Hounslow West tube station

Hounslow West is a London Underground station in Hounslow within the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Hatton Cross and Hounslow Central stations and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station is located on Bath Road, close to the Great West Road (A4). The station has an island platform, with step-free access via a stairlift for manual wheelchair users only.

Hounslow West
Hounslow West Location of Hounslow West in Greater London
Location	Hounslow
Local authority	Hounslow
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes (wheelchair users only)[1][2]
Fare zone	5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015	3.55 million[3]
2016	3.55 million[3]
2017	3.52 million[3]
2018	3.45 million[4]
2019	3.53 million[5]
Railway companies
Original company	District Railway
Key dates
21 July 1884	Opened as Hounslow Barracks; terminus of line
1 December 1925	Renamed Hounslow West
13 March 1933	Piccadilly line service introduced
9 October 1964	District line service ceased
14 July 1975	Relocated
19 July 1975	Line extended to Hatton Cross
Listed status
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1241237[6]
Added to list	23 September 1998
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
WGS84	51.47361°N 0.38556°W
London transport portal

Opened as Hounslow Barracks in 1884, it was initially served by the District Railway (now part of the District line). The Piccadilly line was extended here in 1933, and District line services were fully withdrawn in 1964. The station building was rebuilt to a design by Charles Holden in 1931. The line was extended again in phases to Heathrow Airport in the 1970s, which resulted in the station's platforms being relocated.

Location

The station is located on Bath Road (A3006) about 600 m (2,000 ft) from its junction with A4 Great West Road and Great South West Road (A30), and is surrounded by its car park. It serves mainly the commercial and residential area of western Hounslow, but is also near Cranford and Heston. Hounslow West station is near Cavalry Barracks, which served as a reference for part of the old name of the station.[7] Nearby landmarks include Beaversfield Park, Hounslow Medical Centre and St. Paul's Church.[8]

History

The original station building

The current Hounslow West station building, which was retained when the platforms were resited underground.

The station was opened as Hounslow Barracks on a single-track branch of the Hounslow & Metropolitan Railway on 21 July 1884,[note 1] which connected with the District Railway (DR, now part of the District line) at Mill Hill Park (now Acton Town). It was named in reference to the Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow south of the station on Beavers Lane.[7] Initially the only service was a shuttle to Osterley & Spring Grove; this was replaced by a shuttle to Mill Hill Park on 31 March 1886. A new station, Heston–Hounslow (now Hounslow Central), was opened on the same day.[10] The DR took over all of its railway services in 1903.[10][note 2] The DR's tracks were electrified between 1903 and 1905 with electric trains replacing steam trains on the Hounslow branch from 13 June 1905.[11]

On 1 December 1925, the station was renamed to its present name.[7][note 3] Within the same year, substantial provisions were made to extend the Piccadilly line to relieve capacity on the District line. The former would take over services on the Hounslow and Uxbridge branches.[12] The line, being still single-tracked, was doubled in stages.[note 4] Works were completed on 27 November 1926, with the station's alignment reconfigured to have three platforms and brought into use on 11 December. The oldest platform furthest to the south was not reopened until 27 March 1927, with the original station still in situ.[14] Between 1930 and 1931, a new station building was constructed facing onto Bath Road to replace the original building which was parallel with the tracks and set back at an angle from the road. The original building was gradually demolished, and the new building opened on 5 July 1931.[15] Piccadilly line services, which had been running as far as Northfields since 9 January 1933, were extended to Hounslow West on 13 March 1933.[16][17] From that date, the branch was jointly operated by both lines. District line services were progressively reduced to rush-hour only services in the late 1950s; they were withdrawn on 9 October 1964.[18][7]

