North Acton 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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
station in
North Acton, west
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
in the
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population ...
. The station is on the
Central line between
East Acton and
Hanger Lane
Hanger Lane is a major road in Ealing, London, England. The majority of the road forms the westernmost part of the A406 North Circular Road, running north from the A4020 Uxbridge Road at Ealing Common to the A40 Western Avenue at the Hanger L ...
on the
West Ruislip Branch and
West Acton
West Acton is a place in West London, England. It is part of Acton, in the London Borough of Ealing.
Neighbouring places
* Park Royal
* Acton
* Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the Lond ...
on the
Ealing Broadway Branch. It is on the boundary of
Travelcard Zone 2
Fare zone 2 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 services.
Ba ...
and
Zone 3.
History
The joint "New North Main Line" (NNML; the present day
Acton–Northolt line
The Acton–Northolt line (ANL), historically known as the New North main line (NNML), is a railway line in West London, England. Built between 1903 and 1906, it runs from the Great Western Main Line at Old Oak Common TMD to the Chiltern Mai ...
) of the
Great Central and
Great Western opened in 1903 and its North Acton Halt railway station followed in 1904, though it was closed by 1913. The
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) built the Ealing & Shepherd's Bush Railway, which connected the
Central London Railway
The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below g ...
(CLR) with the GWR's
Ealing Broadway station
Ealing Broadway is a major single-level interchange station in Ealing in London, England. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, West London, and is served by the London Underground and also National Rail on the Great Western Main Line. On the U ...
. CLR trains began using the route on 3 August 1920. The stations at North Acton and were built and owned by the GWR, and both opened on 5 November 1923, the new North Acton being a short distance east of the 1904 halt. As
Transport for London explains:
North of the Central line tracks were two freight lines, removed in the 1960s, running alongside the Central line as far as
White City White City may refer to:
Places Australia
* White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore
* White City railway station, a former railway station
* White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney
* White City FC, a football c ...
; to the north of those at a slightly higher level were the two tracks of the NNML. The NNML platforms closed when the Central line was extended on new track from North Acton to
Greenford station in 1947. Today, only the outer-most NNML platform remains partially intact, having been removed in the early 1950s.
Between
South Ruislip station
South Ruislip is a station served by London Underground and Chiltern Railways in South Ruislip in North-West London. The station is owned, managed and staffed by London Underground. The station is in Travelcard Zone 5.
History
The GWR/GC ...
and Old Oak Junction, the GWR line was progressively run down, and in many places it is now single-track, including the stretch running past North Acton, which was reduced to single-track in 1993. From May 2008 until December 2018 only freight trains and a once-daily passenger service provided by
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains.
Chiltern Rail ...
used this stretch of line.
The Underground station had only two platforms until 1992, whereby for operational flexibility an island platform was created by building a third platform north of the other two, where the old freight line track bed had been. The third platform became the eastbound road while the eastbound platform (now the middle platform) was resignalled to allow it to be used also for terminating and starting services. This change allows shuttle services to be run to
White City White City may refer to:
Places Australia
* White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore
* White City railway station, a former railway station
* White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney
* White City FC, a football c ...
from Ealing Broadway and from West Ruislip in the event of problems elsewhere on the Central line, and at certain times of the day some trains coming from central London are scheduled to terminate at North Acton .
Today
Passenger access is down from the booking hall, which is part-way down the southern side of the cutting with two exits up to Victoria Road.
This is the last station before the Central line splits into the
West Ruislip
West Ruislip is a station on Ickenham High Road on the borders of Ickenham and western Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in Greater London, formerly in Middlesex. It is served by London Underground (LU) and National Rail trains on ...
and
Ealing Broadway
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
branches. Approximately half the trains stopping at the station head to each destination. The support centre for
Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse Limited was a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent Ca ...
and numerous other companies have offices in the vicinity. There are approximately 600 new flats directly opposite the station, and there is a
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...
Express hotel next door to the station with the Ramada Encore hotel another five minutes' walk away. A
Tesco Express
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
store is also open along with a Lebanese restaurant in the opposite block.
Development
There have been vague and uncosted suggestions over the years to move the station to the east to provide an interchange with 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 ro ...
. This would, however, be in an area with no extra passenger generation, and merely to move the station for interchange purposes has never been sufficient reason. The idea was revived in February 2008, when the
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and t ...
stated in a 'Park Royal draft Opportunity Area Planning Framework' that
In 2004, the multinational
Diageo
Diageo plc () is a multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweichow Moutai of China in 201 ...
company agreed to build Central line platforms at
Park Royal
Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing.
It is the site of the largest business park in London,
but despite intensive existing use, the area is, to ...
station to the west of North Acton, as part of its First Central business park,
First Central business park
Map of Park Royal Central line platforms built on the site of the now demolished Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...
brewery. By 2017 this had not yet happened. Such a new station might influence whether adjacent stations were ever moved (particularly Hanger Lane
Hanger Lane is a major road in Ealing, London, England. The majority of the road forms the westernmost part of the A406 North Circular Road, running north from the A4020 Uxbridge Road at Ealing Common to the A40 Western Avenue at the Hanger L ...
station not far to the west). The entrance to a 'North London Line' North Acton station could be just a few metres on the other side of Victoria Road from the current North Acton station eastern entrance. There is a footpath to the west immediately next to the railway, from nearby Chase Road to Park Royal Road.
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 s ...
routes 95, 218, 260, 266
__NOTOC__
Year 266 ( CCLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Sabinillus (or, less frequently, year 1019 ...
, 440
Year 440 (CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anatolius (or, less frequently, year 1193 ''Ab urbe ...
, 487
Year 487 ( CDLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Boethius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1240 ''A ...
and N266 serve the station.
Gallery
File:North Acton tube station.jpg, looking west, with westbound (left) and eastbound trains
File:North Acton eastbound.JPG, Looking east, with the island platform on the left
File:North Acton stn westbound.JPG, Looking west, with the island platform on the right
File:North Acton look west.JPG, Looking west, with the disused GWR station on the extreme right
File:North Acton Roundel.JPG, Roundel on westbound platform
File:North Acton Square looking north.jpg, New North Acton Square in front of the main station entrance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Acton Tube Station
Central line (London Underground) stations
London Underground Night Tube stations
Tube stations in the London Borough of Ealing
London Underground stations located above ground
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1923
Acton, London