Mile End station is named after a milestone signifying the point one mile (1.6 km) east of the boundary of the City of London. It is the only Underground station on the network that offers cross-platform interchange between Tube (Central Line) and sub-surface (District and Hammersmith & City Line) trains.

During World War II, Mile End station was hit by the first V-1 flying bomb to strike London. There is a plaque at the station commemorating the event. In 2007 a live World War II bomb weighing 200kg was found north of Mile End station; it was safely deactivated and removed.

The station is close to Mile End Park and the unusual landmark the ‘Green Bridge’ or ‘Banana Bridge’ – a bridge of parkland and water features built to allow Mile End Park to cross over Mile End Road.

Rachel Whiteread’s controversial 1993 Turner Prize winning piece House, the cast of an entire Victorian terraced house, stood at 193 Grove Road in the Mile End area before it was demolished.

The band Pulp’s song ‘Mile End’ was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Trainspotting.