Westbourne Park is a London Underground station in the Notting Hill area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is on the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines, between Ladbroke Grove and Royal Oak stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 2.[6]
Westbourne Park  | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Westbourne Park Location of Westbourne Park in Greater London | |
| Location | Notting Hill |
| Local authority | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Owner | London Underground |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Fare zone | 2 |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2019 |  4.13 million[1] |
| 2020 |  2.25 million[2] |
| 2021 | 1.82 million[3] |
| 2022 | 3.21 million[4] |
| 2023 | 3.53 million[5] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | Hammersmith and City Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 February 1866 | H&C station opened |
| 30 October 1871 | GW main line station opened |
| 1 November 1871 | H&C station resited |
| 13 March 1992 | GW main line station closed |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°31′16″N 0°12′04″W / 51.52111°N 0.20111°W |
 London transport portal | |
History
editAlthough the Metropolitan Railway (MR) had been extended to Notting Hill and Hammersmith on 1 June 1864, the first station by this name did not open until 1 February 1866.[7][8] In 1867, with the companies on better terms, the MR bought a share of the Hammersmith & City Railway (H&CR) from the Great Western Railway (GWR), after which it eliminated the broad gauge track and operated almost all the trains (the H&CR's identity being effectively lost).[7]
The original station closed on 31 October 1871, and was replaced the following day by a new station,[7] constructed to the west of the original.[9] To remove this traffic from its own busy main line, the GWR built a new pair of tracks from Paddington to Westbourne Park, and on 12 May 1878 it opened a dive-under to remove conflicts where the service crossed the main line.[7][note 1] A bomb planted by the Suffragettes was discovered at the station on 16 May 1913.[10]
The Circle line was extended to Hammersmith in 2009.[11] The line now operates between Hammersmith and Edgware Road via a single complete circuit of the previous route.[11][note 2] This was done with the aim of improving reliability by providing a place for trains to terminate after each trip rather than letting delays accumulate.[11] However, it means that no trains through Notting Hill Gate go east of Edgware Road.[11]
National Rail platforms
edit
The GWR opened platforms on the Great Western Main Line on 30 October 1871, but these closed in March 1992.[12] The Up line through the station had a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit, which was unacceptable for the planned Heathrow Express services; instead of modifying the station's platforms; British Rail decided that it would be more cost-effective to dispense with them, and closure notices were published 13 December 1990.[13]
Royal Oak, another station on the Hammersmith & City line, was also once served by the GWR, but its services were withdrawn in 1934.[14] Today, the first stop out of Paddington is at Acton Main Line. Industrial archaeologists have found the remains of buildings including a broad gauge train shed for Brunel's original lines, a turntable, and engine sheds in excavations east of the station as part of the land clearance work for the Crossrail project.[15]
Connections
editLondon Bus day and night routes serve the station.[16][17]
In popular culture
editEarly railway buff Fanny Johnson, fourteen years old, recorded passing engines in her notebook ‘Names of Engines on the Great Western that I have Seen’ in 1861.[18]
The station was featured in the video of the Boris Gardiner song "I Want to Wake Up with You".[19][20]
Notes and references
editNotes
editReferences
edit
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Standard Tube Map (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. April 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Clive's Underground Line Guides – Hammersmith & City line
- ^ Butt 1995, p. 244
- ^ Rose 2007
- ^ "Suffragette Bombs, 1912 - 1914". Standing Well Back. 8 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Clive's Underground Line Guides – Circle line
- ^ "Westbourne Park Railway Station (site), 2009 Thompson, Nigel Geograph.org.uk; retrieved 25 April 2017
- ^ Leigh, Chris, ed. (March 1991). "Rail report: Westbourne Park closure". Railway World. 52 (611): 165.
- ^ Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley- page78/79
- ^ Hamish McDougall (2014). "Crossrail uncovers Brunel's railway heritage". Crossrail. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Buses from Westbourne Park" (PDF). Transport for London. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Westbourne Park Underground Station – Bus
- ^ "First recorded trainspotter was not man clad in anorak but 14-year-old girl Fanny Johnson". The Northern Echo. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Tube Facts – Music Videos filmed on the tube
- ^ Westbourne Park tube station is seen in the video from 0:58 to 1:43.
Bibliography
edit- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-315-0.
| Preceding station |  London Underground
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladbroke Grove towards Hammersmith
|
Circle line | Royal Oak towards Edgware Road via Aldgate
| ||
| Hammersmith & City line | Royal Oak towards Barking
| |||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Ladbroke Grove towards Hammersmith
|
Metropolitan line Hammersmith branch (1864–1990)
|
Royal Oak towards Paddington
| ||
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
| Acton Line and station open |
Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line |
Royal Oak Line and station open | ||
| Old Oak Lane Halt Line open, station closed |
Great Western Railway New North Main Line |
|||
| Acton Main Line Line and station open |
Network SouthEast Great Western Main Line |
London Paddington Line and station open | ||