Hatton Cross tube station

Hatton Cross is a London Underground station on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line. Located in both Travelcard Zones 5 and 6. It is located close to Heathrow airport in Hatton adjacent to the Great South West Road (A30) on the airport's Southern Perimeter Road.

Hatton Cross station serves only a small residential community in Hatton as most of the area within easy reach of the station mainly comprises commercial warehousing and light industrial premises associated with the airport. The nearest large residential communities are more than one mile away at Feltham or East Bedfont.

History

The station opened on 19 July 1975 as the first phase of the extension of the line from Hounslow West to Heathrow airport and it served as the interim terminus of the line until Heathrow Central opened as the new terminus at the airport on 16 December 1977.

The platforms at Hatton Cross are in tunnel but, unlike the tunnels on the central section of the Piccadilly Line which are deep-bored tube tunnels, the Hatton Cross section was constructed primarily by the cut and cover technique. The platform tiling on the central columns features patterns made up from the British Airways Speedbird logo. The station building is a brutalist concrete and glass single storey box incorporating a bus station which serves the airport and surrounding area.

For the opening of the airport's new Terminal 4 a single track loop tunnel was constructed between Hatton Cross and Heathrow Central (now "Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3") with the new Terminal 4 station. This station opened on 12 April 1986 and, from that date, services to the airport operated as a unidirectional loop; running from Hatton Cross to Terminal 4, Terminals 1, 2, 3 and back to Hatton Cross.

To facilitate the construction of the tunnels to the new Heathrow Terminal 5 station the loop and Terminal 4 station were closed on 7 January 2005 and trains to the airport temporarily reverted to their original two way running between Hatton Cross and the Terminal 1, 2, 3 station, with passengers for Terminal 4 taking a shuttle bus from Hatton Cross. The loop tunnel reopened on 17 September 2006 and normal operational arrangements resumed.

With the new Terminal 5 station opening on 27th March 2008, every other train arriving at Hatton Cross from London (6 per hour) runs via the Heathrow Terminal 4 loop, and terminates at Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3. Alternate trains run direct to Heathrow Terminal 5, via Terminals 1, 2, 3.

External links

* [http://photos.ltmcollection.org London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive]
** ltmcollection|89/i0000j89.jpg|Construction of the cut and cover tunnel near Hatton Cross, 1973
** ltmcollection|92/9863692.jpg|Hatton Cross station, 1975
** ltmcollection|al/i00009al.jpg|Platforms, 1975
** ltmcollection|51/9865051.jpg|Ticket hall, 1975
** ltmcollection|7r/i000017r.jpg|Hatton Cross Station, 2001