Paddington, also known asLondon Paddington, is aLondon railway station andLondon Underground station complex, located onPraed Street in thePaddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by theGreat Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed byIsambard Kingdom Brunel. As of the 2023–24 Office of Rail & Road Statistics, it is the second busiest station in the United Kingdom, afterLondon Liverpool Street, with 66.9 million entries and exits.^[9]

Paddington
London Paddington
The Victorian train shed at Paddington in October 2018
Paddington Location of Paddington in Central London
Location	Paddington
Local authority	City of Westminster
Managed by	Network Rail London Underground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	PAD, QQP (IATA)
DfT category	A
Number of platforms	15
Accessible	Yes[1]
Fare zone	1
OSI	Paddington Bakerloo, Circle and District lines station Paddington Circle and Hammersmith & City lines station Marylebone Lancaster Gate[2]
Cycle parking	Yes
Toilet facilities	Yes
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	48.61 million[3]
2020	11.42 million[4]
2021	20.44 million[5]
2022	46.65 million[6]
2023	48.55 million[7]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	44.87 million[8]
– interchange	2.98 million[8]
2020–21	6.39 million[8]
– interchange	626,100[8]
2021–22	23.87 million[8]
– interchange	2.06 million[8]
2022–23	59.183 million[8]
– interchange	3.708 million[8]
2023–24	66.859 million[8]
Railway companies
Original company	Great Western Railway
Key dates
4 June 1838	Temporary station opened
29 May 1854	Permanent station opened
24 May 2022	Elizabeth line opened
Other information
External links	TfL station info page Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°31′02″N0°10′39″W / 51.5173°N 0.1774°W /51.5173; -0.1774
London transport portal

Paddington is the London terminus of theGreat Western Main Line; passenger services are primarily operated byGreat Western Railway, which provides commuter and regional passenger services to west London and theThames Valley region, as well as long-distance intercity services toSouth West England andSouth Wales. The station is the eastern terminus forHeathrow Express.Elizabeth line services run through Paddington westwards toReading,Heathrow Terminal 5, andHeathrow Terminal 4, and eastwards toAbbey Wood andShenfield.^[10] Situated infare zone 1, it has two separate London Underground stations: one for theBakerloo,Circle andDistrict lines; the other for theCircle andHammersmith & City lines. It is one of 11 London stations managed directly byNetwork Rail.

The station has been perennially popular for passengers and goods, particularly milk and parcels. Major upgrades took place in the 1870s, the 1910s and the 1960s, each trying to add additional platforms and space while trying to preserve the existing services and architecture as much as possible. Paddington was first served by London Underground trains in 1863, as the original western terminus of theMetropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. In the 20th century, suburban and commuter services appeared at Paddington as theurban sprawl of London moved westwards. Despite the numerous upgrades and rebuilding, plus damage sustained in particular duringWorld War II, Brunel's original design is still recognisable.

The station complex is bounded at the front byPraed Street and at the rear by Bishop's Bridge Road, which crosses the station throat onBishop's Bridge. On the west side of the station is Eastbourne Terrace, while the east side is bounded by the Paddington arm of theGrand Union Canal. The station is in a shallow cutting, a fact obscured at the front by a hotel building, but which can be clearly seen from the other three sides.^[11] To the north of the station is theWestway, to the northeast isEdgware Road, and to the east and southeast is theLondon Inner Ring Road.^[12]

The surrounding area is partly residential, and includes the majorSt Mary's Hospital, restaurants and hotels. Until recently there was little office accommodation in the area, and most commuters interchanged betweenNational Rail and theLondon Underground to reach workplaces in theWest End or theCity. However, recent redevelopment of derelict railway and canal land, marketed asPaddington Waterside, has resulted in new office complexes nearby.^[11][13]

The station is inLondon fare zone 1. In addition to the Underground stations at Paddington,Lancaster Gate station on theCentral line is a short walk away to the south. A little further to the south lie the conjoined parks ofHyde Park andKensington Gardens.^[14]

The narrow busy section of the incoming main railway line betweenLadbroke Grove and Paddington station is known as Paddington Throat among some engineers.^[15]

