New footbridges over the Jubilee line and DLR are starting to offer a glimpse at what will become a new entrance for West Ham station.
The sourthern of the two new footbridges at West Ham station
The new entrance is being provided as part of Twelvetrees Park, a Berkeley housing development being built on derelict former industrial land adjacent to the station. The new development is however, on the “wrong” side of the railways and a busy road from the station, so the developer is providing two new footbridges that span the railways and road to link the two sides together.
Development site plan (c) Berkeley Homes
That would provide access to the main station entrance, but as the housing development is located right next to the station’s Jubilee line platforms, it has been possible to include a new entrance to the station as well.
Recently, enough of the housing development had been completed for the two footbridges to open to the public, and it means you can finally see where the new tube station entrance will be built.
The two footbridges are fairly similar to each other, both featuring open wire mesh walls and a long single span that reaches across the railway and road. There are lifts on both footbridges and double-width staircases on the eastern side, and lifts and a more varied routes on the development side.
The northern footbridge
The footbridges are to be fair, relatively utilitarian, but they do the job and provide an east-west path in a part of London that’s never really had one.
The footbridge closest to the station is also the one right next to the future West Ham station entrance.
So far, the main work has been to construct the crash-deck floor above the railway, which will eventually form the station entrance. That’s usually the most challenging part, as that requires track possessions and night shifts to do the work while trains aren’t running.
Decking over the Jubilee line for the new entrance
From the station side, you can see the crash deck above the Jubilee line’s eastbound platform, and at the top of the escalators, the blue hoardings show where the entrance will go.
Future entrance goes here
Recent TfL papers suggested construction of the main station entrance structure is due to resume imminently, and the new entrance could open by the end of 2026. However, I will note that the signs outside the new entrance say that it’s expected to open in 2027.
Future entrance goes here
A peek at the site – the wooden hordings are the station side of the entrance
Whenever it opens, it will be a far cry from the pre-pandemic estimate of a late 2020 opening date.
In the meantime, you can look at the hoardings, walk over the footbridges, and explore a little bit of the new housing estate.
New northern footbridge next to the station
Route from the northern footbridge into the housing estate
The sourthern footbridge
Good view of the station from the southern footbridge