West London line
AClass 378 train operated for London Overground atImperial Wharf, September 2009
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London
Termini	Willesden Junction 51°31′57″N0°14′41″W / 51.5324°N 0.2446°W /51.5324; -0.2446 (West London Line, Willesden Junction terminus) Clapham Junction 51°27′51″N0°10′13″W / 51.4642°N 0.1703°W /51.4642; -0.1703 (West London Line, Clapham Junction terminus)
Stations	6
Service
Type	Suburban rail freight rail
System	London Overground National Rail
Operator(s)	Overground:Arriva Rail London National Rail:Southern
Rolling stock	Overground:Class 378 /Class 710 Southern:Class 377
Technical
Number of tracks	Two
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC Overhead line, 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Route map (Click to expand)Show static map Legend North London line toStratford Bakerloo line Harrow │Elephant & Castle Willesden Junction Watford DC line Watford Junction │Euston West Coast Main Line viaWatford Junction │Euston Willesden Junction North London line toRichmond Mitre Bridge Junction Grand Union Canal Great Western Main Line Bristol │Paddington North Pole depot North Pole Junction St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs overheadAC third railDC changeover Great Western Railway goods line toNorth Acton Circle/Hammersmith & City lines Hammersmith │ viaLiverpool Street link closed 1940 Uxbridge Road Out of station interchange Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush (LU) Central line London & South Western Rly toRichmond via link closed 1916 Hammersmith (Grove Road)   Kensington (Olympia) link lifted 1992 District line toRichmond orEaling Broadway Warwick Road goods yard Piccadilly line toHeathrow orUxbridge District line viaEarl's Court Piccadilly line toCockfosters West Brompton District line toWimbledon Chelsea & Fulham Imperial Wharf Chelsea Basin goods yard Cremorne Bridge overRiver Thames Battersea Latchmere Southwest Jct   South West Main Line toWaterloo   South London lines toVictoria   South London line toLondon Bridge   Clapham Junction   South London line andBrighton Main Line   Waterloo–Reading line South West Main Line toWeymouth This diagram: view talk edit Show diagram map

TheWest London line (WLL) is a railway line in inner West London that linksWillesden Junction in the north toClapham Junction in the south. The line has always been an important cross-London link, especially for freight services.Southern andLondon Overground provide regular passenger services; detailed below.

In November 2024, the London Overground service on the line was named, along with that on theNorth London line, theMildmay line (to honour theMildmay Mission Hospital which treated victims of theHIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s) and coloured light blue on theTube map.^[1]

The Birmingham, Bristol and Thames Junction Railway was authorised in 1836 to run from theLondon and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), near the present Willesden Junction station, across the proposed route of theGreat Western Railway (GWR) on the level, to theKensington Canal Basin. For about twelve years, the railway ran alongside the Kensington Canal, formerlyCounter's Creek, a minor tributary of theThames River until it was filled in, the water course turned into a sewer and the futureDistrict line built over it. Construction was delayed by engineering and financial problems. Renamed theWest London Railway (WLR) the line officially opened on 27 May 1844, and regular services began on 10 June, but before that trials to demonstrate the potential of theatmospheric railway system had been held from 1840 to 1843 on a half-mile section of track adjacent toWormwood Scrubs, leased to that system's promoters;^[2] The WLR used conventional power but was not a commercial success. After only six months it closed on 30 November 1844.

TheLondon and Birmingham Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. clvi) authorised the GWR and the L&BR (which became part of theLondon and North Western Railway [LNWR] in 1846) to take a joint lease of the WLR. The line was used only to carry coal, and passenger service was not re-introduced. The lack of success of the line became such a regular target ofPunch magazine that the line was calledPunch's Railway.^[3][4]

TheWest London Extension Railway Act 1859 (22 & 23 Vict. c. cxxxiv) granted those two companies, with theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and theLondon and South Western Railway (L&SWR), powers to construct the West London Extension Joint Railway on the filled-in canal south from the Kensington Basin to the bridge under theKings Road, to bridge theThames and to connect near Clapham Junction to railways south of the river.^[5][6] The existing line was doubled, and the flat crossing of the GWR main line, where a number of collisions had occurred, was replaced by a flyover.^[7] The new line opened on 2 March 1863 with a passenger station at Addison Road (nowKensington (Olympia)) slightly north of the original Kensington station, and was then well used by various inner London services for the remainder of the nineteenth century.

