Dagenham East tube station

Dagenham East (/ˈdæɡənəm ˈiːst/) is a London Underground station in eastern Dagenham in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, east London. It is on the District line between Dagenham Heathway to the west and Elm Park to the east. It is 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) along the line from the eastern terminus at Upminster and 18.3 kilometres (11.4 mi) to Tower Hill in central London. The station was originally opened as Dagenham on 1 May 1885 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a new direct route from London to Southend that avoided Tilbury. The station was completely rebuilt in 1932 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and an additional pair of platforms were constructed to serve the electric District Railway local service which was extended from Barking to Upminster. The Southend service was withdrawn from Dagenham and the original platforms abandoned in 1962. The single-storey brick building is of a common design also constructed at other stations on the eastern portion of the line. It is in London fare zone 5.

The original 1854 route of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway passed through the south of the parish of Dagenham near the River Thames without stopping; the nearest station was at Rainham. Between 1885 and 1888 a new route authorised as the Barking and Pitsea Railway was constructed, that provided a direct service from Fenchurch Street to Southend, avoiding Tilbury.^[6] The station at Dagenham opened on 1 May 1885; the next station to the east was Hornchurch and to the west was Barking. The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened in 1902 and allowed through services of the District Railway to operate as far as Upminster. The District Railway converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were lost at Dagenham as they were cut back to East Ham.^[a] The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway was purchased by the Midland Railway in 1912 and was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923.

The District Railway electric service was extended east from East Ham to Barking in 1908. Delayed by World War I, an additional pair of electrified fourth rail tracks were extended by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to Upminster and services of the District resumed at Dagenham in 1932.^[6][7][8] To coincide with the introduction of electric services, the station was rebuilt with two additional platforms and a new ticket office spanning the tracks facing onto Rainham Road. The station was built to the designs of LMS architect William Henry Hamlyn, drawing inspiration from London Underground station architecture.^[9] Electric train service was initially a train every 10 minutes at peak times and every 20 minutes off-peak.^[10]

The District Railway amalgamated with several other transport concerns to form London Transport in 1933, and became known as the District line.^[11] A new station at Heathway became the next station to the west in 1932 and Elm Park was added to the east in 1935. To cope with the increased demand from new housing developments, some services that had been terminating at Barking were extended to a new bay platform at Dagenham from 24 November 1935.^[b][11] The 1947 timetable shows only a few services a day provided by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway^[12] and a frequent service provided by the District.^[13] Dagenham East was renamed to its current name in 1949.^[14] The station was predominantly served by the electric London Underground services and the main line platforms were eventually decommissioned in 1962, when those lines were overhead electrified. After nationalisation of the railways in 1948 management of the station passed to British Railways.^[11] On 1 January 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground.^[15]

The station consists of three platforms. Two are side platforms—numbered 1 for westbound and 2 for eastbound—located either side of the running tracks. Platform 3 is a bay platform located to the north of the pair of running lines.^[16] Another pair of tracks to the south are used by London, Tilbury and Southend line outer suburban services and there are disused platforms on those lines. The through platforms are mostly covered by station canopies with waiting rooms and toilets on the platforms.^[17][18] The red brick ticket office is located at street level above the platforms, to which it is connected by a covered footbridge stairway. The 1930s architecture is similar in design to Becontree and Hornchurch and is contemporary with the introduction of electric services.

As part of the public–private partnership arrangement for maintenance of the London Underground, the station was refurbished by Metronet during 2005 and 2006. Works included provision of tactile strips and colour contrasted handrails for the visually impaired, installation of closed-circuit television cameras, passenger help points, new electronic departure information displays on the platforms, a new public address system and improved lighting.^[19]

The station is named after the town of Dagenham in which it is situated approximately 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) north of the historic Dagenham village. The station is located on Rainham Road South in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Elm Park station is 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) to the east of the station and Dagenham Heathway is 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) to the west. It is 18.3 kilometres (11.4 mi) along the line from Tower Hill in central London and 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from the eastern terminus at Upminster.^[20] The station is 11 miles and 25 chains down the line from Fenchurch Street.^[21] Eastbrookend Country Park is located to the east. Northeast of the station is London East Business and Technical Park and to the north is the Victoria Road stadium. To the south is predominantly residential. London Buses routes 103 and 364 serve the station, providing connections to Romford, Rainham, Goodmayes and Ilford.^[22]

Dagenham East station is on the eastern part of the District line between Dagenham Heathway to the west and Elm Park to the east. The typical off-peak service from the station is twelve District line trains per hour to Upminster and twelve to Earl's Court, of which six continue to Ealing Broadway and six continue to Richmond. At peak periods some trains continue from Earl's Court to Wimbledon. Services towards central London operate from approximately 05:00 to 23:45 and services to Upminster operate from approximately 06:00 to 01:30.^[23] The journey time to Upminster is ten minutes; to Barking is ten minutes, and to Tower Hill is approximately 34 minutes.^[23] With 2.65 million entries and exits in 2023, it ranked 193rd busiest London Underground station.^[24]

In 2015, Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council proposed the platforms on the National Rail route should be re-opened to provide interchange with c2c services, in connection with the Barking Riverside redevelopment to the south of the station.^[25][26] In 2022 Barking and Dagenham Council restated its aspirations for the reinstated platforms at Dagenham East as well as a new station at Castle Green.^[27] In 2025 Barking and Dagenham Council called for TfL to make the station fully accessible.^[28]

• Dagenham East rail crash

• Dagenham East station images in the collection of London Transport Museum