Kew Bridge railway station

Kew Bridge National Rail

Kew Bridge station with platform shelters
Kew Bridge
Location of Kew Bridge in Greater London
Location Brentford/Gunnersbury
Local authority London Borough of Hounslow
Managed by South West Trains
Owner Network Rail
Station code KWB
DfT category F1
Number of platforms 2
Fare zone 3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11 Increase 0.872 million[1]
2011–12 Increase 0.986 million[1]
2012–13 Increase 1.102 million[1]
2013–14 Increase 1.181 million[1]
2014–15 Increase 1.324 million[1]
Key dates
1849 Opened
Other information
Lists of stations
External links
WGS84 51°29′22″N 0°17′16″W / 51.4895°N 0.2878°W / 51.4895; -0.2878Coordinates: 51°29′22″N 0°17′16″W / 51.4895°N 0.2878°W / 51.4895; -0.2878
London Transport portal
UK Railways portal
For the adjacent North & South Western Junction Railway station, see Kew railway station.

Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford and Gunnersbury, in the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains. The station was named after the nearby Kew Bridge.

The station, on the Hounslow Loop Line, is on the southern & eastern curves of the Kew Bridge railway triangle, although the eastern curve platforms are abandoned. It was opened in 1849 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). The North & South Western Junction Railway in a spirit of affording LSWR access to Fenchurch Street operated its admittedly rival 'Kew' station (1853-1866) on the western curve. From 1862 the companies cooperated: the junction railway company building additional Kew Bridge platforms (closed 1940), the LSWR having constructed the eastern curve itself.

The station has 2 active platforms & 2 abandoned platforms:

There are currently no passenger services on the eastern and western curves,[2][3] but both have been proposed by the London Borough of Hounslow for Crossrail and also for Zone 3 Overground Orbirail.[4] The football stadium redevelopment plan includes space for additional platforms on the other curves.

Britain's largest cycle manufacturer, Brompton Bicycle, is based behind the station, along the northeast edge of the railway triangle. Nearby attractions include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the London Museum of Water & Steam and the Musical Museum, Brentford.

Overview

Kew Bridge station building, now disused; current entrance to the right.

The starting category (Grade II) listed large station building, designed by Sir William Tite,[5] is disused.[5] The platforms are reached by a side walkway. The building is rundown and gives the impression that the station is closed. Petitions in 2004 to have the station renovated, and possibly renamed to add in its prominent location in Brentford, were deferred on cost grounds. The station building was extensively refurbished in June 2013.

Proposals

Hounslow Council proposed that Crossrail services from the east have the option of terminating at Hounslow as well as Reading by a mix of existing line and new connections.[6] This proposal was rejected.

Other plans have been drafted and floated to Network Rail for reinstatement of track on the curves and direct services for Brentford Football Club's redevelopment of its Lionel Road stadium.

A canopied footbridge. Underneath the footbridge are a pair of railway tracks & platforms, approximately at a 55° angle. Behind the footbridge is a yellow brick wall. The wall has a hole in it to allow the railway tracks to go through into an area of green foliage. Behind the wall there is an apartment building. Underneath the footbridge there is a cycle rack & a blue, white & orange sign bearing the text "Kew Bridge" "Fare zone 3" "Alight here for The Royal Botanic Gardens". The weather is partially cloudy.
The footbridge viewed from platform 1. Note the large space under the footbridge on platform 2. 
The view back from the footbridge. The pair of 3rd-rail-electrified tracks curve to the left between the 2 platforms. the left one has a sign with the number 2, stairs & a help-point. They both have a shelter, a ticket machine, display boards & lamp-posts. The trees on the left are darker in colour than the trees on the right. There is a silver car on the right & a modern office building.
The view back from the footbridge. 
2 railway tracks go under a graffiti-ed bridge & enter an area of green foliage, where 2 more tracks join them from the left. 1 of them crosses the left hand track & joins the right-hand one, while the other runs to the left of both tracks, parallel to them. To the left is a blue latticework support against which a piece of light-coloured wood has been left. There is a railway signal close to the camera.
The view to New Kew junction from platform 1. 
A tall brown brick wall has a tunnel entering it. The tunnel is approximately 20 metres long & 3 metres wide, going to some green foliage. In front of the tunnel is a metal fence. To the right of the image are some danger signs.
This subway goes under Chiswick High Rd. It is unknown why it was built 
A barrel-vaulted brown brick tunnel approximately 10 metres long & 5 metres wide leads to a lush green clearing. The tunnel has graffiti & is being used to store large black bins.
This is the subway under Lionel Rd. to abandoned platform 3. 
2 overgrown railway tracks snake to the right. To the left are brambles & to the right is grass, lavender & one solitary signal. In the distance are modern office towers.
The abandoned platforms 3 & 4. 
An overgrown ramp slopes down to a grass area with a railway track & signal. The ramp has 2 gravel tracks where a vehicle has been. In the distance is a modern office tower.
The ramp down to abandoned platform 4. 

Service

The typical off-peak weekday service in trains per hour is

On Sundays there is one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Woking via Feltham and one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Twickenham, Kingston, Wimbledon and Waterloo via Hounslow.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Chiswick   South West Trains
Hounslow Loop Line		   Brentford

Connections

London Buses routes 237, 267 and 391 and night route N9 serve the station.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ↑ loveplums page on Kew Bridge station
  3. ↑ London's Abandoned Tube Stations: Kew Bridge
  4. ↑
  5. 1 2 "Kew Bridge Station, Kew Bridge Road". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Corridor 7: Crossrail to Hounslow
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