Hounslow East is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station in

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

in west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

branch of the Piccadilly line, between Hounslow Central and

Osterley Osterley () is an affluent district of the historic parish of Isleworth in west London approximately from Charing Cross and is part of the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Oster ...

. The station is located on Kingsley Road about 400m north of Hounslow High Street. Hounslow Bus Garage (the main bus terminus) is a short walk to the south. It is in

Travelcard Zone 4 Fare zone 4 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. It ...

History

The route through Hounslow East station was opened by the

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...

(DR, now the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...

) on 21 July 1884 as a branch to

Hounslow Barracks Cavalry Barracks is a former British Army installation located north of Hounslow Heath in Hounslow, west London. Hounslow was one of 40 new barracks established around the country in the wake of the French Revolution, to guard against the dual t ...

(now Hounslow West). The branch line was constructed as single track from the DR's existing route to Hounslow Town station located at the eastern end of Hounslow High Street where the bus garage is now located. That station had opened in 1883. Initially the branch to Hounslow Barracks had no stations between there and Osterley & Spring Grove (replaced by

in 1934). Hounslow Town station was closed on 31 March 1886 and Heston & Hounslow station (now Hounslow Central), opened as its replacement the following day, 1 April 1886. In 1903 Hounslow Town station was reopened and trains would be divided at Osterley & Spring Grove station, with part running to Hounslow West and the other part to Hounslow Town as a short shuttle.

Electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of the DR's tracks took place between 1903 and 1905 with electric trains replacing

steam trains A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the Tractive force#Rail vehicles, force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rar ...

on the Hounslow branch from 13 June 1905. When the branch was electrified, the track between Osterley & Spring Grove station and Hounslow Central was closed and a new loop was opened from Hounslow Town back to Hounslow Central. Trains would run from Osterley to Hounslow Town then reverse and run over the new loop to reach the main line and so continue to Hounslow West. Hounslow Underground stations

This method of operation was unsuccessful and short-lived. On 2 May 1909 the track between Heston & Hounslow station (now Hounslow Central) and Osterley & Spring Grove station was reopened with Hounslow East station (initially called Hounslow Town) as a new station located about west of the loop to the old station. The old Hounslow Town station and its two loop tracks were closed for good. Part of the embankment that carried the original single track to Hounslow Town Station (now Hounslow Bus garage) is still visible, just east of Hounslow East station. On 1 December 1925 the station was given its present name at the same time that Hounslow West and Hounslow Central received their current names. Piccadilly Line services, which had been running as far as Northfields since January 1933 were extended to run to Hounslow West on 13 March 1933. From this date, the branch was operated jointly by both lines until District Line services were withdrawn on 9 October 1964. New station buildings, to designs by Acanthus Lawrence and Wrightson Architects, have now replaced the old ones . Phase 1 of the scheme, which was completed in July 2002, required the excavation of the existing embankment and provided a new ticket hall with ancillary staff accommodation, interchange passageway and stairs to each platform. The second phase which involved the construction of the eastbound platform building, with a striking green roof, completed early 2003. As part of the works lifts have been provided to both platforms. Staff frequently play classical music on the PA system as part of an experiment to discourage anti-social activities at the station.

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 111 and H28 serve the station.

Hounslow Bus Station Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

is a two-minute walk away.

References

External links

* ** ** ** ** ** * {{District line navbox Piccadilly line stations London Underground Night Tube stations London Underground stations located above ground

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

Former Metropolitan District Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1909