London got a brand new railway station this morning (actually, a few trains ran yesterday evening, but the launch was this morning) as the borough of Waltham Forest welcomes back an old friend — Lea Bridge station.
There was a railway station on the site in 1840 when it opened as Lea Bridge Road and it served the stadium that used to be nearby (now long gone).
The station's usage declined, and it was therefore closed in 1985, along with passenger services along the line it's located on.
However, thanks to the Olympics and Stratford's regeneration, the line was opened again in 2005 with services running between Stratford and Stansted. At that time, the idea of opening up the station again was mooted — and now in 2016 we're finally there.
There are two trains per hour (one every 30 minutes) run by Abellio Greater Anglia going to Stratford (just six minutes away) and to Bishop's Stortford heading north.