Hainault tube station
Central line · Zone 4 · Redbridge
About Hainault station
The Great Eastern Railway opened Hainault on 1 May 1903 on its Fairlop Loop from Woodford to Ilford, a line meant to encourage suburban growth. Custom was so thin that the station shut on 1 October 1908 and did not reopen until 2 March 1930. The loop passed to the LNER in 1923 and was then chosen for the eastern extensions of the Central line under the 1935–1940 New Works Programme. Work began in 1938, stopped with the outbreak of war in 1939 and resumed only in 1946. Steam trains were suspended on 29 November 1947, and electric passenger services to central London via Gants Hill began on 31 May 1948.
Hainault is shaped by its depot, the major one at the eastern end of the line, just north of the station. The depot building was finished in 1939 but used by the US Army Transportation Corps until 1945, and Central line stock moved in on 14 December 1947. From the mid-1960s to the early 1990s the Woodford–Hainault section ran largely on its own with short trains of 1960 Stock and became the testing ground for Automatic Train Operation on the Victoria line. More recently lifts were installed to give step-free access to the platforms; with a descent of just 18 inches (460 mm), they are the shallowest on the Underground.
First and last trains from Hainault
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central towards Woodford, Ealing Broadway or White City | 05:18 to Ealing Broadway – 00:14 | 05:18 to Ealing Broadway – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:46 |
Times are TfL’s published timetable departures from this station; on Saturday the list follows TfL’s “Saturdays and public holidays” timetable.
At the busiest hour on a weekday there are up to 14 Central trains an hour per direction from Hainault, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Hainault
Running times between Hainault and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Fairlop | 2.8 min |
| Central | Grange Hill | 1.8 min |
Connections
Hainault is served by the Central line only; there is no interchange with other rail lines here.
Station facilities
What is near Hainault station
From the platforms you can look down the line to Fairlop, half a mile (800 m) away and about 65 seconds by train, although the shortest route between the two by foot or car is considerably longer. In the other direction the loop continues to Grange Hill. The station serves the Hainault area of Redbridge, has its own car park, and is served by various day and night bus routes. The one named place close by is the Forest Farm Peace Garden, about 290 m away.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Forest Farm Peace Garden | 290 m |