The National Rail station is officially namedLondon Paddington, a name commonly used outside London but rarely by Londoners, who call it justPaddington, as on theLondon Underground map. This same practice applies to all the London mainline rail termini, except London Bridge. Parts of the station, including the maintrain shed, date from 1854, when it was built byIsambard Kingdom Brunel as the London terminus for theGreat Western Railway (GWR). It is one of eleven stations in London managed byNetwork Rail.^[16]

After several false starts, Brunel announced the construction of a railway from Bristol to London on 30 July 1833. This became the GWR, and he intended it to be the best railway in the country.^[17] The GWR had originally planned to terminate London services atEuston as this allowed them to use part of theLondon and Birmingham Railway's track into the station, which would have been cost effective.^[18] This received government approval in 1835, but was rejected as a long-term solution by Brunel as he was concerned it would also allowLiverpool to compete as a port with Bristol if the railway from Birmingham was extended.^[18][19]

The first station was a temporary terminus for the GWR on the west side of Bishop's Bridge Road, opened on 4 June 1838. The first GWR service from London to Taplow, near Maidenhead, ran from Paddington in 1838. After the main station opened, this became the site of the goods depot.^[20][21] Brunel did not consider that anything less than a grand terminus dedicated to the GWR would be acceptable, and consequently this was approved in February 1853.^[22]

The main station between Bishop's Bridge Road and Praed Street was designed by Brunel, who was enthusiastic at the idea of being able to design a railway station himself, although much of the architectural detailing was by his associateMatthew Digby Wyatt. He took inspiration fromJoseph Paxton'sCrystal Palace and theMünchen Hauptbahnhof.^[23] The glazed roof is supported bywrought iron arches in three spans, respectively spanning 68 feet (21 m), 102 feet (31 m) and 70 feet (21 m). The roof is 699 feet (210 m) long, and the original roof spans had twotransepts connecting the three spans.^[24][21][25]

It is commonly believed that these were provided by Brunel to accommodatetraversers to carrycoaches between the tracks within the station. However recent research, using early documents and photographs, does not seem to support this belief, and their actual purpose is unknown.^[24][21][25] The original station used four platforms, 27-foot (8.2 m)-wide and 24-foot-6-inch (7.47 m)-wide departure platforms, a 21-foot (6.4 m) arrival platform, and a 47-foot (14 m) combined arrival platform and cab road. A series of nineteen turnplates were sited beyond the ends of the platforms for horse and coach traffic.^[26]

The first GWR service from the new station departed on 16 January 1854, though the roof had not been finished at this point and there were no arrivals. It was formally opened on 29 May, and the older temporary station was demolished the following year.^[26]

TheGreat Western Hotel was built onPraed Street in front of the station from 1851 to 1854 by architectPhilip Charles Hardwick, son ofPhilip Hardwick (designer of theEuston Arch) in a classical and French-chateau design. It opened on 9 June 1854, and had 103 bedrooms and 15 sitting rooms. Each corner contained a tower containing two additional floors beyond the five storeys of the main block.^[26] It was originally run by a consortium of GWR shareholders and staff, before the company took over operations completely in 1896.^[27]

The station was substantially enlarged in 1906–1915 and a fourth span of 109 feet (33 m) was added on the north side, parallel to the others. The new span was built in a similar style to the original three spans, but the detailing is different and it has no transepts.^[28][29] The area between the rear of the hotel and the concourse is called the Lawn. It was originally unroofed and occupied by sidings, but was later built up to form part of the station's first concourse.^[30][29]

Paddington's capacity was doubled to four tracks in the 1870s. The quadrupling was completed toWestbourne Park on 30 October 1871,Slough in June 1879 andMaidenhead in September 1884. An additional platform (later to become No. 9) opened in June 1878, while two new departure platforms (later Nos. 4 and 5) were added in 1885.^[31] One of the lines between what is now platform 5 and 7 was removed, in order that the latter could be moved to a more southerly position. Aside from the June 1878 work, Brunel's original roof structure remained untouched throughout the improvements.^[32]

