Greenford station
Encyclopedia
Greenford station is a London Underground
and National Rail
station in Greenford
, Greater London, and is owned and managed by LUL. It is the terminus of the National Rail Greenford Branch Line
, and is in Travelcard Zone 4
.
The original Greenford station was opened by the Great Western Railway
on 1 October 1904 on the joint New North Main Line
.
The present station, adjacent to the original, was built in the Central line
extension of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
of the London Passenger Transport Board
. It opened on 30 June 1947 after delay due to the Second World War. Service at the original station was gradually reduced and it was closed in 1963.
and Northolt
stations. A bay platform
facing south-east between the Underground platforms serves the Greenford branch service operated by First Great Western
, the next station on the branch is and the line joins the Great Western Main Line
at .
Greenford was the first London Underground station to have an escalator up to platforms above street level. It remains the only London Underground station with a wooden-treaded escalator in service; all other such escalators were converted to fully metal treads, or removed altogether from sub-surface Underground stations in the wake of the fatal 1987 King's Cross fire
.
Greenford branch trains run to Paddington but there is no Sunday service.
The line between Greenford and West Ealing carries infrequent freight services from Paddington New Yard and sand traffic for Park Royal and is used by occasional diverted passenger services. One of the few remaining semaphore signalling
installations in London is on the adjacent New North Main Line which Greenford East signal box controls along with the Greenford branch as far as South Greenford. Great Western type lower quadrant signals are still in use.
British Rail plans from the early 1990s to do away with Greenford East signal box and its semaphore signals, with upgraded signalling controlled by Slough
and Marylebone signalling centres, were postponed indefinitely as the decline of rail traffic controlled by Greenford East did not justify the cost.
In 2009, because of financial constraints, TfL decided to stop work on a project to provide step-free access at Greenford and five other stations, on the grounds that these are relatively quiet stations and some are already one or two stops away from an existing step-free station. However there is no station with step-free access which is close to Greenford. £3.9 million was spent on Greenford before the project was halted.
Greenford station is on London bus routes 92, 105, 395 and E6.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
station in Greenford
Greenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
, Greater London, and is owned and managed by LUL. It is the terminus of the National Rail Greenford Branch Line
Greenford Branch Line
The Greenford Branch Line is a 2¾ mile Network Rail suburban railway line in west London, England. It runs northerly from a triangular junction with the Great Western Main Line west of West Ealing to a central bay platform at Greenford station which is also on the London Underground Central line....
, and is in Travelcard Zone 4
Travelcard Zone 4
Fare zone 4 is a zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services...
.
History
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on 1 October 1904 on the joint New North Main Line
New North Main Line
The New North Main Line or NNML is a currently little-used railway line about eleven miles long in north-west London.-History:It opened in 1903 as part of a joint project by the Great Central Railway and the Great Western Railway to improve their access from London to the midlands and north of...
.
The present station, adjacent to the original, was built in the Central line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
extension of the 1935-40 New Works Programme
New Works Programme
The "New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940" was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board , commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolleybus and bus services in the capital and the surrounding areas...
of the London Passenger Transport Board
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
. It opened on 30 June 1947 after delay due to the Second World War. Service at the original station was gradually reduced and it was closed in 1963.
The station today
Greenford station is above ground level with an island platform for the Central line, where it is between PerivalePerivale tube station
-History:The Great Western Railway opened "Perivale Halt" on 2 May 1904. The current London Underground station was opened on 30 June 1947. In July 2011 the station was one of 16 London Underground stations made a Grade II listed building,-The station today:...
and Northolt
Northolt tube station
Northolt tube station is a station on the London Underground Central line in Northolt in the London Borough of Ealing. It is in Travelcard Zone 5 and between Greenford and South Ruislip stations.-History:...
stations. A bay platform
Bay platform
Bay platform is a railway-related term commonly used in the UK and Australia to describe a dead-end platform at a railway station that has through lines...
facing south-east between the Underground platforms serves the Greenford branch service operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
, the next station on the branch is and the line joins the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
at .
Greenford was the first London Underground station to have an escalator up to platforms above street level. It remains the only London Underground station with a wooden-treaded escalator in service; all other such escalators were converted to fully metal treads, or removed altogether from sub-surface Underground stations in the wake of the fatal 1987 King's Cross fire
King's Cross fire
The King's Cross St. Pancras tube station fire was a fatal fire on the London Underground. It broke out at approximately 19:30 on 18 November 1987, and killed 31 people....
.
Greenford branch trains run to Paddington but there is no Sunday service.
The line between Greenford and West Ealing carries infrequent freight services from Paddington New Yard and sand traffic for Park Royal and is used by occasional diverted passenger services. One of the few remaining semaphore signalling
Railway semaphore signal
One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most...
installations in London is on the adjacent New North Main Line which Greenford East signal box controls along with the Greenford branch as far as South Greenford. Great Western type lower quadrant signals are still in use.
British Rail plans from the early 1990s to do away with Greenford East signal box and its semaphore signals, with upgraded signalling controlled by Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
and Marylebone signalling centres, were postponed indefinitely as the decline of rail traffic controlled by Greenford East did not justify the cost.
In 2009, because of financial constraints, TfL decided to stop work on a project to provide step-free access at Greenford and five other stations, on the grounds that these are relatively quiet stations and some are already one or two stops away from an existing step-free station. However there is no station with step-free access which is close to Greenford. £3.9 million was spent on Greenford before the project was halted.
Greenford station is on London bus routes 92, 105, 395 and E6.