Shepherd's Bush is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The station is on the Central line, between White City and Holland Park stations, and it lies in Travelcard Zone 2.

Shepherd's Bush London Underground
The new station building opened in 2008
Shepherd's Bush is located in Greater London
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
Location of Shepherd's Bush in Greater London
LocationShepherd's Bush
Local authorityLondon Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Managed byLondon Underground
Station code(s)SHB[1]
Number of platforms2
Fare zone2
OSIShepherd's Bush London Overground National Rail
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019Decrease 20.08 million[2]
2020Decrease 6.28 million[3]
2021Increase 7.58 million[4]
2022Increase 13.13 million[5]
2023Decrease 12.37 million[6]
Key dates
30 July 1900Opened as terminus (CLR)
14 May 1908Becomes through station (CLR)
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°30′16″N 0°13′08″W / 51.5044°N 0.2188°W / 51.5044; -0.2188
London transport portal

The station originally opened in 1900, but was closed for eight months in 2008 while the surface station building was replaced with a completely new structure and the underground station refurbished.

A number of stations in the area both past and present have borne the name Shepherd's Bush; today the Central line station shares its name with the adjacent London Overground Shepherd's Bush station, with which it shares a surface-level interchange.

An entirely separate London Underground station, Shepherd's Bush Market on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines is located approximately 13-mile (500 m) West. Until 2008, it too was called Shepherd's Bush until it was renamed to avoid confusion.

History

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Map showing layout of current and former railways and stations around Shepherd's Bush

The station opened on 30 July 1900 and was the original western terminus of the Central London Railway (CLR).[7] The original surface-level station building was a terracotta-clad ticket hall with its entrance on the Uxbridge Road facing Shepherd's Bush Green. Like all CLR stations, the station building was designed by Harry Bell Measures.

To the north of the station was located the CLR's power station and Wood Lane depot which was originally accessed by a single track tunnel. The eastbound tunnel ended to the west of the station in a dead-end reversing siding with a cross-over junction connecting it to the westbound tunnel.[8] When the now disused Wood Lane station was opened on 14 May 1908 to the north, a loop tunnel was created connecting to the eastbound tunnel.[7]

An extension to Richmond planned in 1920 would have started here with the next stop at the closed London and South Western Railway station at Hammersmith (Grove Road); the work was never carried out. As part of London Transport's New Works Programme, 1935 - 1940, escalators were installed to replace the original lifts and in 1938, the platforms were lengthened along with those of the other existing Central line stations to accommodate eight cars instead of the previous seven.

Some of the original 1900 features of the station were preserved in areas that are not open to the public.[9] Since 2022, London Transport Museum has been running guided historical tours of the station through its "Hidden London" programme, which take visitors to the disused original station corridors and lift shafts to look at the history of the site.[10]

Westfield redevelopment

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Stations in Shepherd's Bush
 
 
right-hand running starts
 
 
 
 
  White City
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
H&C and Circle lines
to Latimer Road
    Wood Lane
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Shepherd's Bush Market
 
 
 
 
Shepherd's Bush (MR)
 
 
 
 
right-hand running ends
 
 
 
 
White City Depot
  Shepherd's Bush
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shepherd's Bush    
    Goldhawk Road
 
 
 
 
 
H&C and Circle lines
to Hammersmith
 
 
 
An eastbound train calls at the station

A large-scale redevelopment began in 2005 to redevelop the White City area to the north of Shepherd's Bush Green and to construct the Westfield Shopping Centre. As part of this project, Shepherd's Bush Central line station was reconstructed in 2008 by Westfield as part of a Section 106 contribution. The Westfield redevelopment also included the construction of an integrated bus interchange and the new London Overground Shepherd's Bush station on the West London line. The new Overground station opened on 28 September that year and is close to the site of the former Uxbridge Road station which closed in 1940.

During the reconstruction of the Central line station, Transport for London closed the station completely for eight months from 4 February 2008; TfL based their decision on the need to replace the escalators at the same time as rebuilding work. This decision caused local controversy, and critics claimed that the works had been timed to benefit incoming businesses involved in the planned redevelopment of the area, at the cost of local residents and small business holders.[11] The local MP for the Shepherd's Bush constituency, Andy Slaughter, investigated the project and obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act which showed that the contractor, Metronet, had advised that the work could be completed without closing the station.[12][13] Shepherd's Bush station re-opened to passengers on 5 October that year.

During the refurbishment, Transport for London did not add lifts to the station as originally planned, citing installation costs of £100 million due to the various underground utilities nearby which would have to be diverted. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and disability pressure groups have been critical of the fact that the station remains inaccessible for those unable to use stairs.[14]

Connections

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Station Codes" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Central Line, Dates". Clive's Underground Lines Guide. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  8. ^ "The Central Line at White City". Tube Prune (The Tube Professionals' Rumour Network). Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Shepherd's Bush added to London Transport Museum's Hidden London tours". RailAdvent. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Shepherd's Bush: Suburbs to the City". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Tube station closure sparks anger". BBC News. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  12. ^ "LU internal documents retrieved by Andy Slaughter MP's Freedom of Information request". Andy Slaughter MP. 16 July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  13. ^ "Tube station closure 'not needed'". BBC News. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Tube station lift could be ditched" (PDF). H&F News. London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Buses from Shepherd's Bush" (PDF). TfL. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
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Preceding station   London Underground Following station
White City Central line Holland Park
Surface-level interchange
Preceding station     London Overground Following station
Willesden Junction West London line
transfer at Shepherd's Bush
Kensington (Olympia)
Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Wembley Central
towards
Southern
transfer at Shepherd's Bush
Kensington (Olympia)
towards
Former Routes
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
Terminus Central line
(1900-1908)
Holland Park
towards Bank
Wood Lane
towards Bank
Central line
(1908-1912)
Wood Lane Central line
(1912-1920)
Holland Park
Wood Lane Central line
(1920-1946)
Central line
(1946-1947)
Holland Park
towards Stratford
Wood Lane Central line
(1947-1947)
Holland Park
towards Leytonstone
Abandoned Plans
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
The Grove
towards Richmond
Central line
(1913)
Holland Park
Hammersmith (Grove Road)
towards Richmond
Central line
(1920)