The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest

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which was opened 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 ...

in 1850. It leaves the

Waterloo to Reading Line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a

triangular junction In railroad structures, and rail terminology, a wye (like the'' 'Y' ''glyph) or triangular junction (often shortened to just "triangle") is a triangular joining arrangement of three rail lines with a railroad switch (set of points) at each cor ...

between and . Barnes Railway Bridge carries the line over the

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. Passenger services, all operated by South Western Railway, either loop back to Waterloo by the junctions or continue southwest via Feltham. The line is

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at 750 V DC (third rail). It provides access to 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 ...

for freight services both passing through to the north east and connecting to the rail network to the south west.

Passenger services and rolling stock

The typical weekday service in trains per hour is: * 2 from Waterloo, taking the loop at Barnes and leaving it beyond to go via to return to Waterloo * 2 from Waterloo, running via Richmond and taking the loop at Hounslow and returning to Waterloo * 2 from Waterloo, taking the loop at Barnes and leaving it beyond Hounslow to go via to * 2 from Weybridge, taking the loop at Hounslow and returning to Waterloo Limited trains to/from London start/terminate at Hounslow, however South Western Railway timetables and departure boards indicate that every other train from Waterloo terminates or starts at Hounslow whilst they are actually running as loop services. The Sunday service is * 1 train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and via Staines * 1 train per hour between Waterloo and Hounslow via Brentford in the afternoon. Services are generally operated by Class 707s, operating in 5 or 10-car configuration. These trains entered service in August 2017. Class 450, Class 455 and Class 458 units also work the line. All units on the line are to be replaced by Class 701 Aventra units, with introduction planned for 2020.

Ridership

The line has seen a steep increase in ridership levels in recent years, corresponding with the doubling of train frequencies from 2 trains per hour in each direction to 4 (except on Sundays). The line's seven stations had combined passenger numbers of 5.565 million in 2007–08 (based on station exits), a 162% increase on the 2004–05 figure of 2.122 million.

Recent changes

Most stations had platforms lengthened to allow the operation of 10 coach trains from May 2013. Where this was not possible, selective door opening is used. Platform 20 at Waterloo (within the former terminal) came into use in May 2014 to provide additional capacity.

Future developments

A proposal published in 2017 by the

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and Transport for London envisages extending the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

network to run trains on the section of the Hounslow Loop Line between Brentford and Hounslow. The scheme, known as the

West London Orbital The West London Orbital is a proposed extension to the London Overground railway system in London, UK. The extension would make use of a combination of existing freight and passenger lines including the Dudding Hill Line, North London Line and ...

, would involve the re-opening of the Dudding Hill Line to passenger services and running trains from and via the planned station. A new station may be constructed at , close to Kew Bridge. The plans are currently at public consultation stage with TfL.

References

External links