Westbourne Park tube station

Not to be confused with Westcombe Park railway station.

Westbourne Park
Westbourne Park Location of Westbourne Park in Greater London
Location	Westbourne Green
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
2011	3.03 million
2012	3.37 million
2013	3.73 million
2014	3.73 million
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
13 March 1992	GW main line station closed
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
London Transport portal

Westbourne Park is a London Underground station in Westbourne Green 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.

It is in close proximity with Harrow Road W9. Tower Transit's Westbourne Park bus garage is opposite this station on the other side of Great Western Road.

History

Although the Metropolitan Railway 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. In 1867, with the companies on better terms, the Metropolitan bought a share of the H&CR from the GWR, after which they eliminated the broad-gauge track and operated almost all the trains (the H&CR's identity being effectively lost).

The original station closed on 31 October 1871 and was replaced the following day by a new station constructed to the east of the original. To remove this traffic from their own busy main line, the GWR built a new pair of tracks from Paddington to Westbourne Park, and on 12 May 1878 they opened a diveunder to remove conflicts where the service crossed the main line. In February 1913 a bomb (possibly planted by the Suffragettes) was discovered at the station.

In 2009 the Circle line was extended to Hammersmith. The line now operates between Hammersmith and Edgware Road via a single complete circuit of the previous route. 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. However, it means that no trains through Notting Hill Gate go east of Edgware Road.

National Rail platforms

Victorian Turntable excavated near the station

Victorian engine shed excavated near the station

There were once British Rail platforms on the Great Western Main Line, but these closed in March 1992. Another station on the Hammersmith & City line, Royal Oak, also had a GWR station, but this shut with the arrival of the underground in 1871. 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.

Connections

London Bus routes 7, 18, 23, 28, 31, 36, 70 and 328, and night routes N28 and N31 serve the station. In addition, bus routes 23 and 70 provide a 24-hour bus service.

In popular culture

The station was featured in the video of the Boris Gardiner song "I Want to Wake Up with You".

Notes and references

Bibliography

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