Acton Town | |
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 Station entrance | |
  Acton Town Location of Acton Town in Greater London | |
| Location | Acton |
| Local authority | London Borough of Ealing |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Accessible | Yes[note 1] |
| Fare zone | 3 |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2020 |  3.57 million[2] |
| 2021 | 2.90 million[3] |
| 2022 |  4.93 million[4] |
| 2023 | 4.82 million[5] |
| 2024 | 5.06 million[6] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | District Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 July 1879 | Opened asMill Hill Park on the line to Ealing Broadway |
| 1 March 1910 | RenamedActon Town |
| 4 July 1932 | Piccadilly line services commenced |
| Listed status | |
| Listing grade | II |
| Entry number | 1263471[7] |
| Added to list | 17 May 1994; 31 years ago (1994-05-17)[7] |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°30′10″N0°16′48″W / 51.50278°N 0.28000°W /51.50278; -0.28000 |
 London transport portal | |
Acton Town is aLondon Underground station inActon, West London, in theLondon Borough of Ealing, close to its boundary with theLondon Borough of Hounslow.[8] The station is served by theDistrict andPiccadilly lines, and is inLondon fare zone 3.[9] On theEaling Broadway branch of the District line, the station is betweenEaling Common andChiswick Park stations. On the Piccadilly line, it is between Ealing Common (on theUxbridge branch) orSouth Ealing (on theHeathrow branch) andHammersmith (orTurnham Green in the early mornings and late evenings) stations.[9]
Acton Town station was opened as Mill Hill Park on 1 July 1879 by theDistrict Railway (now the District line). It remained as a terminus until on 1 May 1883 and 23 June 1903 the District Railway opened two branches from Acton Town toHounslow Town andPark Royal & Twyford Abbey respectively. On 4 July 1932 the Piccadilly line was extended to Acton Town. District line services to both theHounslow and Uxbridge branches were withdrawn completely on 9 and 10 October 1964 after which operations were provided by the Piccadilly line alone.
The original brick-built station was built in 1879 and in February 1910 the station building was reconstructed.[10] On 1 March 1910 the station was given its present name.[10] In 1931 and 1932 the station was rebuilt again in preparation for transferring the Uxbridge branch service from the District line to the Piccadilly line.[10] The new station was designed byCharles Holden[10] in a modern European geometric style using brick, reinforced concrete and glass.[7]
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The station is at the junction of Gunnersbury Lane (A4000) andBollo Lane.[11] To the south-west of the station is the former Acton Works,[11] central overhaul and engineering works for the London Underground.[12] It is now home to theLondon Transport Museum's reserve collection of rail and road vehicles[11] (as known as London Transport Museum Depot or Museum Depot). The museum depot is opened to the public on a number of weekends throughout the year.[13] To the north of the station is the District line'sEaling Common Depot.[11][14]
Frank Pick House is near the station, on Gunnersbury Lane.[11] Named afterFrank Pick, theLondon Passenger Transport Board's chief executive[15] from 1933 to 1940, it is home to one of the engineering departments of the London Underground.[15]
Acton Town station was opened as Mill Hill Park on 1 July 1879[16] by theDistrict Railway (now theDistrict line) on its extension from Turnham Green to Ealing Broadway.[10][17] On 1 May 1883 the District Railway opened a branch from Acton Town to the now defunctHounslow Town station, which developed into the Heathrow branch.[17] On 23 June 1903 the District Railway tracks extended north of Acton Town to a new station atPark Royal & Twyford Abbey which became the first of the Underground's surface lines to use electric traction instead of steam with the Acton Town – Ealing Common section also electrified.[17] The existing deep tube lines, (City and South London Railway,Waterloo & City Railway (now Waterloo & City line) andCentral London Railway) had always been electrically powered.[18][19][20] Services on the Hounslow branch (now the Heathrow branch) and to Central London were electrified on 13 June 1905 and 1 July 1905 respectively.[17]
On 13 June 1905, a passenger service began on the short branch toSouth Acton.[17][21] A short fifth platform for the single car train of the South Acton branch was provided to the north of the eastbound island platform.[21] At first the service ran toHounslow West and toUxbridge but it was later reduced to a shuttle between Acton Town and South Acton on 15 February 1932.[17][21][note 2] The South Acton branch was closed on 28 February 1959 due to low usage;[17] its platform at Acton Town has not been removed and is still visible. Much of the branch remains including a bridge support on the south side ofBollo Lane.[21] In the picture, the area behind the hoarding in the background is the location of the former branch platform (Platform 5) which was only ever very short, two carriages at most. Part of a dismantled bridge where the shuttle crossed Bollo Lane remains near the entrance toActon Works[22]
On 4 July 1932, thePiccadilly line was extended west from its original terminus at Hammersmith and shared the route with the District line to Ealing Common.[10][14] From Ealing Common to South Harrow, the District line was replaced by the Piccadilly line, and from that date, District line trains from Acton Town ran only either to Hounslow West or to Ealing Broadway.[14] On 9 January 1933 Piccadilly line trains, sharing with the District line, began servingNorthfields on the Hounslow branch, and their service was extended to Hounslow West on 13 March 1933 but Piccadilly line trains did not call at South Ealing until 1935.[14] District line services on the Hounslow branch were withdrawn on 9 and 10 October 1964 after which operations were provided by the Piccadilly line alone.[17]
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The original brick-built station was built in 1879.[10] In February 1910 the station building was reconstructed and on 1 March 1910 the station was given its present name.[10] In 1931 and 1932 the station was rebuilt again in preparation for transferring the Uxbridge branch service from the District line to the Piccadilly line.[10] The new station was designed byCharles Holden[10] in a modern European geometric style using brick, reinforced concrete[7] and glass.
