The first extension to the London Overground in seven years will open next week, helping to transform a former industrial area into a new riverside district.
The 2.8-mile extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line to Barking Riverside – where a new station has also been built – will open on Monday July 18, Transport for London has announced.
It is the third recent addition to the capital’s infrastructure, after the £700m upgrade of Bank station and opening of the £20bn Elizabeth line.
The new line will provide a seven-minute link to Barking town centre, where passengers can interchange with the Tube and C2C rail services. There will be four trains an hour. At present, the bus journey takes 25 minutes.
The project, which formally started in Boris Johnson’s second term as mayor, was originally due to open by the end of 2021, at a cost of £263m.
Problems included the unexpected discovery of a Thames Water sewer. The final cost has been reported at £327m. The completion date had been extended to the end of 2022 but TfL said the project was about to conclude more quickly than anticipated.
However there will be no trains on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July due to Network Rail engineering work on the entire branch line, nick-named the Goblin. After that, there will be a seven day a week service.
The Barking Riverside area, a 443-acre former industrial site, is being transformed into a new neighbourhood of more than 10,000 homes, alongside schools, businesses and leisure facilities. There are River Bus services from Barking Riverside pier, operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers.
Seb Dance, London’s deputy mayor for transport, said: “Hot on the heels of the opening of the Elizabeth Line, this is more excellent news for east London.”
