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	2
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2008–09	0.896 million
2009–10	0.760 million
2010–11	1.069 million
2011–12	1.110 million
2012–13	1.171 million
2013–14	1.302 million
2014–15	1.347 million
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 (1871-03-01)	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
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

West Ealing is a railway station on the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington. It is on Drayton Green Road (B452).

The station is manned for part of the day. There is a passenger-operated ticket machine at this location and a PERTIS passenger-operated ticket machine issuing 'permit to travel' tickets which are exchanged on-train or at manned stations for travel tickets. The ticket machines are located just inside the station entrance on the north side.

History

The original station building visible in the distance, on the far right, in 1962. The milk dock is visible near the centre, whilst 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. 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. 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. The current station building was completed in early 1987, following the demolition of the previous one a year earlier.

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. 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.

Connections

London Buses routes E7 and E11 serve the station.

Future

The area of the former milk train bay in May 2012. This will be converted 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. As part of this proposal, services from the Greenford Branch Line will terminate at West Ealing. Network Rail will create capacity for this by converting the former LCS milk train bay into an extra bay platform. In addition, various further alterations will be made by Network Rail:

• 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

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hanwell		Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line Mondays — Saturdays only		Ealing Broadway
		Heathrow Connect Paddington — Heathrow Mondays — Saturdays only
Drayton Green		Great Western Railway Greenford Branch Line		Ealing Broadway
	Future developments
Drayton Green		Great Western Railway Greenford Branch Line		Terminus
Preceding station		Crossrail		Following station
Hanwell towards Reading or Heathrow Airport		Crossrail Elizabeth Line		Ealing Broadway towards Abbey Wood or Shenfield
	Historical services
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Hanwell towards Windsor		District line		Ealing Broadway towards Mansion House