South Woodford
Western entrance on George Lane
South Woodford Location of South Woodford in Greater London
Location	South Woodford
Local authority	London Borough of Redbridge
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes[2]
Fare zone	4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2020	2.31 million[3]
2021	2.38 million[4]
2022	3.79 million[5]
2023	4.05 million[6]
2024	4.15 million[7]
Railway companies
Original company	Eastern Counties Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
22 August 1856 (1856-08-22)	Opened asGeorge Lane
5 July 1937	RenamedSouth Woodford (George Lane)
14 December 1947	Central line service introduced; renamedSouth Woodford
1964	Goods yard closed[1]
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51°35′30″N0°01′39″E / 51.5916°N 0.0275°E /51.5916; 0.0275
London transport portal

South Woodford is aLondon Underground station in the suburb ofSouth Woodford in eastLondon. It is on theCentral line betweenSnaresbrook andWoodford stations, and is located inLondon fare zone 4.^[8]

The station opened on 22 August 1856 as part of theEastern Counties Railway branch toLoughton which opened that day.^[9][10][11] Originally namedGeorge Lane, the station was renamed twice:South Woodford (George Lane) on 5 July 1937; andSouth Woodford on 14 December 1947.^[12] The station formed part of theGreat Eastern Railway's system until that company amalgamated with other railways to create theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923. On 5 July 1937 the station was renamed "South Woodford (George Lane)".^[9][13]

The station was subsequently transferred to form part of London Underground's Central line on 14 December 1947 when Central line services were extended fromLeytonstone to Woodford.^[14] This formed a part of the long planned, and delayed, Eastern Extension of the Central line that was part of theLondon Passenger Transport Board's "New Works Programme" of 1935 – 1940. After transferring to London Underground the "(George Lane)" suffix fell out of use, though it remains on some roundel signs.^{[15][note 1]}

During the planning of theVictoria line, route options included a continuation of the line fromWalthamstow Central to Woodford or South Woodford stations.^[16] However, in 1961, the decision was taken to build only as far as Walthamstow Central.^[17]

The station has two entrances, one on each side of the line. George Lane originally crossed the railway tracks with alevel crossing immediately to the north of the station, but this was closed and the road split into two when the line waselectrified.^[18] The footbridge can be used without a ticket as, unusually for stations on the Epping branch, the footbridge is outside the ticket gateline.^[19] For some years the station had step-free access to and from the eastbound platform only.^[2] The ramp to the westbound platform was installed and opened in March 2019, making the station fully step-free.^[20]

The station underwent considerable renovations in 2006, 150 years after it opened. Five new CCTV cameras were installed in the station underpass with the intention of improving security as, in addition to the multimillion-pound station refurbishment work being undertaken, crime statistics showed South Woodford station had the highest record of violent crime inRedbridge and the underpass was seen as a security risk, particularly after dark.^[21] The rebuilding of the section of westbound platform damaged by fire was also completed and the paint scheme was a mix of white, blue and orange. However, the footbridge over the tracks at the east end was not repainted.^[22]

South Woodford station is on the Central line betweenSnaresbrook to the west andWoodford to the east. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–7 minutes between 07:03 and 22:39 eastbound^[23] and between 06:22 and 22:19 westbound.^[24]

London Bus routes179,W12,W13 andW14, and night routeN55 serve the station.^[25]

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Snaresbrook towardsEaling Broadway orWest Ruislip		Central line Epping branch		Woodford towardsEpping
Historical railways
Snaresbrook Line and station open		Great Eastern Railway Eastern Counties Railway Loughton branch		Woodford Line and station open

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSouth Woodford tube station.

• Allen, Cecil J. (1956) [1955].The Great Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). Hampton Court:Ian Allan.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995).The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd.ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
• Leboff, David (1994).London Underground Stations. Ian Allan.ISBN 978-0-7110-2226-3.

• Rail transport stations in London fare zone 4
• Tube stations in the London Borough of Redbridge
• Former Great Eastern Railway stations
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856
• Central line (London Underground) stations
• London Underground Night Tube stations
• Proposed Chelsea-Hackney Line stations

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from September 2021
• Use British English from August 2012
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata