shopping

If I need a big Marks & Spencer or a John Lewis, it is convenient to go to Eastfield at Stratford and come home on the North London Line.

I will usually use the The Canonbury Cross-Over to double-back and get a bus home from Dalston Junction station.

It is an easy route, but sometimes the trains mean a wait of nearly ten minutes at Canonbury station.

The new entrance at Hackney Central gives an alternative route.

• You would get in the back of the train at Stratford.
• Alight at Hackney Central.
• Exit the station through the new entrance.
• Cross Graham Road on the light-controlled crossing.
• Walk about twenty metres to the 38 bus stop.
• Wait for a frequent 38 bus.

Today, I waited just a minute.

Conclusion

The entrance was first mentioned in an article on Ian Visits in October 2019 and I wrote about it in Will Hackney Central Station Get A Second Entrance?.

In May 2021, I wrote £3m Hackney Overground Station Upgrade To Begin In June.

The entrance seems to have gone from a concept to reality in under three years and once the starting pistol was fired, it was built in under a year.

How many parts of the UK rail network could be improved, by small projects like this?

July 2, 2022 - Posted by AnonW | Food, Transport/Travel | Architecture, Canonbury Station, Coeliac, Eastfield, Good Design, Hackney Central Station, Hackney Central Station - Graham Road Entrance, London Overground, North London Line, Stratford Station