Gunnersbury is a London Overground and London Underground station in Gunnersbury in London, England on the North London line. The station opened on 1 January 1869 and is served by District line trains to and from Richmond, and by Arriva Rail London on the London Overground network.[8] On the District line the station is between Turnham Green and Kew Gardens, and on the North London line it is between South Acton and Kew Gardens.

Gunnersbury London Underground London Overground
North-east bound view of District line station platforms as seen in June 2012
Gunnersbury is located in Greater London
Gunnersbury
Gunnersbury
Location of Gunnersbury in Greater London
LocationGunnersbury
Local authorityLondon Borough of Hounslow
Managed byLondon Underground[1]
OwnerNetwork Rail
Station code(s)GUN
DfT categoryD
Number of platforms2
Fare zone3
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019Increase 5.52 million[2]
2020Decrease 2.18 million[3]
2021Decrease 1.97 million[4]
2022Increase 3.87 million[5]
2023Increase 4.05 million[6]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19Decrease 2.437 million[7]
2019–20Decrease 2.389 million[7]
2020–21Decrease 0.664 million[7]
2021–22Increase 1.318 million[7]
2022–23Increase 1.776 million[7]
Key dates
1 January 1869Opened (L&SWR)
1 January 1869Started (NLR)
1870Started and Ended (GWR)
1 June 1877Started (MR and DR)
1 January 1894Started (GWR)
31 December 1906Ended (MR)
31 December 1910Ended (GWR)
1916Ended (L&SWR)
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°29′30″N 0°16′30″W / 51.4918°N 0.275°W / 51.4918; -0.275
London transport portal

The station is located off Chiswick High Road (A315) and is in Travelcard Zone 3.

History

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The station was opened as Brentford Road on 1 January 1869 by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) on a new branch line to Richmond built from the West London Joint Railway starting north of Addison Road station (now Kensington (Olympia)). The line ran through Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith via a now closed curve and Grove Road station in Hammersmith (also now closed). A short connection was also made from the North & South Western Junction Railway (N&SWJR) line to Brentford meeting the L&SWR line immediately north of the station. This line was served by the North London Railway (NLR).

Brentford Road station originally had four platforms; two on the line to Richmond and two serving a loop (the Chiswick Curve) which connected to the line through Kew Bridge station.

Between 1 June 1870 and 31 October 1870 the Great Western Railway (GWR) briefly ran services from Paddington to Richmond via Hammersmith & City Railway (now the Hammersmith & City line) tracks to Grove Road then on the L&SWR tracks through Gunnersbury.

The station was given its current name in 1871.

On 1 June 1877, the District Railway (DR, 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 DR then began running trains over the L&SWR tracks to Richmond. On 1 October 1877, the Metropolitan Railway (MR, now the Metropolitan line) restarted the GWR's former service to Richmond via Grove Road station.

The DR'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 other route from Richmond via Clapham Junction. From 1 January 1894, the GWR began sharing the MR's Richmond service and served Gunnersbury once again, meaning that passengers from Gunnersbury could travel on the services of five operators.

Following the electrification of the DR's own tracks north of Acton Town in 1903, the DR funded the electrification of the tracks through Gunnersbury. The tracks on the Richmond branch were electrified on 1 August 1905. Whilst DR services were operated with electric trains, the L&SWR, NLR, GWR and MR services continued to be steam hauled.

MR services were withdrawn on 31 December 1906 and GWR services were withdrawn on 31 December 1910 leaving operations at Gunnersbury to the DR (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, leaving the District as the sole operator over that route.

In 1932, the Chiswick Curve was closed and the tracks were later removed. The site of the curve is now known as a housing estate known as Chiswick Village.

 
District line train for Richmond in 1955

On 8 December 1954 the station was damaged by a tornado which ripped off the roof and injured six people.[9][10][11]

In the 1960s the station was redeveloped with just the two platforms it currently possesses. The London Overground and London Underground services share the same tracks.

Services

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Gunnersbury currently has the following National Rail (London Overground) London Underground (District Line) services, which are operated by Class 378, and S Stock

London Underground

Off-peak:

London Overground

Off-peak (including Sundays):[12]

Arrangement

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London Underground is classed as an open access operator between Richmond and Acton Lane Junction with LU purchasing individual slots on the North London line from Network Rail.

Connections

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London Buses routes 110, 237, 267, 440, H91 and night route N9 serve the station.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  7. ^ "London Overground Signs Standard – Issue 3" (PDF). Transport for London. 3 August 2009. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  8. ^ "The Little Known Story of the Tornado which Ripped Apart a London Underground Station". MyLondon. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. ^ "History of UK Weather – 1954". University of Dundee. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Tornado Hits London". British Pathe. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. ^ Table 59 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  12. ^ "Buses from Gunnersbury" (PDF). TfL. March 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
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Preceding station     London Overground Following station
Kew Gardens
towards Richmond
Mildmay line
North London line
South Acton
towards Stratford
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
Kew Gardens
towards Richmond
District line
Richmond branch
Turnham Green
towards Upminster
Former services
Kew Gardens
towards Richmond
London and South Western Railway
(1869–1916)
Turnham Green
Metropolitan Railway
(1877–1906)
Turnham Green
towards Paddington
Great Western Railway
(1894–1910)
Abandoned plans
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
Kew Gardens
towards Richmond
Central line
(1913)
Heathfield Terrace
Central line
(1920)
Turnham Green