West Drayton railway station
West Drayton  | |
|---|---|
 Station entrance seen in May 2022 | |
  West Drayton Location of West Drayton in Greater London | |
| Location | Yiewsley |
| Local authority | London Borough of Hillingdon |
| Managed by | Elizabeth line |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Station code(s) | WDT |
| DfT category | E |
| Number of platforms | 5 |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2018–19 |  2.197 million[1] |
| 2019–20 | 2.380 million[1] |
| 2020–21 |  0.712 million[1] |
| 2021–22 | 1.731 million[1] |
| 2022–23 | 2.262 million[1] |
| Key dates | |
| 4 June 1838 | Original station opened as West Drayton |
| 9 August 1884 | Station re-sited |
| 1895 | Renamed West Drayton and Yiewsley |
| 6 May 1974 | Renamed West Drayton |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°30′35.79″N 0°28′20.15″W / 51.5099417°N 0.4722639°W |
 London transport portal | |
West Drayton railway station serves West Drayton and Yiewsley, western suburbs of London. It is served and managed by the Elizabeth line. It is 13 miles 71 chains (22.3 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Hayes & Harlington to the east and Iver to the west.
History
[edit]West Drayton station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened on 4 June 1838 at the same time as the line.[2][3] The original station was located approximately 200m to the west of the current station and was opened in its current position on 9 April 1884.[4] This was four months before the Staines and West Drayton Railway branch line was opened on 9 August 1884.[3][5] Initially trains operated as far as Colnbrook, with services to Staines commencing on 2 November 1885.[6] From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor. The service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885.[7][8]
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West Drayton was the junction station for both the Staines branch, and an earlier branch to Uxbridge Vine Street that opened on 8 September 1856.[4] The Uxbridge branch line closed to passengers on 10 September 1962, but the line south of the Grand Union Canal was retained for freight traffic until 8 January 1979.[4] The Staines branch closed to passengers on 29 March 1965, but freight trains still run from West Drayton serving the aviation fuel terminal for Heathrow Airport at Colnbrook and aggregates depots at Thorney and Colnbrook.[4]
From 1895 the station was named West Drayton and Yiewsley; it reverted to the original name West Drayton on 6 May 1974.[3]
In preparation for the introduction of Elizabeth line services, the operation of the station was transferred from Great Western Railway to MTR Crossrail on behalf of Transport for London at the end of 2017.
Description
[edit]West Drayton station is situated on Station Approach in Yiewsley. It is north of the centre of West Drayton and immediately to the south of the Grand Union Canal, in the London Borough of Hillingdon.
The station has five platforms. Platform 1 down main line (away from London), platform 2 is the up main line (towards London), platform 3 is the down relief line, platform 4 is the up relief line. A fifth platform on the up goods line is not used for passenger services. This is used for freight services to access the branch line to Colnbrook and also to wait to continue on the up relief line. The platforms on the main lines see little use, other than when the relief lines are closed for maintenance. Access between the platforms is via steps and a pedestrian underpass.
Crossrail and the Elizabeth line
[edit]The station received major improvements through the Crossrail construction project in preparation for Elizabeth line services which commenced in May 2022. A new glass and steel extension was built together with a redeveloped main ticket office and new platform canopies. The platforms were extended to be greater than 200m long, accessed by a new over platform footbridge with four lifts.[9]
Services
[edit]Off-peak, all services at West Drayton are operated by the Elizabeth line using Class 345 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[10][11]
- 4 tph to Abbey Wood
- 4 tph to Maidenhead of which 2 continue to Reading
Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 6 tph in each direction.
The station is also served by a small number of early morning and late evening Great Western Railway services between London Paddington and Reading.
| Preceding station |  Elizabeth line
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iver towards Reading
|
Elizabeth line | Hayes & Harlington towards Abbey Wood
| ||
 National Rail
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| Great Western Railway Limited Service | ||||
| Historical services | ||||
| Preceding station |  London Underground
|
Following station | ||
| Langley towards Windsor
|
District line | Hayes & Harlington towards Mansion House
| ||
| Disused railways | ||||
Line and station closed | Great Western Railway | Terminus | ||
Line and station closed | Great Western Railway | Line and station open |
||
Connections
[edit]London Buses routes 222, 350, 698, U1, U3 and U5 serve the station.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^ MacDermot, E T (1927). History of the Great Western Railway. Vol. 1 (1833–1863) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.
- ^ a b c Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 245. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ a b c d Nick Catford. "Disused Stations Site Record - West Drayton". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Aerofilms (2006). London's Railways from the Air. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-3144-4.
- ^ "General News". The Globe. 3 November 1885. p. 2.
- ^ Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-315-0.
- ^ Day, John R.; Reed, John (2008) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (10th ed.). Harrow: Capital Transport. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-85414-316-7.
- ^ Crossrail. "West Drayton Station". www.crossrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Table 117 National Rail timetable, May 2023
- ^ "Elizabeth line timetable: May 2023" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
External links
[edit]
- Train times and station information, from National Rail
To learn more about West Drayton check the community website at http://www.ub7.org.
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