Richmond station (London)

Richmond station is a London Underground and National Rail station located in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London.

The station is the south-western terminus of the London Underground's District Line and the western terminus of the North London Line part of the London Overground; the next station eastwards is Kew Gardens. Richmond is also served by South West Trains to and from Waterloo, Windsor and Eton Riverside, Kingston and Reading, on these services the station is between North Sheen and St. Margarets stations.

History

The first station at Richmond was opened by the Richmond & West End Railway (R&WER) on 27 July 1846 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] as a terminus of its line from Clapham Junction via Wandsworth and Mortlake (the exact location is unknown) [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#notermd Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] . The Windsor, Staines & South Western Railway (WS&SWR) extended the line westward and opened a replacement through station on the extended tracks a short distance to the west of the current through platforms. Both the R&WER and WS&SWR were subsidiary companies of the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR).

On 1 January 1869 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/district.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - District Line] ] , the L&SWR opened a new branch line to Richmond built from the West London Joint Railway starting north of Addison Road station (now Kensington (Olympia)). The line (now mainly London Underground's District Line) ran through Grove Road station in Hammersmith (now closed) and Turnham Green. Via a short connection from the North & South Western Junction Railway (N&SWJR) to Gunnersbury, the line south from Gunnersbury was also served by the North London Railway (NLR).

Between 1 June 1870 and 31 October 1870 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] the Great Western Railway (GWR) briefly ran services from Paddington to Richmond via the Hammersmith & City Railway (now the Hammersmith & City Line) tracks to Grove Road then on the L&SWR tracks through Turnham Green.

On 1 June 1877, the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR, now the District Line) opened a short extension from its terminus at Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR tracks east of Ravenscourt Park station. The MDR then began running trains over the L&SWR tracks to Richmond [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/district.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - District Line] ] . On 1 October 1877 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] , the Metropolitan Railway (MR, now the Metropolitan Line) restarted the GWR's former service to Richmond via Grove Road station.

The MDR's service between Richmond, Hammersmith and central London was more direct than the NLR's route via Willesden Junction, the L&SWR's or the MR's routes via Grove Road station or the L&SWR's route via Clapham Junction to Waterloo. From 1 January 1894 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] , the GWR began sharing the MR's Richmond service, meaning that passengers from Gunnersbury could travel on the services of five operators.

Following the electrification of the MDR's own tracks north of Acton Town in 1903, the MDR funded the electrification of the tracks between Gunnersbury and Richmond which were electrified on 1 August 1905 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/district.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - District Line] ] . Whilst MDR services were operated with electric trains, the L&SWR, NLR, GWR and MR services on the branch continued to be steam hauled.

MR services were withdrawn on 31 December 1906 and GWR services were withdrawn on 31 December 1910 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] leaving operations northwards through Kew Gardens and Gunnersbury to the MDR (by then known as the District Railway), the NLR and L&SWR. By 1916, the L&SWR's route through Hammersmith was being out-competed by the District to such a degree that the L&SWR withdrew its service between Richmond and Addison Road on 3 June 1916 [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/hammersmith.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line] ] , leaving the District as the sole operator over that route and the NLR providing mainline services via Willesden Junction.

Following the grouping of 1923 the L&SWR became part of the Southern Railway (SR) and the NLR became part of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS); both were subsequently nationalised into British Railways. In the mid 1930s, the SR rebuilt the station, moving the through platforms eastward to be adjacent to the terminal platforms. It opened in its current combined arrangement on 1 August 1937.

Crossrail

A Crossrail route from Paddington to Kingston upon Thames via Richmond was proposed in 2003, but was dropped in 2004 due to a combination of local opposition, uncertainty over the route, cost and an insufficient return on the envisaged investment. It would have run either overland or via a tunnel to Turnham Green and then on the existing track through Gunnersbury and Kew — which would then have no longer been a District Line route — and thence to Richmond and Kingston.

Present day

The station has seven platforms::Platforms 1 and 2 are through platforms used by South West Trains services. :Platforms 3 to 7 are terminating platforms used by:::London Overground services (mostly platforms 3,4,and occasionally 5) ::and the District Line (usually platforms 5, 6, and 7).

Future of the North London Line

The transport section of the current Borough Unitary Development Plan [http://www.cartoplus.co.uk/richmond/text/07_trn_transport.htm#trn13] suggests construction of an additional platform so that the North London Line could run as far as Kingston. (See Talk)

Current service levels

Despite published performance figures [cite web|url=http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/toc-press-story/999831/Silverlink-rises-to-second-position-in-the-national-performance-league|title=Silverlink rises to second position in the national performance league|date=2006-09-18|accessdate=2007-10-26 Association of Train Operating Companies [http://www.atoc-comms.org/index.php] Press Releases ] the North London Line is regarded by frequent travellers as offering a poor service, [cite news|url=http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1782035.0.tfl_to_take_on_rail_network.php|title= TfL to take on rail network|publisher=Ealing Times|first=Rachel|last=Sharp|date=2007-10-24|accessdate=2007-10-26] with extremely congested trains and an unreliable service [cite news|url=http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/content/hackney/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=HKYGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newshkyg&itemid=WeED25%20Oct%202007%2011%3A49%3A35%3A157|title= Braced for rail strikes|publisher=Hackney Gazette|date=2007-10-26|accessdate=2007-10-26] with some trains cancelled shortly before they are due to arrive at Richmond — having been turned early at Gunnersbury. In March 2006 a London Assembly report described the service as "shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded". The transfer of the service to Transport for London (TfL) has the potential to improve the quality of the service [http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release_a.jsp?releaseid=7565 London Assembly] - Light at end of the tunnel for London's forgotten railway] due to upgrade plans [ [http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/43 Always Touch Out] - London Overground & Orbirail] which coincide with the extension of the East London line.

A report on the future of the line can be found on the London Assembly website [ [http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/n-london-line.pdf London Assembly] - London's forgotten railway (PDF)] .

Off peak service

The typical off-peak service frequency is:

* 8tph (trains per hour) direct to Waterloo (South West Trains)
** 2 fast to Clapham Junction
** 2 fast to Putney and Clapham Junction
** 4 all stations
* 6tph to Upminster via Tower Hill (District Line)
* 4tph to Stratford (London Overground)

* 2tph to Reading (South West Trains)
* 2tph to Windsor and Eton Riverside (South West Trains)
* 4tph indirect to Waterloo (South West Trains)
** 2 via Hounslow & Brentford
** 2 via Kingston

References

External links

*GBvosi|txt=www.Old-maps.co.uk - Richmond station, 1871|e=517900|n=175300

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