 Entrance to Kew Road |
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  Richmond
Location of Richmond in Greater London |
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| Location | Richmond |
|---|---|
| Local authority | London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |
| Managed by | South West Trains |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Station code | RMD |
| Platforms in use | 7 |
| Fare zone | 4 |
| NR 2004/5 usage | 7.400 million[1] |
| NR 2005/6 usage | 7.348 million[1] |
| NR 2006/7 usage | 6.526 million[1] |
| NR 2007/8 usage | 6.664 million[1] |
| LUL 2005 usage | 6.02 million[2] |
| LUL 2007 usage | 7.309 million[2] |
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| 1846 | Opened as Terminus (R&WER) |
| 1848 | Station moved (WS&SWR) |
| 1869 | Opened (L&SWR via Hammersmith) |
| 1869 | Started (NLR) |
| 1870 | Started and Ended (GWR) |
| 1877 | Started (MR and MDR) |
| 1894 | Started (GWR) |
| 1906 | Ended (MR) |
| 1910 | Ended (GWR) |
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| List of stations | Underground · National Rail |
| External links | Departures • Facilities |
Coordinates: 51°27′47″N 0°18′00″W / 51.463°N 0.300°W
Richmond station is a London Underground, London Overground and National Rail station 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 District line and the western terminus of the London Overground North London Line and is on the National Rail Waterloo to Reading Line on which South West Trains services run between Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside, Reading, Kingston, and Hounslow.
The next station to the northeast on the terminating lines is Kew Gardens. On the through line Richmond is between North Sheen and St. Margarets stations.
Contents |
History
The Richmond & West End Railway (R&WER) opened the first station at Richmond on 27 July 1846[3] as the terminus of its line from Clapham Junction via Wandsworth and Mortlake[4]. The Windsor, Staines & South Western Railway (WS&SWR) extended the line westward resiting the station on the extended tracks slightly west of the present through platforms. Both the R&WER and WS&SWR were subsidiary companies of the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR).
On 1 January 1869[5] the L&SWR opened a branch line to Richmond from the West London Joint Railway which started north of Addison Road station (now Kensington (Olympia)). The line ran through Hammersmith (Grove Road) station, since closed, and Turnham Green and connected to the North & South Western Junction Railway (N&SWJR) near Gunnersbury. Most of this line is now part of the London Underground District line; the line south from Gunnersbury was also served by the North London Railway (NLR).
From 1 June to 31 October 1870[6] the Great Western Railway (GWR) ran a service from Paddington to Richmond via the Hammersmith & City Railway (now the Hammersmith & City Line) tracks to Grove Road then over the L&SWR tracks through Turnham Green.
On 1 June 1877 the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR, now the District line) linked its terminus at Hammersmith to the nearby L&SWR tracks east of the present Ravenscourt Park station. The MDR then began running trains over the L&SWR tracks to Richmond[5]. On 1 October 1877[6], the Metropolitan Railway (MR, now the Metropolitan line) restarted the former GWR service to Richmond via Grove Road station.
The MDR route between Richmond, Hammersmith and central London was more direct than those of the NLR via Willesden Junction, of the L&SWR and the MR via Grove Road station and of the L&SWR via Clapham Junction to Waterloo. From 1 January 1894[6], the GWR began sharing the MR Richmond service, resulting in Gunnersbury havibg the services of five operators.
After electrifying its tracks north of Acton Town in 1903, the MDR funded the electrification, completed on 1 August 1905, from Gunnersbury to Richmond.[5]. The MDR ran electric trains on the branch while the L&SWR, NLR, GWR and MR services continued to be steam hauled.
MR services ceased on 31 December 1906 and those of the GWR on 31 December 1910[6] leaving operations northwards through Kew Gardens and Gunnersbury to the MDR (by then known as the District Railway), the NLR and L&SWR. On 3 June 1916 the L&SWR withdrew its service between Richmond and Addison Road through Hammersmith due to competition from the District line[6], leaving the District as the sole operator over that route and the NLR providing mainline services via Willesden Junction.
A proposed extension of the central london railway would have terminated here, the previous stop being Heathfield Terrace station.
Under 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. On 1 August 1937 the SR opened its rebuilt station with the station building and the through platforms moved east to be next to the terminal platforms.
A former goods yard south of the through platforms was on the site of the first station, a multi-storey car park now stands there.
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 for 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).
A wide gap between the tracks of platforms 3 and 4 originally had a third track for steam locomotives to run round their trains to haul them in the other direction.
Future of the North London Line
The transport section of the current Borough Unitary Development Plan [2] 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[7] the North London Line is regarded by frequent travellers as offering a poor service,[8] with extremely congested trains and an unreliable service[9] 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 [10] due to upgrade plans [11] 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[12].
Off peak service
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 8 direct to Waterloo (South West Trains)
- 2 fast to Clapham Junction
- 2 fast to Putney and Clapham Junction
- 4 all stations
- 8 direct from Waterloo (South West Trains)
- 2 to Reading
- 2 to Windsor & Eton Riverside
- 2 indirectly returning to Waterloo via Hounslow & Brentford
- 2 indirectly returning to Waterloo via Kingston
- 6 to Upminster via Tower Hill (District line)
- 4 to Stratford (London Overground)
If Heathrow Airtrack goes ahead as proposed in the October 2008 consultation[13], there would be an additional two fast trains per hour to Waterloo and two trains per hour to Heathrow from 2014.
References
- ^ a b c d Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Richmond station (London) from Office of Rail Regulation statistics
- ^ a b Transport for London - London Underground performance update
- ^ name=CULG_01>Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line
- ^ name=CULG_02>Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line
- ^ a b c Clive's Underground Line Guides - District Line
- ^ a b c d e Clive's Underground Line Guides - Hammersmith & City Line
- ^ "Silverlink rises to second position in the national performance league". 18 September 2006. http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/toc-press-story/999831/Silverlink-rises-to-second-position-in-the-national-performance-league. Retrieved 2007-10-26. Association of Train Operating Companies [1] Press Releases
- ^ Sharp, Rachel (24 October 2007). "TfL to take on rail network". Ealing Times. http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1782035.0.tfl_to_take_on_rail_network.php. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ^ "Braced for rail strikes". Hackney Gazette. 26 October 2007. 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. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ^ London Assembly - Light at end of the tunnel for London's forgotten railway
- ^ Always Touch Out - London Overground & Orbirail
- ^ London Assembly - London's forgotten railway (PDF)
- ^ http://www.heathrowairport.com/assets/Internet/Heathrow/Heathrow%20downloads/Static%20files/HeathrowAirtrack_Consultation2.pdf
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richmond railway station |
- Train times and station information for Richmond station (London) from National Rail
| Preceding station |  London Underground |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | District line |
towards Upminster
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| Preceding station |   London Overground |
Following station | ||
| Terminus | North London Line | Kew Gardens | ||
| National Rail |
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| Clapham Junction | South West Trains Waterloo to Reading |
Twickenham | ||
| Putney | South West Trains Waterloo to Windsor |
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| North Sheen | South West Trains Waterloo to Reading Line |
St. Margarets | ||
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