Acton Main Line railway station
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox London station Acton Main Line is a railway station on the Great Western Main Line, in Acton, west London, England. Located Template:Convert down the line from Template:Stn, it lies between Paddington and Ealing Broadway stations. It is served and managed by the Elizabeth line, in London fare zone 3. The station was rebuilt with step-free access as part of the Crossrail project.
History
The Great Western Main Line opened through Acton in 1838; however, the Great Western Railway (GWR) was initially focused on long distance traffic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The station was opened by the GWR on 1 February 1868.<ref name="Railway chronology">Template:Cite book</ref> Originally simply named Acton, it was operated by the Western Region of British Railways following nationalisation in 1948. On 26 September 1949, it was renamed Acton Main Line.<ref name="Railway chronology" /> When sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Rail in 1994.
Together with the underground stations at West Acton and North Acton, Acton Main Line serves the GWR garden estate. This large area of family housing, bordered on three sides by the stations named and on the fourth side by the A40 road, was developed by GWR in the 1920s to accommodate its staff, particularly drivers from the Old Oak Common depot.<ref>See section "The Railway Expansion" at Acton History.</ref>
By 1947, the station had four platforms; all were partially covered along their length by wooden canopies, as well as a siding next to platform 1.<ref>"Wall's Ice Cream and Sausage Factory and environs, Acton, from the west, 1947". Britain from Above. Retrieved 29 August 2014.</ref><ref>"Acton Main Line Railway Station, the Wall's Ice Cream and Sausage Factory and environs, Acton, 1947. This image was marked by Aerofilms Ltd for photo editing.". Britain from Above. Retrieved 29 August 2014.</ref> Both platform 1 and its siding were removed in the late 1960s, although remaining platforms 2, 3 and 4 retained their numbering. The Victorian station building was demolished and replaced with a small booking office in 1974,<ref>Lane, Kevin (July 2017). "Hanimex Hymek" on Flickr. Retrieved 10 July 2017.</ref><ref>"Acton Main Line station, 1960 & 2012" on Flickr. Retrieved 5 September 2014.</ref> and platform canopies were dismantled. Platform 1's permanent way is still intact, and is used as a fast through line for non-stopping trains; all non-local trains on the Great Western Main Line pass through the station. The frequency of trains was reduced in the 1960s to a peak hour only service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 1990s, the Great Western Main Line was electrified through Acton Main Line as part of the Heathrow Express project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A new station building was completed in early 1996,Template:Citation needed during extensive renovation of the adjacent bridge on Horn Lane. In 2004, a cut in the number of services to two trains per hour by First Great Western Link was criticised by local residents, who called for the station to be served by Crossrail services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, Oyster pay as you go became available for passengers at the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Acton Yard
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The Great Western Railway built a large freight marshalling yard adjacent to the station in the late nineteenth century. It was one of a series of such yards on the perimeter of London used for the transfer of freight between railways. The yard continues in use but on a much reduced scale.Template:Citation needed
Crossrail
Acton Main Line was first proposed to be part of the Crossrail project in the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, initial public consultation proposed that no Crossrail services would stop at the station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2004, it was proposed that services would call at the station seven days a week, but no stations improvements were planned. The number of seats available into central London from the station would double, due to longer and more frequent trains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following criticism,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it was announced in 2005 that a new station building and step free access would be built as part of the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In May 2011, Network Rail announced that it would deliver improvements and alterations to prepare the station for Crossrail services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, the station design was completed, and submitted to Ealing Council for approval.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The work would include a new station building designed by Bennetts Associates<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with level access from Horn Lane, platform extensions, new platform canopies and step-free access to all platforms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Outside the station, improvements funded by Transport for London and Ealing Borough Council would include a new roundabout with zebra crossings, widened pavements, street trees and covered cycle parking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In mid-2013, a gated barrier was built along the entire length of platforms 2 and 3, protecting passengers from the fast lines. In June 2017, it was announced that completion of the station was delayed until 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 2017, MTR Crossrail took over management of the station from Great Western Railway, with TfL Rail services running from May 2018 in preparation for the full operation of the Elizabeth line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, contracts for the new station building were awarded, allowing construction of the new station building to proceed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> the refurbished station opened on 18 March 2021, providing step free access to all platforms.<ref>"Acton Main Line station latest in the TfL network to be made step-free as upgrade works complete". Network Rail. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.</ref>
Passenger volume
Since the new station opened in preparation of the new Elizabeth line in 2019, the usage of this station increased by 536% in six years, leading to overcrowding during peak hours.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> TfL added extra stops at this station on two peak hour services from Reading as passengers were struggling to board trains towards London.<ref name="foi-3583-2324">Template:Cite web</ref>
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 350,930 | 125,954 | 321,076 | 1,099,704 | 2,234,516 |
Services
All services at Acton Main Line are operated by the Elizabeth line using Template:Brc electric multiple units.
The typical Monday to Friday off-peak service is:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 4 tph (trains per hour) westbound to Heathrow Terminal 4
- 4 tph eastbound to Abbey Wood
A Sunday service was introduced at the station in May 2019. Prior to this, the station was closed on Sundays.<ref name="tfl.gov.uk Heathrow">Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2023, two more peak services into Abbey Wood from Reading started stopping at this station.<ref name="foi-3583-2324"/>
Connections
London Buses routes 260, 266, 440 and night route N266 serve the station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>