The GWR began experimenting with the electric lighting in 1880, leading to Paddington being decorated with Christmas lights that year. Although the system was unreliable, it spurred the GWR on to a more ambitious lighting scheme in 1886, in which a 145V AC supply could light the terminus, office, goods yard andRoyal Oak andWestbourne Park stations. It was praised for its scale and showing that electricity could compete withgas lighting on the same scale.^[32]

Paddington became an important milk depot towards the end of the 19th century. A milk dock was built 1881, and by the 20th century over 3,000 churns were being handled at the station every day. Other goods such as meat, fish, horses and flowers were also transported through Paddington. Passenger traffic continued to improve as well. In March 1906, the goods depot at Westbourne Park was moved toOld Oak Common. The main departure platform was extended in 1908 and used for milk and parcels.^[33]

In 1911, work began to separate light and empty carriage traffic from running trains between Paddington to Old Oak Common, which involved the rebuilding of Westbourne Park station. The work was halted because ofWorld War I but resumed in 1926, to be completed the following year.^[34] Three new platforms were added; platform 12 in November 1913, platform 11 in December 1915, and platform 10 the following year.^[35] The roof was completely reconstructed between 1922 and 1924, replacing Brunel's original cast-iron columns with steel replicas.^[36]

Unlike several other London termini, Paddington saw no damage duringWorld War I. AlthoughVictoria andCharing Cross were the main stations for military movement during the war, Paddington was used for some of this traffic.^[35]

OnArmistice Day 1922,a memorial to the employees of the GWR who died during the war was unveiled byViscount Churchill. The bronze memorial, depicting a soldier reading a letter, was sculpted byCharles Sargeant Jagger and stands on platform 1.^[29][37]

The GWR was the only railway company that continued through theBig Four grouping in 1923.^[19] A tube railway for the Post Office, opened in December 1927, could cater for around 10,000 mailbags every day.^[36]

Paddington was extended again from 1930 to 1934. Platforms 2 to 11 were extended past the Bishop's Road bridge and a new parcel depot was built.^[36] Suburban services, which had never been considered important at Paddington, were increased as new housing estates in the Home Counties started being built. Bishop's Road station was rebuilt, giving an extra four platforms to Paddington (Nos. 13–16) and providing a new ticket office and entrance for suburban services next to the bridge.^[38] A public address system was introduced in 1936.^[39] By this time, around 22,000 parcels a day were being forwarded from Paddington, with the Royal Mail service processing around 4,500 mailbags and 2,400 parcel bags every day.^[40]

The station came under attack several times duringWorld War II. On 17 April 1941, the departure side of the station was hit by a parachute mine, while on 22 March 1944, the roof between platforms 6 and 7 was destroyed by two 500-pound (230 kg) bombs.^[41] Passenger traffic greatly increased through Paddington during the war, partly by evacuation to the relatively quietThames Valley, and because holidaymakers chose to travel west as large areas of the south and east coasts had been taken over for military purposes. On 29 July 1944, the station was closed for three hours because the platforms were saturated with passenger traffic, while on the subsequentAugust bank holiday, crowds were controlled in tight queues along Eastbourne Terrace by mounted police.^[42]

Steam traffic began to be replaced in the late 1950s. Between 1959 and 1961, suburban services switched todiesel multiple units, while the last regular long-distance steam train left Paddington on 11 June 1965.^[43] The track layout was reorganised in 1967, abolishing the distinction between arrival and departure platforms that had been a feature of Paddington since opening. A new set of sidings was built south of Royal Oak, and the track curve into Paddington was eased. Services to the Midlands were rerouted viaMarylebone during this time.^[44]

The station concourse was enlarged in 1970, and the ticket office was rebuilt in the same year.^[44] By this time, public opinion had turned against wholesale demolition and redevelopment of stations such as Euston, and consequently the rebuilding work was done with an eye towards preserving Brunel and Wyatt's original station design.^[45][46] Special steam services began to be run from Paddington again in the 1980s.^[47]

In 1982, a bronze statue of Brunel was erected on the station concourse. It was sculpted by John Doubleday and funded by theBristol and West Building Society.^[48] Between 1989 and 1999, the Lawn was re-roofed and separated from the concourse by a glass screen wall. It is surrounded by shops and cafes on several levels.^[29][30]