For a time, the West London line formed part of the GWR'sMiddle Circle route (1872–1905) which ran (clockwise) fromMansion House toAldgate (originally Moorgate) viaEarl's Court, Kensington Olympia,Latimer Road andBaker Street. The West London line was also part of London Underground for a time and operated as a branch of theMetropolitan Railway betweenEdgware Road and Addison Road. The branch was eventually closed and the link between the West London line and today'sHammersmith & City line was dismantled in 1930.

A branch was installed to allow trains from the formerSouthern Railway to access to theWest Coast Main Line and vice versa: in summer theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway ran from as far north as Glasgow to the South Coast. Through trains in the steam era changed locomotives here. From the 1920s there was aUnited Dairies depot on the site of a former dairy farm here, which up until the late 1970s had regularmilk train deliveries.^[8]

The northern section of the line, from Willesden Junction to Kensington Olympia and on to Earls Court, was electrified by theLNWR in 1915.

After a period of popularity, passenger usage dwindled on the West London Railway. Competition from the new deep-levelUnderground railways andelectric tramways took away custom by offering more direct routes intoCentral London. With the onset ofWorld War II, the West London line was badly hit in some parts by enemy action duringthe Blitz and the demise of the line was hastened by wartime bombing. In 1940,LMS steam trains fromClapham Junction toKensington ceased on 20 October and the services toWillesden andEdgware Road Met electric services ceased on 3 and 20 October respectively.^[9]

In 1948, the line became part ofBritish Rail, following thenationalisation of the railways, but remained mostly in use as a freight route. For many years, limited passenger trains ran on workday mornings and evenings, to carry workers at thePost Office Savings Bank headquarters,Blythe House, near Olympia from Clapham Junction and back again, but these services were not publicly advertised.^{[citation needed]}

Kensington Olympia was used as late as the 1970s as a location for collecting milk tanks (for the west country) from various terminals in the London area such as Ilford. This activity later transferred to Clapham Junction.^[10]

Evolution of the West London line

Map of the former Middle Circle route (1872–1905)

A 1911 map of the West London line and junctions

A 1926 Tube map showing West London line stations

The West London line has been used by London's railways in many ways over time

Since the 1940s the line has often been used for excursion and other special through trains across London to the South Coast. Between April 1963 and June 1965 the section between Willesden Junction and Kensington Olympia was used for trains diverted from Euston during the rebuilding of Euston station.^[11] Kensington Olympia station was refurbished accordingly. During 1967 passenger services were diverted from Paddington between Old Oak Common and Kensington Olympia during engineering works at Paddington station.

In the late 1970s, theGreater London Council began to revitalise theNorth London line (NLL), incorporating it onto theTube Map in 1977 as a white line with black borders marked "British Rail" and electrifying the route from Dalston to Woolwich in 1985.^[12] The limited Clapham Junction – Kensington Olympia service appeared in the public timetables, but full passenger services on the West London line were not re-introduced until 1994 byNetwork SouthEast service. In 1997, as part of theprivatisation of British Rail, operation of both the West London line and North London line was brought under the North London Railway franchise, and taken over byNational Express, trading asSilverlink. For a decade, the West London line was operated with the green-and-purple liveried Silverlink Metro trains.

Channel Tunnel infrastructure work in 1993electrified the line at 750 V DC third rail from the South to the North Pole depot. The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead wires from Westway (near the overbridge carrying the Hammersmith and City Line) to Willesden and the North. Until theHigh Speed 1 railway line fromSt Pancras opened in November 2007,Eurostar trains fromWaterloo International used the West London line to access theirNorth Pole depot.

The line was crucial to the plannedRegional Eurostar service, and between 1995 and 1997 carried two daily services connecting the ECML and WCML respectively to Waterloo for international passengers. However the idea was cancelled.^[13]

Platforms were reinstated atWest Brompton in 1999. In 2007, Transport for London took over the North London Railway franchise as theLondon Overground concession, introducing new rolling stock and rebranding the West London line trains and stations in orange livery. The line appears today on the Tube Map in the light blue colour of the Mildmay line part of the London Overground network. New stations opened atShepherd's Bush in 2008 andImperial Wharf in 2009, bringing main line rail services to a large catchment area in West London.

