West London Line

Willesden Junction – Clapham Junction
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	750 V  =
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Dual track :	Yes
Legend North London Line from Stratford 0.0 Willesden Junction Watford DC Line to Watford Junction / Bakerloo Line to Harrow & Wealdstone Old Oak Common connection to High Speed ​​2 planned Watford DC Line from London Euston North London Line to Richmond Bk North Pole Junction Great Western Main Line to the GWML St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs 1871-1940 Hammersmith & City Line Hammersmith - Whitechapel (- Barking ) Uxbridge Road 1869-1940 Shepherd's Bush Central Line Kensington (Olympia) District Line Earl’s Court - Richmond / Ealing Broadway West Brompton District Line to Wimbledon Chelsea & Fulham 1863-1940 Imperial Wharf Battersea Railway Bridge over the Thames (220 m) Battersea 1863-1940 South Western Main Line to / from Waterloo Inner South London Line to London Bridge Outer South London Line from London Victoria Brighton Main Line from London Victoria Clapham Junction Brighton Main Line to Brighton London Waterloo - Reading railway line South Western Main Line to Weymouth

The West London Line (WLL) is a railway line in the British capital, London . It connects Willesden Junction station to the north and Clapham Junction to the south. Along with the Snow Hill Tunnel of the Thameslink lines and the East London Line , it is the only continuous north-south railway line in London, ie it does not end in one of the large terminal stations.

traffic

London Overground

On the route, trains of the London Overground run on the train route Clapham Junction - Willesden Junction every quarter of an hour, with two being extended over the North London Line to Stratford . London Overground trains stop at all stations.

National Rail

There are also hourly trains from Southern between East Croydon and Milton Keynes , some also to Gatwick Airport . Previously, trains ran between Brighton and Watford Junction or between Brighton and Birmingham New Street, which were the only ones to use the unelectrified link in North Pole Junction to the Great Western Main Line. National Rail trains stop at Clapham Junction, Imperial Wharf, West Brompton, Kensington (Olympia) and Shepherd's Bush stations. A stop in Willesden Junction is not possible, as the trains to the West Coast Main Line already pull out in front of the station and had their own platforms in Willesden Junction, which were removed in 1962. However, reactivation of this is up for debate.

Train stations

The following train stations are on the route (in south-north direction):

• Clapham Junction : London Overground , National Rail ; Transfer to all trains that run either via the Brighton Main Line to London Victoria or London Waterloo , and from 2012 to the west branch of the East London Line of the London Overground, also known as the South London Line .
• Imperial Wharf : London Overground, National Rail
• West Brompton : London Overground, National Rail; Transition to the District Line of the London Underground
• Kensington (Olympia) : London Overground, National Rail; Transition to the District Line of the London Underground
• Shepherd's Bush : London Overground; Transition to the Central Line of London Underground
• Willesden Junction : London Overground; Transition to Watford DC Line and North London Line of London Overground and to Bakerloo Line of London Underground

history

The line was opened in 1844 by the West London Joint Railway (WLJR), a subsidiary of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London and North Western Railway (L & NWR), as well as the West London Extension Joint Railway, which is the GWR, the L & NWR, owned by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB & SCR) and the London and South Western Railway (L & SWR). The West London Line had its focus on freight traffic as it provided a line through London. The northern part between Willesden Junction and Kensington (Olympia) or further to Earl's Court was electrified in 1915 by the London and North Western Railway with 750 V direct current. Today this electrification applies between Clapham Junction and North Pole Junction, on the rest of the route it is 25 kV alternating current. In 1916 the Chelsea & Fulham station was closed

After numerous damage from aerial bombs in World War II , passenger traffic on the WLL had to be stopped, and the railway systems were finally torn down. Traffic has been flowing again since 1999, with some stations reopening, namely Willesden Junction, Kensington (Olympia), West Brompton and Clapham Junction. St. Quintin Park & ​​Wormwood Scrubs , Uxbridge Road and Battersea have not reopened. However, today's Shepherd's Bush station is in the same location as Uxbridge Road.

Until November 2007, the West London Line between Clapham Junction and North Pole Junction (between Willesden Junction and Shepherd's Bush) was used by empty Eurostar trains, as the former depot was at North Pole Junction and the Eurostar trains had ended in Waterloo until then. Kensington (Olympia) also served as a London alternative station for Waterloo International, should this not be available.

In 2008 the Shepherd's Bush stop, which is only served by overground trains, was opened, and the Central Line stop of the same name is within walking distance. Together with the Wood Lane and White City underground stations, the two stops provide access to the new Westfield shopping center. To avoid confusion, which also was Shepherd's Bush called stop the Hammersmith & City line to Shepherd's Bush Market renamed. Shepherd's Bush is pretty much on the site of the former Uxbridge Road WLL station .

The opening of the Imperial Wharf stop on the left side of the Thames south of West Brompton was scheduled for 2009 in the London Underground route plans, but rumors surfaced that the opening would probably be postponed to 2010. It was finally opened on September 21, 2009. The station is served by Overground and Southern trains.

future

In the near future, the reactivation of the long-distance platforms in Willesden Junction, which were demolished in 1962, is up for debate, which would also enable further trains to stop at the station, including the WLL Southern trains.

South of Willesden Junction is the station Old Oak Common planned from 2025, a large hub, it shall in addition to the WLL and the North London Line , the Great Western Main Line , Crossrail and even the London Underground with the planned high-speed line High Speed 2 are linked .

The overground trains of the WLL are to be extended in the medium term via the North London Line to Gospel Oak station and then merged with the existing overground relation on the Gospel Oak – Barking railway line (and in the long term even to Dagenham Dock ). However, various construction works are necessary in Gospel Oak.

Trivia

• The West London Line forms the border between the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea between North Pole Junction and Battersea Railway Bridge over the Thames . For this reason, all train stations between Shepherd's Bush and Imperial Wharf are theoretically located in two boroughs.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/k/kensington_olympia/index2.shtml
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.