It is located on the Hainault Loop of the Central line, between Grange Hill and Roding Valley stations.[6] The station was opened on 1 May 1903 by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) on its Woodford to Ilford line (the Fairlop Loop).[7] 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.[9] Because of this, it is normally quicker to travel to Woodford and change there,[8] 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.