Heathrow extension

An extension of the line from Hounslow West to serve Heathrow Airport had been planned since the 1960s. Formal approval was given in 1967,[19] and work began with a groundbreaking ceremony by Sir Desmond Plummer on 27 April 1971.[20] The original alignment of the tracks and platforms at Hounslow West was too skewed from the extension. The new alignment was to relocate the station platforms underground, with cut and cover tunnels along Bath Road and Great South West Road. The line surfaces briefly over the River Crane before descending to reach Hatton Cross towards Heathrow.[21][22] The new rerouted tracks meant that the existing had to be reduced to single track operation until the station approach.[23] Platform 3, being the northernmost, was decommissioned early on 22 October 1971 due to being situated right on the path of the new track alignment. The old DR signal box was also taken out of service, with a temporary one built near Platform 1. Some of the tracks were demolished in June 1975 for further excavation and track simplification works.[21] The new platforms were brought into use on 14 July 1975 and the line was opened as far as Hatton Cross five days later on 19 July.[24] The existing 1930s station building was kept, and a new link was constructed to connect to the new platforms.[20] The line was further extended to Heathrow on 16 December 1977.[21] The old platforms were demolished and was filled in, creating around 400 car parking spaces.[25][8][26]

The station today

Indicative layout of Hounslow West station

When the Piccadilly line was planned to be extended here, the station was to receive a new station building. Charles Holden, who was part of the Adams, Holden & Pearson architectural practice, designed the exteriors under the supervision of Stanley Heaps on-site.[6] The new building is in a style reminiscent of Holden's designs for the 1926 Morden extension of the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern line).[27] Basil Ionides designed the interior of the ticket hall. Portland stone was used for the facade, strengthened by a reinforced concrete base. Its front is constructed of granite, while its rear is made of bricks. Glazed screens are fitted onto all sides of the tall heptagonal ticket hall, with an adjoined rectangular shopfront.[6] In addition to its drum shape being heptagonal, its ceiling motif contains this pattern, with a chandelier featuring seven lamps of the same geometry. A wooden ticket booth (known as a passimeter) sits in the middle of the ticket hall,[28] albeit now disused.[29] The building is very similar to the reconstructed station at Ealing Common built at the same time, also by Heaps and Holden.[15][30][31] The station is a Grade II listed building.[6]

The station has two platforms for the Piccadilly line, located below surface level. Platform 1 is for trains to Heathrow Airport, while Platform 2 is allocated to services bound for Cockfosters.[22] These were built in 1975 together with the steel bridge connected to the ticket hall.[6] As with other stations on the Heathrow extension, artwork was to be installed on the new platforms, with a station motif designed by Tom Eckersley. However the artwork was never installed.[32][33][34] The platforms are reached by flights of stairs and a stairlift,[35] which makes the station step-free for manual wheelchair users only. It is also the only London Underground station to be wheelchair accessible for manual wheelchair users only.[1][2]

Future

In the late 2010s, the station car park at Hounslow West was proposed by Transport for London (TfL) for property development, as part of TfL's plans to increase the amount of income generated from land in their ownership.[36][37] As of September 2020, over 400 new affordable homes are currently planned to be built on the current car park at the station by housing association A2Dominion. The proposals also include a new public square, retail space and a smaller amount of replacement station car parking.[26][38]

Services and connections

Hounslow West station is between Hatton Cross and Hounslow Central stations on the Hounslow branch of the Piccadilly line, in Travelcard Zone 5. As of 2020, typical off-peak services, in trains per hour (tph), are as follows:[39][40]

• 12 tph eastbound to Cockfosters
• 6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminals 2,3 and 5
• 6 tph westbound via the Heathrow Terminal 4 loop[note 5]

Night tube is also operational on this part of the line,[2] with a train every 10 minutes in both directions between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Cockfosters.[41]

London Buses routes 81, 203, 222, 482, H28, H32, H91 and H98 and night route N9 serve the station.[42][43] Formerly, airport shuttle services from different bus companies began here. However most of them relocated their termini to Hatton Cross in conjunction with the Piccadilly line extension there in 1975. Notably, the A1 express service picked up passengers from the station, but this ceased when the Heathrow extension opened in 1977.[21]

Notable commutes

Winston Churchill recalls travelling to Hounslow Barracks two or three times a week whilst living at his mother's house in Knightsbridge around 1896.[44]

