A new Overground station will be added to Transport for London’s network earlier than originally planned.

Barking Riverside, which is in east London in Zone 4, first appeared on the Tube map last month.

The station was due to start offering Overground services in the autumn, but ‘good progress’ has meant the station will open earlier in the summer.

Residents may have already spotted trains moving between the step-free station and Barking, as driver and route testing began in May.

The site will extend the existing Gospel Oak to Barking route on the London Overground, with four trains per hour cutting travel between Barking and Barking Riverside.

The major construction work began in February 2019 and forms part of the Barking Riverside Extension – with 10,000 new homes and a new public square also created.

The station is a five-minute walk from the River Thames, where the Uber Boat currently operates.

Stuart Harvey, chief capital officer at TfL, said: ‘I am pleased to confirm that the Barking Riverside Extension will open this summer. 

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‘The extension will be a game-changer for Barking Riverside – vastly improving transport connectivity, accessibility and helping to realise plans to deliver much needed housing.’

Paul Hutchings, of service operator Arriva Rail London, added: ‘We are delighted to be extending the London Overground network to Barking Riverside this summer and are working hard to get the station ready for customers. 

‘The commencement of our driver training programme on this brand-new stretch of railway takes us another step closer to operating a safe, reliable and punctual service for the local community.’

While an exact launch date is yet to be confirmed, the station will be the latest update to London transport following the opening of the Elizabeth line last month.

The £18.9 billion Crossrail project, named after the Queen, finished over-budget after nearly four years of setbacks and delays.

The line stretches from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London to Abbey Wood in south-east London.

It will initially be closed on Sundays for testing and software updates, and run in three separate sections before integrating in the autumn.

TfL estimates annual passenger numbers will reach 170 million by 2026.

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