As with other major British railway termini, Paddington is owned and managed byNetwork Rail.^[49] Train services wereprivatised in 1996, initially to Great Western Trains andThames Trains. The former company was renamed First Great Western in 1998, and merged withFirst Great Western Link andWessex Trains to form theGreater Western franchise in 2006. In 2015, the operating company was renamedGreat Western Railway.^[50]

In the mid 1990s, theGreat Western Main Line approaches and platforms were electrified as part of theHeathrow Express project.^[51] Opening in 1998, theairport rail link connects the station directly toHeathrow Airport. From 1999 until 2003, Express Baggage check-in facilities for airline passengers were provided in the Lawn, however these were progressively replaced by retail units.^[52]

The station's fourth span was renovated in 2010, involving repair and restoration of the original glazed roof, so that platforms 9 to 12 can once more enjoy daylight.^[53] A false ceiling or crash deck had been in place since 1996. Work was completed and the restored roof unveiled in July 2011. A second phase of improvements began in July 2014 and was completed two years later.^[54] Network Rail originally planned to demolish Span 4 and build an office block over it, which was successfully contested bySave Britain's Heritage.^[55]

In the mid 2010s, construction began on an underground station as part of theCrossrail project, located south west of the main station building. Coinciding with this project, a new taxi rank and pick up point was built north of the main station, as well as comprehensive upgrades toPaddington tube station.^[56] The underground platforms opened as theElizabeth line on 24 May 2022.^[57]

The station had historically been criticised for very poor air quality inside the train shed; however, the replacement of dieselInterCity 125 trains by bi-modeClass 800 and802 trains in the late 2010s improved air quality.^[58]

London Paddington has always been one of the busiest stations in the UK, and was ranked as the 8th busiest station in the United Kingdom during the 2016–17 period according to the Office of Rail & Road, with 36.6 million passengers during that period, and was placed betweenStratford andLondon St Pancras International.^[59] However, as a result of the opening of theElizabeth Line, alongsideLondon Liverpool Street, it has become far busier, and London Paddington had become the 2nd busiest station in the United Kingdom during the 2022–23 period, with 59.2 million total passengers, behind London Liverpool Street and ahead ofLondon Waterloo, the former busiest station.^[60]

Paddington is the London terminus for long-distance high-speed trains operated byGreat Western Railway. Two services go toHeathrow Airport: theHeathrow Express travels non-stop at a premium fare, whileElizabeth line takes the same route but calls at all intermediate stations.^[61][62]

The station has 13 terminal platforms, numbered 1 to 12 and 14 from south-west to north-east (left to right as seen from the concourse). Platforms 1 to 8 are below the original three spans of Brunel's train shed, platforms 9 to 12 beneath the later fourth span. Platform 13 was decommissioned in December 2016 to permit lengthening of platform 12 for 10-coach trains.^[63]

Platform 14 is within theMetropolitan Railway's old Bishop's Road (Suburban) station to the north-west. Immediately alongside are through platforms 15 and 16, used by theLondon Underground'sHammersmith & City andCircle lines.^[63] The current operator, Great Western Railway, assigns numbers to the pocket timetables it publishes, and its services to Bath, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and South Wales are in timetable number 1.^[64]

With the building of the Elizabeth line Paddington gained two more low level platforms numbered A and B. These are located underground in the Elizabeth line section of the station directly to the south west of the main concourse.

The concourse stretches across the heads of platforms 1 to 12, underneath the London end of the four train sheds. Platform 14 can only be reached indirectly via the north-western end of platform 12. A footbridge crosses the north-western end of the station and gives access to platforms 1–12 and 14. There areticket barriers to platforms 2–7 and 10–14.^[65]

A first-class lounge on Platform 1 provides complimentary refreshments and Wi-Fi internet access. It also has screens showing television news as well as a departure board.^[66]

Platform 7 is dedicated to theHeathrow Express.^[67] Flight information display screens for airline passengers are provided at the Heathrow Express ticket office near these platforms.^[68] An integrated timetable is offered between Paddington andRosslare Europort in Ireland via theStena Line ferry fromFishguard Harbour railway station with through ticketing to stations and a daily morning and evening service in both directions, changing at Newport, Cardiff or Swansea. This route has been in existence since 1906.^[69][70]