See also

• Map showing operational dates for lines and stations in Hounslow

Notes and references

Notes

1. The other branch was Hounslow Town, which finally closed in 1909.[9]
2. Originally, the branch was partially operated by local landowners and the DR. The DR officially took over the railway in 1903.[10]
3. It was renamed together with Hounslow Central and Hounslow East.[7]
4. The section between Osterley & Spring Grove and Hounslow Central was doubled from 24 April 1910, with a new island platform built.[13]
5. Services going via the Terminal 4 loop continue as a service to Cockfosters.[39]

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2020.
2. Standard Tube Map (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
3. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures (2007–2017)" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
4. "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
5. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
6. Historic England. "Ticket Hall and Shops at Hounslow West Underground Station (1241237)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
7. Rose 1999.
8. Google (3 October 2020). "Hounslow West Station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
9. Horne 2007, pp. 42–46.
10. Horne 2007, p. 42.
11. Day & Reed 2008, p. 66.
12. Horne 2007, pp. 50–52.
13. Horne 2007, p. 46.
14. Horne 2007, p. 54.
15. Day & Reed 2010, p. 99.
16. Horne 2006, p. 60.
17. Horne 2007, p. 58.
18. Horne 2006, p. 88.
19. "No. 44377". The London Gazette. 1 August 1967. p. 8450.
20. Horne 2007, p. 120.
21. Horne 2007, p. 121.
22. Jarrier, Franklin. "Greater London Transport Tracks Map" (PDF) (Map). CartoMetro London Edition. 3.9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
23. Horne 2007, p. 112.
24. Day & Reed 2008, p. 178.
25. Horne 2007, p. 117.
26. "TfL and A2Dominion announce plans for hundreds of new affordable homes in Hounslow". Transport for London. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
27. Martin 2012, p. 186.
28. Constance, Don (3 May 2018). "Hounslow West ticket hall". Flickr. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
29. Horne 2007, p. 131.
30. Horne 2007, p. 61.
31. Historic England. "Hounslow West Station (509368)". PastScape. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
32. "Artwork; Design for motif at Hounslow West station, by Tom Eckersley, 1976". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
33. "Design for motif at Hounslow West station - Tom Eckersley". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
34. "Artwork; Hounslow West Motif (tents), by Tom Eckersley, 1976". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
35. Link, Christiane (25 May 2007). "Hounslow West - Stairlift for wheelchair users". Flickr. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
36. "Property Development - Projects and communities". Transport for London. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
37. "TfL in rental flats debut with homes above Tube stations". Evening Standard. London. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
38. "Hounslow West". hounslowwestrenewal.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
39. "London Underground Working Timetable – Piccadilly line" (PDF). Transport for London. 6 July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
40. Feather, Clive (8 May 2020). "Piccadilly Line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
41. "The Night Tube". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
42. "Buses from Hounslow West" (PDF). Transport for London. 25 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
43. "Hounslow West Underground Station - Bus". Transport for London. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
44. Churchill 2010, pp. 105–106. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFChurchill2010 (help)

Bibliography

• Churchill, Winston (11 May 2010). My Early Life: 1874-1904. ISBN 9781439125069.
• Day, John R.; Reed, John (2008) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (10th ed.). Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-316-7.
• Day, John R; Reed, John (2010) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (11th ed.). Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-341-9.
• Horne, Mike (2006). The District Line: An Illustrated History. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-292-5.
• Horne, Mike (2007). The Piccadilly Tube – A History of the First Hundred Years. London: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-305-1.
• Martin, Andrew (2012). Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-84765-807-4.
• Rose, Douglas (1999). The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History. Douglas Rose/Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-219-4.

External links

• "Hounslow West". Photographic Archive. London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014.
  • Hounslow Barracks station, 1927
  • New station building under construction beside the old, which has been partially demolished, 1931
  • Ticket hall, 1932
  • Station building from platforms, 1957
  • Hounslow West station, 1971
  • New platforms, 1975
• "Hounslow West station". Abandoned Stations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2008.
• "Hounslow West and Hounslow Barracks ca.1926". Britain from Above. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014.
• Churchill, Winston (11 May 2010). Churchill commutes to Hounslow ca. 1896. ISBN 9781439125069.