Roding Valley is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station. It is situated in

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in Epping Forest District, Epping Forest, Essex, within the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the opening ...

in the

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...

district of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, straddling the boundary between that council and

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

(the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London boroughs, London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest t ...

). The station is on the Hainault loop of the Central line between

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

and Woodford stations. However, geographically it is midway between Woodford and Buckhurst Hill stations. The station is located between Station Way and Cherry Tree Rise (off Buckhurst Way). It has been in Travelcard Zone 4 since 2 January 2007. With around million passenger journeys recorded in , Roding Valley is the Underground station and hence the station with the lowest annual patronage.

Location

It was originally named ''Roding Valley Halt'' (though while the full name appeared on tickets and timetables, the suffix ''Halt'' appeared on only some of the station signage), and was opened to serve new housing developments between Buckhurst Hill and Woodford. It was named after the

River Roding The River Roding () is a river that rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a ...

which is close by, to the east. The track rises towards Chigwell and crosses the Roding over an impressive viaduct. Woodford Junction, where the Hainault branch leaves the main Central line to Epping, is very close to the station – Roding Valley's platforms are visible from the train in either direction between Woodford and Buckhurst Hill (on the left of the train towards Woodford). Roding Valley station has a very small catchment area, which explains its low usage. To the east is an undeveloped flood plain of the river Roding. A short distance to the north is Buckhurst Hill station. To the north-west is open space, while the areas to the south are served by Woodford station, which has a better train service. The station straddles the border between Redbridge and Epping Forest. The southern exit is in Redbridge, while the northern exit is in Epping Forest.

History

The tracks through Roding Valley were opened on 1 May 1903 by the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

(GER) on its Woodford to

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

line (the Fairlop Loop). The station was not opened until 3 February 1936 by the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

(LNER, successor to the GER). As part of the 1935–1940

New Works Programme The New Works Programme of 1935–1940 was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolle ...

of the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

the majority of the Woodford to

loop was to be transferred to form the eastern extensions of the Central line. Although work started in 1938 it was suspended at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939 and work was only resumed in 1946. In connection with the alterations required for the electrification of the line, the station was closed from 29 November 1947. It reopened, with its present name, and was first served by the Central line from 21 November 1948. The rather basic station buildings (all-wooden on the Woodford-bound side) were replaced by more substantial structures by 1949. 1992 Stock Roding Valley

From the mid-1960s until the early 1990s the Woodford-Hainault section was largely operated separately from the rest of the Central line, using four-car (later three-car) trains of 1960 Stock.Railfanning London's Railways – Central line
/ref> The three car units had a 1938 tube stock middle carriage. These trains were adapted for Automatic Train Operation (ATO): the Woodford-Hainault section became the testing ground for ATO on the Victoria line. Some Victoria line (1967 Stock) trains were also used to operate this section and named FACT, "Fully Automatic Controlled Train". The separate operation has now been abolished, the 1960 Stock has been withdrawn and through trains to Central London now operate via Hainault.On the branch line…from Woodford to Hainault
/ref> Because of this, it is normally quicker to travel to Woodford and change there, as trains to central London run frequently from that point. At the buildup to the peak periods, some trains starting from Hainault depot operate to central London via Grange Hill, Chigwell, Roding Valley and Woodford. This is done for operating convenience but passenger demand for these services is particularly high.

The station today

Roding Valley is the most lightly used station on the Underground. It is also one of the three tube stations not to have ticket barriers. As of 2025 it is also the only tube station on the London Underground network to have a single ticket machine, as opposed to the minimum of two elsewhere. The station underwent refurbishment in 2006 by Metronet.

Services

Roding Valley station is on the Hainault loop of the Central line between

to the west and Woodford to the east. The train service (which used to end at 8pm each day) has been extended to midnight to take into account the rising passenger numbers. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is: * 3 tph to Hainault * 3 tph to Woodford At morning rush hour, there are three trains that run to West Ruislip.

Connections

London Buses route W14 serves the station.Monkhams Inn – Bus
/ref>

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** {{Subject bar, auto=1, Trains, Transport Central line (London Underground) stations Tube stations in Essex Transport in Epping Forest District Transport in the London Borough of Redbridge Former London and North Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1936 1936 establishments in England