Acton Main Line railway station

Acton Main Line is a railway station on the Great Western Main Line in Acton, west London, England. Located 4 miles 21 chains (6.9 km) down the line from London Paddington between Paddington and Ealing Broadway stations. The station is served and managed by the Elizabeth line. The station was rebuilt with step-free access as part of the Crossrail project. It is in fare zone 3.

Quick Facts Location, Local authority ...

Acton Main Line
Station entrance seen in July 2022
Acton Main Line Location of Acton Main Line in Greater London
Location	Acton
Local authority	London Borough of Ealing
Grid reference	TQ203812
Managed by	Elizabeth line^[1]
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	AML
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	3 (facing 4 tracks)
Accessible	Yes^[2]
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	0.351 million^[3]
2020–21	0.126 million^[3]
2021–22	0.321 million^[3]
2022–23	1.100 million^[3]
2023–24	2.235 million^[3]
Railway companies
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 February 1868 (1868-02-01)	Opened as Acton
26 September 1949	Renamed Acton Main Line
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.5171°N 0.2668°W / 51.5171; -0.2668
London transport portal

The Great Western Main Line opened through Acton in 1838; however, the Great Western Railway (GWR) was initially focused on long distance traffic.^[4] The station was opened by the GWR on 1 February 1868.^[5] Originally simply named Acton, it was operated by the Western Region of British Railways following nationalisation in 1948. On 26 September 1949 it was renamed Acton Main Line.^[5] When sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Railways in 1994.

Together with the underground stations at West Acton and North Acton, Acton Main Line serves the GWR garden estate. This large area of family housing, bordered on three sides by the stations named and on the fourth side by the A40 road, was developed by GWR in the 1920s to accommodate its staff, particularly drivers from the Old Oak Common depot.^[6]

By 1947 the station had four platforms, all partially covered along their length by wooden canopies, as well as a siding next to platform 1.^[7]^[8] Both platform 1 and its siding were removed in the late 1960s, although remaining platforms 2, 3 and 4 retained their numbering. The Victorian station building was demolished and replaced with a small booking office in 1974,^[9]^[10] and platform canopies were dismantled. Platform 1's permanent way is still intact, and is used as a fast through line for non-stopping trains; all non-local trains on the Great Western Main Line pass through the station. The frequency of trains was reduced in the 1960s to a peak hour only service.^[11]

In the 1990s, the Great Western Main Line was electrified through Acton Main Line as part of the Heathrow Express project.^[12] A new station building was completed in early 1996,^{[citation needed]} during extensive renovation of the adjacent bridge on Horn Lane. In 2004, a cut in the number of services to two trains per hour by First Great Western Link was criticised by local residents, who called for the station to be served by Crossrail services.^[13]^[14] In 2008, Oyster pay as you go became available for passengers at the station.^[15]

Acton Yard

The Great Western Railway built a large freight marshalling yard adjacent to the station in the late nineteenth century. It was one of a series of such yards on the perimeter of London used for the transfer of freight between railways. The yard continues in use but on a much reduced scale.^{[citation needed]}

Crossrail

Acton Main Line was first proposed to be part of the Crossrail project in the 1990s.^[16] In 2003, initial public consultation proposed that no Crossrail services would stop at the station.^[17] In 2004, it was proposed that services would call at the station seven days a week, but no stations improvements were planned. The number of seats available into central London from the station would double, due to longer and more frequent trains.^[18] Following criticism,^[19] it was announced in 2005 that a new station building and step free access would be built as part of the project.^[20]

In May 2011, Network Rail announced that it would deliver improvements and alterations to prepare the station for Crossrail services.^[21] In 2016, the station design was completed, and submitted to Ealing Council for approval.^[22] The work would include a new station building designed by Bennetts Associates^[23] with level access from Horn Lane, platform extensions, new platform canopies and step-free access to all platforms.^[24]^[25] Outside the station, improvements funded by Transport for London and Ealing Borough Council would include a new roundabout with zebra crossings, widened pavements, street trees and covered cycle parking.^[26]^[27]

In mid-2013 a gated barrier was built along the entire length of platforms 2 and 3, protecting passengers from the fast lines. In June 2017, it was announced that completion of the station was delayed until 2019.^[28] In December 2017, MTR Crossrail took over management of the station from Great Western Railway, with TfL Rail services running from May 2018 in preparation for the full operation of the Elizabeth line.^[29] In 2019, contracts for the new station building were awarded, allowing construction of the new station building to proceed.^[30]

Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[31] the refurbished station opened on 18 March 2021, providing step free access to all platforms.^[32]

Preceding station		Following station
Ealing Broadway towards Heathrow Terminal 4	Elizabeth line	Paddington towards Abbey Wood
Historical railways
Ealing Broadway Line and station open	Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line	Westbourne Park Line open, mainline station closed

Acton Main Line railway station

History

Acton Yard

Crossrail

Passenger volume

Services

Connections

References

External links

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