The lowdown on the planned Beam Park station in east London.
Where is Beam Park?
Beam Park is a new development of around 4,000 houses, being built in the east London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, and Havering. "Homes for local people" runs its League of Gentlemen-esque tagline. 50% of these homes will be 'affordable', i.e. Shared Ownership, while 30% of the development (some of which is built on land formerly used by Ford) will be publicly accessible green space. Plans also feature two primary schools. All told, it's a pretty significant development, and a designated Housing Zone.
Why is it called Beam Park?
The name comes from the River Beam, which forms a section of the boundary between the two afore-mentioned boroughs. It's actually better known as the River Rom, but then 'Rom Park' doesn't sound quite so aspirational.
What is Beam Park station?
Beam Park sits — and the new station would be built — between Dagenham Dock and Rainham on the c2c railway, which runs in/out of Fenchurch Street. Given that it's essentially a brand new neighbourhood, with many thousands of new residents (and potentially many more thousands of homes to come in the area), it rightly warrants its own railway station. But planning hasn't been straightforward, and at time of writing (April 2026) construction has not commenced.
Is Beam Park station actually happening then?
Plans for a Beam Park station have been mooted since 2002, so to say that progress has been sluggish would be an understatement. In 2021, with plans for Beam Park station in their advanced stages, the Department for Transport (DfT) got nervy about its financial viability, and refused it funding. There's a nice little exchange about this in the minutes from a 2024 London Assembly meeting between the Conservative Andrew Boff, and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan:
Andrew Boff AM (Chair): ... Who has caused the delay?
Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): The previous Government.
Andrew Boff AM (Chair): Funny that.
Khan himself is behind the project, saying "A new station at Beam Park is essential for unlocking thousands of new homes in the area." He pledged £32m in 2020 — money which is yet to be used.
In March 2026, there was a breakthrough when the Government announced final approval of the project, with housing minister Matthew Pennycook saying "a new Beam Park rail station could be accommodated within the existing rail network". Of course, now it's been so long, costs of building the station will have risen.
When will Beam Park station open?
That remains unclear. No schedule has been published, and the Government green light is still contingent on how the project will be funded. Until this time, there will be some degree of trepidation from developers, who will want to ensure the homes they build will be suitably well connected to central London, and in the other direction, Essex.
