Chesham tube station

Chesham

Station entrance
Chesham Location of Chesham in Buckinghamshire
Location	Chesham
Local authority	Chiltern
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	1
Accessible	[1]
Fare zone	9
London Underground annual entry and exit
2004	0.429 million[2]
2006	0.404 million[2]
2007	0.432 million[2]
2008	0.450 million[2]
2009	0.427 million[2]
2010	0.460 million[2]
1889 (1889)	Opened
4 July 1966	Goods yard closed[3]
List of stations	Underground · National Rail
London Transport portal

Coordinates: 51°42′19″N 0°36′41″W / 51.7052°N 0.6113°W / 51.7052; -0.6113

Chesham lies at the end of the Metropolitan Line Chesham branch, and opened on 8 July 1889 as the original northern terminus of the Metropolitan Railway from Baker Street. The station is a Grade II listed building.^[4] There is no station starter signal at Chesham. The branch has no intermediate stations. The distance between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer is the longest distance between adjacent stations on the whole tube network at 3.89 miles (6.26 km).^[5] Chesham station is the least used station on the Metropolitan Line at 429,000 passengers per annum.

It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge.

Location

Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London Underground network (using Charing Cross as a central point). It is also both the northernmost and westernmost London Underground Station. Chesham replaced Ongar as the furthest station when the latter closed in 1994.

Services

The Chesham Shuttle on the last official day of operation.

Since 12 December 2010, Chesham has had an 8-car Metropolitan line train every 30 minutes direct to London.^[6] In the morning and evening peak, this runs non-stop between Moor Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill, then Finchley Road and all stations to Aldgate. During off-peak times it also calls at Wembley Park, and terminates at Baker Street. This is a major improvement to the timetable, as previously Chesham was served in the off-peak only by a 4-car shuttle service to Chalfont & Latimer, where passengers had to change on to a through train coming from Amersham. Although the reasons for the new service pattern were largely technical (the new rolling stock cannot be split into four-car trains), it is expected to increase Chesham's attractiveness to park-and-ride motorists who previously tended to drive to Amersham. This should help spread the load on local roads.^[7]

For the whole week leading up to Christmas 2010 the Chesham Shuttle was reintroduced throughout the entire day because of problems with the through service in the extreme weather.^{[citation needed]}

History

View of remaining platform and floral display

There had been an intention to extend the branch onwards to Tring and make a connection to the LNWR Euston - Birmingham line. Land for the purpose was bought along the proposed line of route (for some time there was a gap in the houses along Victoria Road where the railway line was supposed to have run, and pieces of what appears to be concrete embankment are still visible today), but no further progress was made, and with the extension of the main line onwards from Chalfont and Latimer towards Amersham the idea was abandoned.

There was a goods yard beyond the current site of the station; this now serves as the car park for the station and the town's Waitrose.

Because of the plans for extension the station and the presence of the goods yard, Chesham used to have no fewer than three tracks (though only two platforms) and all three tracks remained well into the seventies (long after the yard was closed) as rather useless sidings. This three track layout may be clearly seen (in the early seventies) at the end of the opening credits of Metro-land. Today there is only one platform and one track, the empty space that used to be platform one has now become a floral display (as visible in the picture). According to a plaque on the water tower, this garden won an award in 1993.^[8]

Ticket barriers were installed in the late 1990s.

The original Crossrail plans involved Chesham being connected to Chalfont & Latimer station by a shuttle service,(See Crossrail, Alternative routes) however this plan was dropped in the late 1990s.

References

1. ^ "Step free Tube Guide". Transport for London. December 2009. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/step-free-tube-guide-map.pdf. Retrieved 8 February 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Customer metrics: entries and exits". London Underground performance update. Transport for London. 2003-2010. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/performance/default.asp?onload=entryexit. Retrieved 8 May 2011. 
3. ^ Hardy, Brian, ed (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News (London Underground Railway Society) (591): 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617. 
4. ^ "16 London Underground Stations Listed At Grade II". English Heritage. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/16-london-underground-stations-listed-at-grade-ii/. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
5. ^ "Key facts". Transport for London. Distances. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/modesoftransport/londonunderground/1608.aspx. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
6. ^ Goodman, Camilla (17 November 2010). "Chesham shuttle to be replaced by direct trains next month". Buckinghamshire Advertiser (Uxbridge). http://chesham.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk/2010/11/chesham-shuttle-to-be-replaced.html. Retrieved 3 February 2011. 
7. ^ "'S' stock making its mark". Modern Railways (London): p. 46. December 2010. 
8. ^ Foxell, Clive (1996). Chesham Shuttle: The Story of a Metropolitan Branch Line. Chesham, England: Foxell, Clive. pp. 84. ISBN 0952918404. 

External links

• Transport for London,
• Chesham Town Council

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Terminus		Metropolitan line Chesham-Baker Street		Chalfont & Latimer towards Baker Street or Aldgate