Old Oak Common is an area of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 between Harlesden

Harlesden

Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....

 and Acton

Acton, London

Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...

 known for its railway depot

Traction maintenance depot

In the United Kingdom, a traction maintenance depot, or TMD, is a railway depot where locomotives are serviced and maintained. A traction and rolling stock maintenance depot, or T&RSMD, is a maintenance depot where locomotives, multiple units and rolling stock are serviced and maintained. Each rail...

s, particularly Old Oak Common TMD

Old Oak Common TMD

Old Oak Common TMD is situated to the west of London, in Old Oak Common. The Traction Maintenance Depot is the main facility for the storage and servicing of locomotives and multiple-units which utilise Paddington Station. The depot codes are 'OC' for the diesel depot, and 'OO' for the carriage shed...

. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs

Wormwood Scrubs

Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha , and one of the largest areas of common land in London...

 Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison

Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)

HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....

. In the mid nineteenth century it was a centre for pig farming.

The two former GWR main lines from London Paddington: 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...

 (GWML) of 1838-1841 to Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 Temple Meads railway station

Bristol Temple Meads railway station

Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is an important transport hub for public transport in Bristol, with bus services to various parts of the city and surrounding districts, and a ferry service to the city centre in addition to the...

 (passing through 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...

, Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 and Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

), and the 1903 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...

 (NNML) via 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...

 to Northolt Junction

South Ruislip station

South Ruislip is a station served by London Underground and Chiltern Railways in South Ruislip in west London. The station is owned, managed and staffed by London Underground. The station is in Travelcard Zone 5.-History:...

, which is the start of the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway

Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway

The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a joint venture supported by the Great Western Railway and Great Central Railway and run by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Committee. The original arrangement was agreed between the two companies in September 1898...

 line, split at Old Oak junction.

The GWML has a regular passenger service; the NNML (now partially singled) is used by freight trains and empty coaching stock movements with just one weekday passenger train each way between Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, near the border with Greater London, south of Chalfont St Peter. Gerrards Cross is also a civil parish within South Bucks district, which was known as the Beaconsfield district from 1974 to 1980...

 and London Paddington via West Ruislip.

There is also a proposed station known as 'Crossrail interchange

Old Oak Common railway station

Old Oak Common railway station is a proposed railway station in west London, England, in the United Kingdom.The new station has been included as a part of the proposed High Speed 2 line from London Euston to Birmingham...

' for interchange with the proposed High Speed 2

High Speed 2

High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...

 line to Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

.

In summer 2011, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham launched a wide-ranging 'Park Royal City' plan for Old Oak Common, including the proposed station, and with light-rail lines to the surrounding areas.