Bromley-by-Bow tube station is a London Underground station on the Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach Road in the Bromley-by-Bow neighbourhood of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London, England. The station is on the District and Hammersmith & City lines, with both services sharing a pair of platforms. The station was opened in 1858 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a new more direct route between Fenchurch Street and Barking. First served by Metropolitan District Railway trains in 1902, it has been exclusively a London Underground station since 1962, with national rail services now passing through the station without stopping. The main station building is of unusual architecture for this part of the London Underground, constructed by British Rail in 1972 following a fire. It has moderate usage for an inner suburban station with 2.75 million entries and exits during 2008, though the surrounding area is undergoing considerable development bringing with it an increased local population.
It was opened as a railway station called Bromley by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway in 1858, on a more direct route to Barking from the terminus at Fenchurch Street. The construction of the Whitechapel and Bow Railway allowed the Metropolitan District Railway (now known as the District line) to start serving the station in 1902.
The District Railway converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were cut back to East Ham, and extended back to Barking in 1908. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway was purchased by the Midland Railway in 1912 and was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on 1 January 1923. Electric District Railway services were extended to Upminster in 1932.
The Hammersmith & City line (then the Metropolitan line) followed in 1936.
The 1947 timetable shows only a few services a day provided by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and a frequent service provided by the District and a peak hours service of the Metropolitan line.
After nationalisation of the railways in 1948 management of the station passed to British Railways. The remaining Fenchurch Street–Southend services were withdrawn in 1962 when the route was electrified with overhead lines. Barking station was reconfigured to provide cross-platform interchange between District line and Fenchurch Street–Upminster services.
The station was renamed to Bromley-by-Bow in 1967, to prevent confusion with Bromley in the London Borough of Bromley. The continued management of the station by an organisation now providing none of the services became more of an anomaly and in 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground which came under the authority of the London Transport Executive of the Greater London Council.
On 2 June 2008, an unexploded bomb from World War II was found near where the line crosses the Prescott Channel, not far from the station, causing disruption to trains.
The station has four platforms, of which only two are currently in use; serving the tube lines, which share a track at this point, in both directions. The remaining two platforms formerly served the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (now operated by c2c) but are no longer in use; trains instead passing through the station without stopping. Three ticket barriers and a gate control access to all platforms. The station entrance is at a higher level than the platforms (being situated on the road bridge crossing the rail tracks), and the platforms are accessible by stairs.
The station is situated on the A12 Blackwall Tunnel northern approach. Devons Road station on the Docklands Light Railway is nearby, but this is not an official interchange.
London Buses routes 108 and 488 serve the station.