Manor Park Station will be transformed when the full Crossrail service starts in 2019. At peak times, 12 trains per hour will run to central London: Liverpool Street, Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington.

For most of the day there will be a train every half hour from Manor Park to Heathrow, taking just over 50 minutes. If there isn’t a direct train – and at peak commuting times there won’t be – passengers will change at Whitechapel, staying on the same platform. There will be four trains per hour from Whitechapel to Heathrow. District line passengers will change for Crossrail at Whitechapel, just walking across the platform.

Crossrail sketches show a much-needed facelift for Manor Park station. Work on wider pavements, new signage and a cycle hub will start next year. Lifts will be installed between road level and the platforms.

Recently I met station users with some great ideas. They have been discussing with the council how to provide better access – including for passengers arriving and leaving by bus and minicab. They argue for reconfiguring the area around the station. Perhaps part of the old coalyard opposite the station, currently used for storage, could help.

Crossrail will give a shot in the arm to the Station Road area. It has looked down at heel since I first took a train from Manor Park one night in 1978, after visiting new digs in Colchester Avenue. I expect shops in Station Road to be revitalised. We are bound to see new housing development around the station too. There has already been a proposal for a hotel around the corner in Romford Road.

Stratford and Canning Town are being re-shaped by current development. Crossrail will help open up some of the same opportunities for Manor Park. More from Stephen