Paddington is the terminus for suburban trains to West London,Thames Valley,Reading, andDidcot, operated by Great Western Railway.^[71]

The general off peak service pattern in trains per hour (tph) is:

Great Western Railway

• 1 tphNewbury
• 2 tphBristol Temple Meads with 1tp2h continuing toWeston-super-Mare
• 2 tphCardiff Central with 1 tph carrying on toSwansea
• 1 tphCheltenham Spa
• 1 tp2h toExeter St Davids (some services extended to various destinations in the South West)
• 2 tphOxford with 1 tph carrying on toGreat Malvern (some services extended to Hereford)
• 1 tphPlymouth via Exeter St Davids (1tp2h extended to Penzance)
• 2 tphDidcot Parkway (stopping service using the relief lines)

Elizabeth line (operates from underground Elizabeth line platforms, A and B)

• 4 tphHeathrow Terminal 4
• 2 tphHeathrow Terminal 5
• 2 tphReading
• 2 tphMaidenhead
• 8 tphAbbey Wood
• 8 tphShenfield

Heathrow Express

• 4 tphHeathrow Terminal 5

Until May 2003, Paddington was part of theVirgin CrossCountry network with services to the North of England and Scotland viaOxford andBirmingham New Street.^[72] From June 2005 until May 2018, Paddington was the terminus forHeathrow Connect services.^[73][74]

Until December 2018,Chiltern Railways operated a weekdayparliamentary service fromSouth Ruislip and toHigh Wycombe via theActon–Northolt line.^[75][76] It ceased when the Acton-Northolt line closed. When itsLondon Marylebone terminus was closed, Chiltern Railways diverted its services to London Paddington as didWrexham & Shropshire between 2008 and 2011.^[77][78]

On 9 August 1920, a passenger train collided with the buffers. Two people were injured.^[79] The following year, a passenger train was being shunted into a platform and collided with three luggage vans already occupying the line. A carriage was derailed and a luggage van was wrecked.^[80]

On 23 November 1983, a sleeper train hauled byClass 50 locomotive 50 041Bulwark was derailed on the approach to Paddington after speeding through a crossover. Three of the seventy passengers were injured.^[81][82]

On 18 February 1991, Paddington wasbombed by theProvisional IRA, causing bad damage to the station's roof. Three hours laterLondon Victoria station was targeted in a much more serious attack.^[83]

The worst accident at Paddington was theLadbroke Grove rail crash (also called the Paddington rail crash). On 5 October 1999, a Thames Train stopping service from Paddington toBedwynpassed a red signal and collided with a Great Western express travelling in the opposite direction. The drivers of both trains were killed, along with 29 passengers; 400 others were injured.^[84][85]

On 25 May 2014, the middle coach of an empty stockClass 360electric multiple unit 360 205 derailed as it entered platform 3, due to maintenance errors.^[86]

On 16 June 2016, aClass 165diesel multiple unit 165 124 passed a signal at danger and derailed in a siding, causing significant disruption to services and damage to infrastructure.^[87]

On 20 August 2017, aClass 43, 43188 derailed during departure from Platform 2, when forming the rear power car of the 11:57 service toPenzance.^[88]

The GWR was aware that Paddington was some distance from the centre of London, and in 1854 donated £175,000 (£20,748,000 as of 2023) to theNorth Metropolitan Railway in order that the station could have a link to the City. Consequently, Paddington was the original western terminus of the line when it opened on 1 January 1863.^[27] An extension to the Metropolitan Railway provided Paddington with a connection to south of the River Thames, opening from Praed Street Junction via a newstation at Paddington, located on Praed Street, toGloucester Road on 1 October 1868.^[89] An extension of theBaker Street and Waterloo Railway to Paddington opened on 1 December 1913, connecting to the Metropolitan Railway's Praed Street station.^[90]

