Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...

, and is in

Travelcard Zone 3 Fare zone 3 is an inner 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 Nationa ...

. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby

Kew Bridge Kew Bridge is a wide-span bridge over the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) linking the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow. The present bridge, which was opened in 1903 as King Edward VII Bridge by King Edward VII and Quee ...

History

The station was built by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) and was opened on 22 August 1849 by the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(LSWR), which had absorbed the WS&SWR whilst that railway was under construction. Originally named ''Kew'', it was renamed ''Kew Bridge'' on 1 January 1869. The

North & South Western Junction Railway The North and South Western Junction Railway (NSWJR) was a short railway in west London, England. It opened in 1853, connecting Willesden on the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) with Brentford on the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) ...

in a spirit of affording LSWR access to Fenchurch Street operated its admittedly rival '

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

' station (1853–1866) on the western curve. From 1862 the companies cooperated: the junction railway company built additional Kew Bridge platforms (which were closed in 1940), the LSWR having constructed the eastern curve itself. The

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

large station building, designed by Sir

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

, is now a coffee shop.

Present

The station, on the

Hounslow Loop Line The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London which was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1850. It leaves the Waterloo to Reading Line at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a trian ...

, is on the southern and eastern curves of the Kew Bridge railway triangle, although the eastern curve platforms are abandoned. The station building was extensively refurbished in June 2013, with the platforms reached by a side walkway. The station has 2 active platforms and 2 disused platforms: * Platform 2: Trains to

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 ...

and

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

* Platform 1: Trains to

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances durin ...

and

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...

* Platform 3: Currently disused, served trains via South Acton * Platform 4: Currently disused, served trains from South Acton continuing via

. There are currently no passenger services on the eastern and western curves, but both have been proposed by the

for

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

and also for Zone 3 Overground

Orbirail Orbirail was a name for a suggested orbital railway route around London. It would have connected the extended North London Line, East London Line, the South London Line and the West London Line, possibly including the Gospel Oak to Barkin ...

. The football stadium redevelopment plan includes space for additional platforms on the other curves. Briefly, between 2000 and 2002,

Anglia Railways Anglia Railways was a train operating company in England, owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup, that operated the Anglia franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. History The InterCity Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of P ...

ran trains originating from the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

via the

North London Line The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a rou ...

and the western curve as far as

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. This was termed the "Crosslink" service.

Local attractions

Britain's largest foldable cycle manufacturer,

Brompton Bicycle Brompton Bicycle is a British manufacturer of folding bicycles based in Greenford, London. The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored. All available mod ...

, is based behind the station, along the northeast edge of the railway triangle. Nearby attractions include the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, the

London Museum of Water & Steam London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major investment project. Situated on the site of the old Kew Bridge Pumping Station in Brentfo ...

, Gtech Community Stadium and the

Musical Museum, Brentford The Musical Museum is a charity, museum and concert venue located in Brentford, London Borough of Hounslow, a few minutes' walk from Kew Bridge railway station. Its stated purpose is to conserve, preserve, and develop nationally important colle ...

Proposals

Hounslow Council Hounslow London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Hounslow in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

proposed that

services from the east have the option of terminating at Hounslow as well as Reading by a mix of existing line and new connections. This proposal was rejected. Other plans have been drafted and floated to Network Rail for reinstatement of track on the curves and direct services for Brentford Football Club's development of its Lionel Road stadium.

Gallery

Service

The typical off-peak weekday service in trains per hour is * 6 to

of which ** 4 run direct via

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

and ** 2 run circuitously via

* 2 to

. On Sundays there is one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and via and one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Twickenham, Kingston, Wimbledon and Waterloo via Hounslow.

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 65,

110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography *110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...

237 Year 237 ( CCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Perpetuus and Felix (or, less frequently, year 990 '' Ab urbe con ...

, 267, night routes N9 and N65 serve the station.

References

External links

{{SWT Stations, Hounslow=y, IL None=y, Main line None=y Railway stations in the London Borough of Hounslow Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1940 Railway stations served by South Western Railway Brentford, London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow Grade II listed railway stations Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew William Tite railway stations Gunnersbury 1849 establishments in England 1940 disestablishments in England