As with other stations that Holden designed,[23][note 3] Acton Town station features a tall block-like ticket hall rising above a low horizontal structure housing the station offices and shops.[7] The ticket hall has a projecting London Underground roundel sign over a canopy,[10] the brick walls of the ticket hall are punctuated with panels ofclerestory windows[7] and the structure is capped with a flat concrete slab roof. From the ticket hall enclosed stairs descend to the platforms under integral concrete canopies on paired piers in alternating broad and narrow bay formation.[10] A part of the narrow bays is infilled by kiosks, integral poster boards, roundel signs and fixed seating.[10] The platforms are linked by a secondary bridge at the southern end.[10] Reinforced concrete platform canopies replaced the original timber canopies.[10] Since 17 May 1994, the station has been a Grade IIListed building.[7]
The stated reason for why it should be listed was:
Reinforced concrete post and lintel construction with red brick infill, some load-bearing. Symmetrical almost square and double-height ticket hall flanked by kiosks on bridge, from which parade of shops descends to Bollo Lane with secondary entrance under stepped boxed lighting to the rear. Ticket hall gives on to complex access area with open frame construction, whence enclosed stairs descend to platforms under integral concrete. canopies - incorporating clerestory - on paired piers in alternating broad and narrow bay formation. The narrow bays part infilled by kiosks, integral poster boards, roundel signs and fixed seating. The platforms are linked by a secondary bridge at the southern end. All the frontage shops have their original bronzed glazing, particularly elaborate in the taller frontages to Bollo Lane and in the side passage. All shopdoors original save that to single shop east of station. The station windows metal with strong horizontal emphasis in their glazing bars. Ticket hall has projecting roundel sign over canopy, and three double-height paired windows to street frontage with similar windows at upper level to rear. Exposed concrete frame to ceiling, rendered upper walls with brown tiling below. Original tiled floors. Included as an important example of Holden's mature work for an interchange station.[7]
Between Acton Town andHammersmith, District line trains serve all stations, but Piccadilly line trains run non-stop to Hammersmith except for calling atTurnham Green at the start and end of the day.[9] The run between Acton Town and Hammersmith spans nearly three miles – the longest distance between stops on the Piccadilly line.[25][26] West of Acton Town, District line trains go viaEaling Common toEaling Broadway and Piccadilly line trains run either viaSouth Ealing toHeathrow, or via Ealing Common to Uxbridge.[9]
The typical off-peak service is:
There is also a morning service every day from Acton Town (Ealing Broadway on Saturdays) toEdgware Road and a late evening service from Edgware Road to Ealing Broadway on Sundays only.[17]
Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 2–5 minutes eastbound,[29] Off-peak services include 3 trains per hour (tph) to Uxbridge and 3 tph to Rayners Lane. At peak times there are 6 tph to Uxbridge and 6 tph to Rayners Lane, and every 2–7 minutes westbound to Heathrow Terminal 2 & 3 and Terminal 5 or via the Heathrow Terminal 4 loop.[30] Since 16 December 2016, Acton Town is also served by Night Tube trains betweenCockfosters andHeathrow Terminal 5.[31]
During occasional closures on the District line, the Piccadilly line provides additional services to serve destinations on the District line such as Ealing Broadway.[14] This is done either by diverting some trains bound for Rayners Lane and Uxbridge, or as a shuttle from Acton Town.[14] Also, Piccadilly line trains may also run on the District line tracks between Hammersmith and Acton Town to serve the District line stations with no platforms on the Piccadilly line,[14] namely Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook, Turnham Green and Chiswick Park.[note 4]
| Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ealing Common towardsEaling Broadway | District line Ealing Broadway branch | Chiswick Park | ||
| Ealing Common towardsUxbridge orRayners Lane | Piccadilly line Uxbridge branch | Turnham Green Early morning and late evening service only towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||
| Hammersmith towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||||
| South Ealing | Piccadilly line | Turnham Green Early mornings and late evenings service only towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||
| Hammersmith towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||||
| Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
| Terminus | District line South Acton branch (1905–1959) | South Acton Terminus | ||
| South Ealing towardsHounslow Town orHounslow West | District line Hounslow branch (1883–1964) | Chiswick Park towardsUpminster orHigh Street Kensington | ||
London Buses routes70,E3 and night routeN11 serve the station.[32]
On 25 March 1993,Jean Bradley was stabbed to death shortly after leaving Acton Town tube station. As of 2022[update], the murder remains unsolved.[33]
On 1 February 2022, a large fire occurred at the Autocar Centre,[34] a garage adjacent to the now-abandoned platform 5 is, which subsequently caused the evacuation of the station and "severe delays" to the District line and Piccadilly line.[35] Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters were sent to the scene after being called at 5:10 pm,[36] and stayed there until late at night, bringing the fire under control.[36]
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