Because of the history of the various railways, Paddington is served by fourLondon Underground lines through two separate stations: theBakerloo,Circle andDistrict lines have a combinedsub-surface and deep-level station on Praed Street to the south of the main line station, and the Circle andHammersmith & City lines have asub-surface station with access fromPaddington Basin to the north. Circle line services run through both of the sub-surface stations as part of a spiral route. Although shown on theLondon Underground map as a single station, the two stations are not directly linked.^[91][92][93]

Lancaster Gate Underground station on theCentral line andMarylebone mainline station are within walking distance, and out-of-station interchanges to these stations are permitted at no extra cost if made within the permitted time.^[2]

As part of theCrossrail project, a new underground station was constructed on the site of the former taxi rank in Departures Road.^[94][95] The platforms opened with the launch of theElizabeth line on 24 May 2022.^[57]

Built usingcut and cover construction, thestation box is 23 m (75 ft) deep and 260 m (850 ft) long.^[96] As part of the construction of the station, the taxi rank was moved to the north side of the station,^[97] and Eastbourne Terrace was closed in early 2012 for two years to allow construction of the station box to take place.^[98]

The station was designed byWeston Williamson,^[99] with a 90 m (300 ft) clear opening into the underground station covered by a 120 m (390 ft) long by 23 m (75 ft) wide glass canopy. Artwork ofcloud formations by the artistSpencer Finch has been digitally printed onto the glass canopy.^[100] The station was awarded aCivic Trust Award in 2023.^[101]

In the1990s proposals for Crossrail, the station was to be built in the same location on Eastbourne Terrace but would have been designed by the architectWill Alsop with a similar canopy-based design.^{[102][103][104]}

Like all Elizabeth line stations, the station has been built to be fully accessible, with lifts and step-free access. An underground passage connects theBakerloo line station with theElizabeth line platforms.^[105]

The children's book characterPaddington Bear was named after the station. In the books, byMichael Bond, he is found at the station, having come from "deepest, darkestPeru" and with a note attached to his coat reading "please look after this bear, thank you". A statue of him byMarcus Cornish, based on the original drawings byPeggy Fortnum, is located under the clock on platform 1.^{[106][107][108]}

Paddington station has been referred to in several popular works of fiction. It is mentioned in severalSherlock Holmes novels. InThe Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson and his companions Dr. Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville leave for Dartmoor from Paddington, while inThe Boscombe Valley Mystery, Holmes and Watson leave the station for a train to Boscombe Valley nearRoss-on-Wye,Herefordshire.^[109] The mystery novel4.50 From Paddington (1957) byAgatha Christie begins with a murder witnessed by a passenger on a train from Paddington.^[110]

One ofThe Railway Series books,The Eight Famous Engines, contains a story about Gordon, Duck and a foreign engine debating which station London is. Duck says that he used to work at Paddington so he knows that Paddington is most important. However, Gordon later finds out that the station in London isSt Pancras.^[111] There is a fictional underground Paddington station on the North London System in the novelThe Horn of Mortal Danger (1980).^[112]

Paddington station was the subject ofWilliam Powell Frith's 1862 paintingThe Railway Station. The portrait was viewed by over 21,000 people (paying ashilling each) in the first seven weeks of its being publicly shown. The painting is now held in theRoyal Holloway College.^[27]

The bandSupertramp used Paddington station to record the train sounds featured in the song "Rudy" on the 1974 albumCrime of the Century.^[113] There is a documentary television series about Paddington station on Channel 5 calledPaddington Station 24/7.^[114]

London Buses routes7,16,23,27,36,46,205 and night routesN7,N27 andN205 serve the station.^[115]

Paddington is home to the Great Western Railway Paddington Band, the last railway band in England.^[116] It plays on Friday evenings on the main concourse.^[116] In 1997,Railtrack unsuccessfully tried to evict the band, citing a lack of space while the station was redeveloped to accommodate Heathrow Express services.^[117][118]

Citations

Sources

• Vaughan, John (1982).This is Paddington. Ian Allan.ISBN 9780711011144.OCLC 10072516.

• Station information on Paddington station fromNetwork Rail
• Train times andstation information for Paddington railway station fromNational Rail (Station code: PAD)
• Paddington Station (Virtual Archive from Network Rail)