Barking Riverside Rail Extension
The Barking Riverside rail extension will add 4.5km to the London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking line, and take it from Barking to a new station at Barking Riverside. The main works are now in progress, and train services will start in December 2021.
The extension is one of the several transport measures designed to serve the emerging development area at Barking Riverside, which is the largest housing development in east London. It has planning permission for 10,800 new homes as well as healthcare, community and leisure, and shopping facilities. This means it’s an area that will be in vital need of a rail link.
Barking Riverside is part of the London Riverside Opportunity Area. In September 2015 the GLA adopted an Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) for the London Riverside area, setting out how over 26,000 new homes and 16,000 new jobs will be created for London.
The Barking Riverside extension will be capable of operating four trains per hour from Barking station along the existing Tilbury line used by c2c between Fenchurch Street and Grays. After passing under the Renwick Road bridge, the extension would then head south to a new station in the heart of the Barking Riverside development.
The extension will bring:
- A 4.5km extension to Barking Riverside, from the Tilbury Loop line between Barking and Dagenham Dock stations to Barking Riverside.
- Reconfiguration of Network Rail’s Ripple Lane goods yard so the extension can connect to the Tilbury Loop.
- Construction of a viaduct over the Ripple Lane yard. The viaduct will have to be built over the Tilbury Loop and foundations constructed between the HS1 tunnels.
- Continuation of the viaduct for another 1.5km over Renwick Road and into the heart of Barking Riverside.
- Construction of a new terminus station within the Barking Riverside town square. The station will have step-free access from street to train.
By creating a reliable public transport within Barking Riverside, it will be able to provide a transport link to Barking town centre and its District and Hammersmith & City Tube services and c2c services to London Fenchurch Street and Essex, along with a connection to the Elizabeth line at Wanstead Park.
Work needed to be done to complete the extension is being done across multiple sites:
Work on rail systems on the Network Rail corridor and viaduct
- Completion of track laying and signalling reconfiguration.
- Removal of previously unidentified buried services.
- Completion of the remaining pier construction and viaduct cross beams.
- Track installation on the viaduct.
The build of Barking Riverside station
- Completion of all piers.
- Completion of the station superstructure.
To find out more about the works, visit: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/barking-riverside-extension