Historical West London line operators

The unadvertised Post Office workers' train at Olympia in 1968

The West London line passenger service, revived in 1994 by BR Network Southeast and run as a diesel service (pictured here at Clapham Junction in 1995)

the fully electric West London line service during the days of Silverlink at Olympia (2006)

The changing face of passenger trains on the West London line

In 1966 British Rail launchedMotorail, a long-distanceaccompanied car train which transported passengers and their cars to theWest of England andScotland. The London Motorail terminal was at Kensington (Olympia), using the West London line for its wide connections to the UK mainline rail network. Motorail ceased operations in 1981.^[14]

Intercity prior to 1997, and then from 1997 to 2007Virgin CrossCountry operated a long-distance service betweenEdinburgh Waverley andManchester Piccadilly andBrighton, in addition Intercity operated Summer Saturday services Liverpool to Dover Western Docks and Manchester to Eastbourne which use the West London line route to cross fromActon Main Line, stopping at Olympia and passing through Clapham Junction. The CrossCountry franchise was taken over byArriva CrossCountry and in 2008 the Brighton route was terminated.^[15][16]

In 2009, Southern introduced its cross-London service from Milton Keynes to East Croydon.^[17] For a brief period, Southern and Connex also operated a direct service fromRugby toBrighton viaGatwick Airport, but this was withdrawn in 2001.^[18]

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The core operation of the West London line is themetro/commuter rail operated by London Overground. Four trains per hour run between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction, with most trains continuing on theNorth London line to and fromStratford. It forms the western section of the Overground's orbital rail route which was completed in December 2012 when theEast London line was extended to Clapham Junction via theSouth London line, linking it to the West London line.

In July 2023, TFL announced that it would be giving each of the six Overground services unique names by the end of the following year.^[19][20] In February 2024, it was confirmed that services on the line would be named theMildmay line (to honour the Mildmay Hospital which treated victims of theHIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s) and would be coloured blue on the updated network map.^[1] The new name started to be used in November 2024.

Along with theThameslink and theEast London line routes, the West London line presently forms part of theWest London Route which is one of three National Rail routes which run across London instead of terminating in the central area.^[21] This regional rail service operated bySouthern connects theWest Coast Main Line in the north to theBrighton Main Line in the south. Hourly trains run betweenEast Croydon andWatford Junction, with additional peak services betweenShepherd's Bush andClapham Junction. Southern services pass through Willesden Junction without stopping as the mainline platforms were removed in 1962. However there are plans^[when?] for these services to stop at Willesden Junction in the future which will mean building new main line platforms at Willesden Junction.

This regional service previously ran fromBrighton to Watford Junction. It was originally conceived as a Brighton-Birmingham service, and until December 2008 a twice-dailyCrossCountry service ran from Brighton via Kensington (Olympia) andReading toBirmingham New Street. The service was curtailed due to the difficulty in securing train paths in the congested West Midlands, and operated only as far asRugby. With engineering works on the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line, the service was shortened to terminate at Watford, and was discontinued, and later revived as a shorter regional route as part of theSouth Central franchise in 2008. Due to congestion on the West Coast Main Line, the service did not run north ofMilton Keynes Central,^[22] and in May 2022 was curtailed to Watford Junction.^[23]

• 
  Map of cross-London rail routes present and planned
• 
  The orbital lines of the London Overground network(as of 9 December 2012)
• 
  Line map of the West London line, showing connections and London fare zones

From north to south, to line follows the following route with current and former stations, junctions with other railways and other features:

Station	Image	Location	Interchange & notes
Willesden Junction		51°31′58″N0°14′44″W / 51.5327°N 0.2455°W /51.5327; -0.2455	Bakerloo North London line Watford DC line West London line trains use the high-level platforms shared with theNorth London line (NLL); Watford DC & Bakerloo lines use the low-level platforms
Shepherd's Bush		51°30′18″N0°13′03″W / 51.5051°N 0.2176°W /51.5051; -0.2176	Central Opened September 2008 on the site of the formerUxbridge Road station.
Kensington (Olympia)		51°29′55″N0°12′39″W / 51.4986°N 0.2108°W /51.4986; -0.2108	District Opened in 1862 asAddison Road
West Brompton		51°29′12″N0°11′45″W / 51.4866°N 0.1957°W /51.4866; -0.1957	District WLL platforms situated parallel to the Underground platforms closed in 1940 following World War II bomb damage; reopened 1999, restoring District line interchange
Imperial Wharf		51°28′31″N0°10′58″W / 51.4752°N 0.1828°W /51.4752; -0.1828	River Opened 2009 as part of the expansion of London Overground
Clapham Junction		LOC	South London line National Rail WLL terminates in abay platform parallel toWaterloo to Reading Line, shared with terminatingSouth London line services. Southern trains call at platforms on the other side of the station before continuing south toEast Croydon.

