West Drayton railway station explained

West Drayton
Railcode:WDT
Manager:Elizabeth line
Owner:Network Rail
Fare Zone:6
Locale:Yiewsley
Borough:London Borough of Hillingdon
Symbol:crossrail
Platforms:4
Railexits0405: 0.742
Railexits0506: 0.800
Railexits0607: 1.321
Railexits0708: 1.501
Railexits0809: 1.385
Railexits0910: 1.255
Railexits1011: 1.688
Railexits1112: 1.781
Railexits1213: 1.888
Railexits1314: 2.060
Railexits1415: 2.342
Railexits1516: 2.125
Railexits1617: 2.066
Railexits1718: 2.046 -->
Railexits1819: 2.197
Railexits1920: 2.380
Railexits2021: 0.712
Railexits2122: 1.731
Railexits2223: 2.262
Coordinates:51.5099°N -0.4723°W
Years1:4 June 1838
Years2:9 August 1884
Years3:1895
Years4:6 May 1974
Events1:Original station opened as West Drayton
Events2:Station re-sited
Events3:Renamed West Drayton and Yiewsley
Events4:Renamed West Drayton
Dft Category:E

West Drayton railway station serves West Drayton and Yiewsley, western suburbs of London. It is served and managed by the Elizabeth line. It is 13chain71chain down the line from and is situated between to the east and to the west.

History

West Drayton station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened on 4 June 1838 at the same time as the line.[1] [2] However the original station was located slightly to the west of the current station, and was relocated to its current position from 9 August 1884 when the Staines and West Drayton Railway branch line to Staines was opened.[3] From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between and Windsor. The service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885.[4] [5] West Drayton was the junction station for both the Staines branch, and an earlier branch to that opened on 8 September 1856.[6] The Uxbridge branch line closed to passengers on 10 September 1962, but the line south of the Grand Union Canal was retained for freight traffic until 8 January 1979. The Staines branch closed to passengers on 29 March 1965, but freight trains still run from West Drayton serving the aviation fuel terminal for Heathrow Airport at Colnbrook and aggregates depots at Thorney and Colnbrook.

From 1895 the station was named West Drayton and Yiewsley; it reverted to the original name West Drayton on 6 May 1974.

In preparation for the introduction of Elizabeth line services, the operation of the station was transferred from Great Western Railway to MTR Crossrail on behalf of Transport for London at the end of 2017.

Description

West Drayton station is situated on Station Approach in Yiewsley. It is north of the centre of West Drayton and immediately to the south of the Grand Union Canal, in the London Borough of Hillingdon.

The station has five platforms. Platform 1 down main line (away from London), platform 2 is the up main line (towards London), platform 3 is the down relief line, platform 4 is the up relief line. A fifth platform on the up goods line is not used for passenger services. This is used for freight services to access the branch line to Colnbrook and also to wait to continue on the up relief line. The platforms on the main lines see little use, other than when the relief lines are closed for maintenance. Access between the platforms is via steps and a pedestrian underpass.

Crossrail and the Elizabeth line

The station received major improvements through the Crossrail construction project in preparation for Elizabeth line services which commenced in May 2022. A new glass and steel extension was built together with a redeveloped main ticket office and new platform canopies. The platforms were extended to be greater than 200m long, accessed by a new over platform footbridge with four lifts.[7]

Services

Off-peak, all services at West Drayton are operated by the Elizabeth line using EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8]

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 6 tph in each direction.

The station is also served by a small number of early morning and late evening Great Western Railway services between and Reading.

Connections

London Buses routes 222, 350, 698, U1, U3 and U5 serve the station.

External links

To learn more about West Drayton check the community website at http://www.ub7.org.

Notes and References

  1. Book: MacDermot, E T. History of the Great Western Railway . 1. 1 (1833–1863). Great Western Railway. 1927. London.
  2. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 245 .
  3. Book: Aerofilms . London's Railways from the Air . Ian Allan . 2006 . 0-7110-3144-4.
  4. Book: Rose, Douglas . The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History . 8th . December 2007 . 1980 . Capital Transport . Harrow Weald . 978-1-85414-315-0 .
  5. Book: Day . John R. . Reed . John . The Story of London's Underground . 10th . 2008 . 1963 . Capital Transport . Harrow . 978-1-85414-316-7 . 26 .
  6. Web site: Nick Catford . Disused Stations Site Record - West Drayton . www.disused-stations.org.uk . 29 September 2022.
  7. Web site: Crossrail . West Drayton Station . https://web.archive.org/web/20150816011949/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/western-section/west-drayton-station . dead . 16 August 2015 . www.crossrail.co.uk . 29 September 2022.
  8. Web site: Elizabeth line timetable: May 2023. Transport for London. 13 July 2023.