Work is underway on a £25 million scheme for east London’s new Hackney Wick Overground station complex with major improvements in the surrounding streets.
Architects have drawn on the industrial heritage and waterways of the Lea River for the entrance and ticket hall with coloured concrete walls and illuminated glass.
New stairs and two new lifts are included to improve access for commuters, due to be completed next January.
The North London Line scheme being undertaken by Network Rail for the London Legacy Development Corporation has a new north-to-south subway under the railway that be ready by the spring, replacing the rusting overhead footbridge, and new pedestrian and cycle links opening up from Wallis Road through to White Post Lane.
Hackney Council and neighbouring Tower Hamlets have each given £1m to the scheme, aimed at rejuvenating the run-down industrial neighbourhood to attract investment and new housing.
“The new Hackney Wick station is designed to meet the increasing numbers of rail users,” said Hackney’s transport chief Cllr Guy Nicholson.
“it will have step-free access and alongside the new station create a new public square.”
The new pedestrian and cycle links planned will open up access for passengers heading for the Olympic Park. The station improvements are also timed ready for two major housing schemes nearby, East Wick and Sweetwater by the Lea River.
TfL, which took over the North London Line in 2007, has turned the under-used “Cinderella railway” from being one of the most neglected parts of the urban network into a major link in the Overground connecting Stratford to north and west London. It is now one of the busiest lines in the country with stations brought up to modern standards with CCTV, disabled access and staffed all day while trains are running.
London Legacy Development Corporation, which has devolved planning powers for the area around the Olympic Park, Sadiq Khan and TfL have also contributed to the work.
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