Station	Image	Location	Interchange & notes
Willesden Junction		51°31′58″N0°14′44″W / 51.5327°N 0.2455°W /51.5327; -0.2455	Bakerloo North London line Watford DC line West London line trains use the high-level platforms shared with theNorth London line (NLL); Watford DC & Bakerloo lines use the low-level platforms
West London Junction		51°31′49″N0°14′40″W / 51.5302°N 0.2445°W /51.5302; -0.2445	After Willesden Junction, the line heads south and crosses theWest Coast Main Line via a bridge; the WLL separates from the NLL, which heads southwest towards Richmond.
Mitre Bridge Junction		51°31′37″N0°14′10″W / 51.5270°N 0.2361°W /51.5270; -0.2361	Junction located just south of bridge over Hythe Road; the WLL curves east before turning south towards Shepherd's Bush.Southern services fromWatford Junction join the WLL at this junction after branching off from the WCML near Willesden Junction and curving south over alevel crossing.
Mitre Bridge		51°31′37″N0°14′10″W / 51.5270°N 0.2361°W /51.5270; -0.2361	Cantilever bridge which crosses theGreat Western Main Line and theGrand Union Canal close toOld Oak Common TMD
North Pole Junction		51°31′26″N0°13′58″W / 51.5240°N 0.2329°W /51.5240; -0.2329	End-on junction; connection to formerEurostarNorth Pole depot, which is parallel to the GWR main line. The WLJR proper starts here.
St Quintin Park & Wormwood Scrubs (closed)		51°31′13″N0°13′40″W / 51.5204°N 0.2279°W /51.5204; -0.2279	Destroyed by wartime bombing in 1940
Westway flyover		51°31′00″N0°13′24″W / 51.5168°N 0.2233°W /51.5168; -0.2233	Just north of the Westway flyover is the AC/DC changeover point where electric trains switch power supply: 25 kV ACoverhead lines to the north, 750 V DCthird rail to the south
Junction with theMetropolitan Railway (dismantled)		51°30′38″N0°13′12″W / 51.5106°N 0.2199°W /51.5106; -0.2199	This former eastbound spur linked the WLL to the line which is today theHammersmith & City line viaLatimer Road when the WLL formed part of theMiddle Circle route from 1872 to 1905
Shepherd's Bush		51°30′18″N0°13′03″W / 51.5051°N 0.2176°W /51.5051; -0.2176	Central Opened September 2008 on the site of the formerUxbridge Road station.
Junction with theL&SWR (dismantled)		51°30′08″N0°12′54″W / 51.5021°N 0.2151°W /51.5021; -0.2151	A former westbound spur connecting the WLL to theHammersmith & City line viaShepherd's Bush, removed in 1930
Kensington (Olympia)		51°29′55″N0°12′39″W / 51.4986°N 0.2108°W /51.4986; -0.2108	District Opened in 1862 asAddison Road
West London Extension Junction		51°29′41″N0°12′19″W / 51.4947°N 0.2053°W /51.4947; -0.2053	End-on junction between the two parts of the line; extensive goods yards owned by LNWR and GWR
West Brompton		51°29′12″N0°11′45″W / 51.4866°N 0.1957°W /51.4866; -0.1957	District WLL platforms situated parallel to the Underground platforms closed in 1940 following World War II bomb damage; reopened 1999, restoring District line interchange
Chelsea & Fulham (closed)		51°28′49″N0°11′15″W / 51.4803°N 0.1875°W /51.4803; -0.1875	Station closed in 1940 following World War II bomb damage; a goods line branched off south of the station to Chelsea Basin (the present-day site ofChelsea Harbour Pier)
Imperial Wharf		51°28′31″N0°10′58″W / 51.4752°N 0.1828°W /51.4752; -0.1828	River Opened 2009 as part of the expansion of London Overground
Battersea Railway Bridge		51°28′23″N0°10′45″W / 51.4731°N 0.1792°W /51.4731; -0.1792	Crosses theRiver Thames
Battersea (closed)		51°28′17″N0°10′20″W / 51.4715°N 0.1722°W /51.4715; -0.1722	Closed in 1940 following World War II bomb damage
Latchmere Junctions		51°28′15″N0°10′04″W / 51.4708°N 0.1678°W /51.4708; -0.1678	Connections to theSouth West Main Line (Waterloo) & theBrighton &Chatham Main Lines (London Victoria). Southern trains branch off here to traverse the main lines via adive-under. When the WLL formed part of theOuter Circle route (1872–1908), trains would branch off here to Victoria.
Clapham Junction		LOC	South London line National Rail WLL terminates in abay platform parallel toWaterloo to Reading Line, shared with terminatingSouth London line services. Southern trains call at platforms on the other side of the station before continuing south toEast Croydon.

