West Ealing railway station

West Ealing
West Ealing Location of West Ealing in Greater London
Location	West Ealing
Local authority	London Borough of Ealing
Grid reference	TQ166807
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Station code	WEA
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	3
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2008–09	0.896 million[1]
2009–10	0.760 million[1]
2010–11	1.069 million[1]
2011–12	1.110 million[1]
2012–13	1.171 million[1]
2013–14	1.302 million[1]
2014–15	1.347 million[1]
Railway companies
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
4 June 1838	Line opened
1 March 1871	Station opened as Castle Hill (Ealing Dean)
1 March 1883	District Railway service introduced
30 September 1885	District Railway service ceased
1 July 1899	Renamed West Ealing
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°30′49″N 0°19′13″W / 51.5137°N 0.3203°WCoordinates: 51°30′49″N 0°19′13″W / 51.5137°N 0.3203°W
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

West Ealing railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in Ealing, west London. It is 6 miles 46 chains (10.6 km) down-line from London Paddington and is situated between Ealing Broadway to the east and Hanwell and to the west. Its three-letter station code is WEA.

The station and all main line trains serving it are currently operated by Great Western Railway. It is also served by Heathrow Connect. The station is staffed for part of the day.

History

The original station building visible in the distance, on the far right, in 1962. The milk dock is visible near the centre; platform 1 and its siding are visible on the extreme right.

The station was opened in 1871 as Castle Hill and Ealing Dene on the Great Western Railway, which was constructed from London Paddington through Ealing to Maidenhead in 1836–38.^[2] From 1 March 1883, the station—then named Castle Hill (Ealing Dean)—was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor. This service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885.^[3][4] The station was located next to the London Co-operative Society's main creamery, and so was equipped with a dedicated milk train platform.

Originally the station consisted of four platforms in a staggered layout: platform 1 and the island comprising platforms 2 and 3 to the west of the Drayton Green Road bridge, and platform 4 on the east side. Platform 1 (along with a siding leading up to it) was removed in 1973, followed by platform 2 being fenced off in early 1991 as trains on the main line no longer serviced the station. Platform 4 was demolished and moved west of the bridge in 1990, partially covering the site of the then long-closed milk depot.^[5] The current station building was completed in early 1987, following the demolition of the previous one a year earlier.

Accidents and incidents

On 5 August 1989, an express passenger train travelling from Oxford to Paddington collided with a piece of rail left on the track, probably by vandals, and the locomotive, Class 50 50025 Invincible, was derailed along the points near to platform 2. There were no serious injuries.^[6]

Services

Presently there are four lines (two for fast services out of Paddington), but only platforms 3 and 4 exist. There are also the remains of another platform next to platform 4, the now long-closed LCS dedicated milk depot platform.

The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway from Paddington to Greenford and Heathrow Connect services from Paddington to Heathrow Airport. It is on the original line of the Great Western Railway. The restricted facilities are an intermittently open booking office and a ticket machine. The station is in Travelcard Zone 3. On weekdays and Saturdays, West Ealing is served by eight trains an hour, four going to London Paddington and two going to Greenford and Heathrow Airport respectively.^[7] The station is closed on Sundays.

Since October 2008, Oyster "pay as you go" can be used for journeys originating or ending at West Ealing.^[8]

In September 2016, Great Western Railway began operating services using EMUs, which led to some Greenford services that had previously run to Paddington to terminate at West Ealing using the newly converted terminal platform. All Greenford services will terminate at West Ealing from January 2017.^[9]

Connections

London Buses routes E7 and E11 serve the station.

Future

The area of the former milk train bay in May 2012. This was converted in 2016 into an extra bay platform for the Greenford branch, as part of the Crossrail project.

There are plans to provide Crossrail services at the station from 2018.^[10] As part of this proposal, services from the Greenford Branch Line will terminate at West Ealing. Network Rail is creating capacity for this by converting the former LCS milk train bay into an extra bay platform, which was completed in mid-2016.^[11] In addition, various further alterations will be made by Network Rail by the end of 2017:^[12]

• New station building with a larger ticket hall with level access from Manor Road (to the north of the station)
• Step-free access
• Platforms 3–4 extended to enable 10-car trains to stop
• Improved passenger facilities including increased lighting, a new canopy on platform 4, and information and security systems

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. MacDermot, E T (1927). History of the Great Western Railway. 1 (1833-1863) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.
3. Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-315-0.
4. 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.
5. Mitchell, V; Smith, K (2000). Branch Lines of West London. Midhurst: Middleton Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-901706-50-5.
6. "Photo of 50025 at West Ealing, August 1989". Rail Blue. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
7. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 117
8. "Oyster PAYG on National Rail" (PDF). National Rail Enquiries. 20 October 2008.
9. "Greenford line alterations". Great Western Railway. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
10. "Crossrail - West Ealing Station" www.crossrail.co.uk; Retrieved 21 March 2016
11. Transport Watch: 'Tube crime down for third consecutive year' - Ealing Gazette
12. "Crossrail Station Design Contract Awarded". Crossrail. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2012.