TheWest Cross Route, one side of theRingway 1 innerring road, would have paralleled the line.

Trains in scheduled passenger services on the West London line are as follows:

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Routes operated
			mph	km/h
British Rail Class 377/2		EMU	100	160	Southern Watford Junction toEast Croydon
British Rail Class 377/7		EMU	100	160	Southern Watford Junction toEast Croydon
British Rail Class 378/2		EMU	75	120	London Overground Willesden Junction toClapham Junction
British Rail Class 710/3		EMU	75	120	London Overground Willesden Junction toClapham Junction

These are passenger volume statistics for the line from the years beginning April 2002 to April 2022. The large increases in the year beginning April 2006 were due to travelcards for National Rail journeys being made available from stations with London Underground ticket offices, and also using a different methodology to estimate likely journeys made from National Rail stations in Zone 1. The large increases in the year beginning April 2010 were due to increased train frequencies helped by the introduction of new rolling stock. Shepherd's Bush opened 2008 and Imperial Wharf the following year.^[24] There was a significant change in methodology for estimating usage of London stations in 2015–16, resulting in large changes in usage numbers for some stations.^[25]

TheCrossrail project instated theElizabeth line, a new east-west cross-London route which uses theGreat Western Main Line up toReading, and crosses the West London line 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) south of Willesden Junction at Old Oak Common. A new station,Old Oak Common railway station, is planned at this site to provide an interchange between the Elizabeth line, the GWML andHigh Speed 2. Due to the proximity of Willesden Junction, it has been suggested that an interchange could be added with theNorth London,Bakerloo,Watford DC and West London lines. A 2010 Department for Transport command paper highlights opportunities for interchanges at Old Oak Common withLondon Underground,London Overground andSouthern's cross-London services,^[26] while a report prepared byTerry Farrell and Partners for the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham proposes the construction of an overheadlight rail,automated people mover orpersonal rapid transit system linking "Old Oak Central" [sic] with Willesden Junction.^[27] However, as of 2013^[update], no firm proposals exist to create an interchange with these lines.^[28]

Proposals for Old Oak Common being considered by Transport for London include a scheme to realign the routes of both the West London and North London lines around the Old Oak Common site to create a new London Overground interchange station. The proposal envisages diverting the NLL Richmond route to curve around the eastern side of Old Oak Common, and re-routing the WLL to branch west south of the Mitre Bridge before curving north along a short section of theDudding Hill Line to join the West Coast Main Line. The NLL and WLL would meet at a point on the southern side of Old Oak Common, adjacent toWormwood Scrubs, where new interchange platforms would be built. Alternative versions of this scheme also consider cheaper options such as terminating the WLL at Old Oak Common or two separate London Overground stations.^[29][30]

The West London line passes beneath theEarls Court Exhibition Centre along a complex intersection of track which crosses over the subsurface junction of three District line branches. The planned redevelopment of the site byCapital & Counties Properties envisages demolishing the Exhibition Centre to make way for retail and housing; as part of these plans, the West London line is to be enclosed by a concrete box. Commentators have noted that the proposals make no allowance for any future quadrupling of the track to increase capacity on the line.^[31]

• 
  The West London & District lines passing under Earls Court
• 
  Map of the planned Old Oak Common station in relation to existing rail services
• 
  The West London line crosses Old Oak Common via Mitre Bridge (pictured here in 1979)

• Nisbet, A F. (2006), "Punch's Railway and the Winkle Railway",BackTrack,20 (2 Feb)): 117 to 121.
• Thomas Faulkner (1839),The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hammersmith, pp 65–68.
• J.B. Atkinson "The West London Joint Railways" Ian Allan 1984.
• Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith "West London Line – Clapham Jn. to Willesden Jn." London Suburban Railways Series, Middleton Press 1996.

• West London Line GroupArchived 29 July 2021 at theWayback Machine, representing the interests of users of the West London line.
• West London Line from abandonedstations.org.uk
• "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica. Detailed pages on the history of each station on the line (current and disused).
• Media related toWest London Line at Wikimedia Commons

51°29′57″N0°12′42″W / 51.4991°N 0.2116°W /51.4991; -0.2116

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