West Ruislip  | |
|---|---|
 West Ruislip station | |
  West Ruislip Location of West Ruislip in Greater London | |
| Location | Ruislip |
| Local authority | London Borough of Hillingdon |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Owner | Transport for London |
| Station code(s) | WRU |
| DfT category | F1 |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| OSI | Ickenham |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2019 |  1.56 million[1] |
| 2020 |  0.69 million[2] |
| 2021 | 0.71 million[3] |
| 2022 | 1.14 million[4] |
| 2023 | 1.21 million[5] |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2019–20 | 0.182 million[6] |
| – interchange | 3,930[6] |
| 2020–21 | 43,442[6] |
| – interchange | 866[6] |
| 2021–22 | 0.121 million[6] |
| – interchange | 2,648[6] |
| 2022–23 | 0.154 million[6] |
| – interchange | 1,756[6] |
| 2023–24 | 0.141 million[6] |
| – interchange | 7,267[6] |
| Key dates | |
| 2 April 1906 | Opened (GWR/GCR) |
| 21 November 1948 | Opened (Central line) |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°34′11″N0°26′14″W / 51.5696°N 0.4373°W /51.5696; -0.4373 |
 London transport portal | |
West Ruislip (/ˈwɛstˈraɪslɪp/) is aninterchange station on Ickenham High Road on the borders ofIckenham and westernRuislip in theLondon Borough of Hillingdon inGreater London, England, formerly in the county ofMiddlesex. It is served byLondon Underground andNational Rail. On the London Underground, the station is the western terminus of theCentral line's West Ruislip branch and the next station towards east isRuislip Gardens. It is also on theChiltern Railways of the National Rail. The Central line and Chiltern Railways platforms and ticket office hall are managed by LU.[7][8]
The closest station on theMetropolitan andPiccadilly lines isIckenham, 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from this station.[9]
The station was opened on 2 April 1906 as Ruislip & Ickenham by theGreat Western and Great Central Joint Railway (GW&GCJR).[10][page needed] The GW&GCJR connected London and theMidlands viaHigh Wycombe and provided an alternative route to the Great Central Railway's (GCR's) main line throughAylesbury,Harrow andWembley which shared its route with theMetropolitan Railway.
Prior to the Second World War plans had been made for a number of extensions to the Central line. TheLondon Passenger Transport Board's (LPTB's) 1935-40 New Works programme included the extension of the Central line to run alongside the Great Western Railway (GWR) tracks fromNorth Acton toSouth Ruislip and the GW&GCJR tracks from there as far asDenham; the post-war introduction of theMetropolitan Green Belt caused the extension to be cut back to West Ruislip. Had the Central line extension been completed as planned, the next station would have beenHarefield Road. Preparatory work on this section had started just before the war and a section of trackbed constructed for the extension can be seen to the west of the road overbridge, beyond the buffer stops of the Central line tracks alongside the National Rail line.
The additional tracks were constructed by the GWR on behalf of the LPTB and on 30 June 1947, the first section of the western extension opened fromNorth Acton toGreenford. On the same date the station name was changed toWest Ruislip (for Ickenham).
Central line services began running from West Ruislip on 21 November 1948.
The station building was built byBritish Railways for London Underground and was not completed until the 1960s At about the same time the sub-title was omitted from the station name. Some Central line stations with older signage still show the longer name on the line diagrams on their platforms.
The station was transferred from theWestern Region of British Rail to theLondon Midland Region on 24 March 1974.[11]
TheLondon Borough of Hillingdon announced in June 2011 that it would be lobbying Transport for London to have the Central line extended from West Ruislip toUxbridge. Such a project would require a business case approved by TfL and the completion of signal upgrade work on theMetropolitan line.[12]
National Rail services at West Ruislip are operated byChiltern Railways.
The station's weekday off-peak service pattern is unusual in that it's served by trains at different frequencies in each direction. The station is served by one train per hour toLondon Marylebone and one train every two hours toHigh Wycombe. Services to and from London operate as stopping services calling at most stations. Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.[13]
On weekends, the service is increased to hourly in each direction and northbound services are extended beyond High Wycombe to and fromAylesbury viaPrinces Risborough.
On theLondon Underground, West Ruislip station is the western terminus of theCentral line and the next station on the line isRuislip Gardens to the east. The typical off-peak London Underground service on the Central line is 9 trains per hour to and fromEpping. During the peak hours, this is increased to up to 12 trains per hour to and fromDebden, with up to 7 tph continuing to and from Epping.[14]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiltern Railways | ||||
 London Underground | ||||
| Terminus | Central line | Ruislip Gardens | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
Line open, station closed | Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway | Line and station open | ||
| Great Western Railway | ||||
West Ruislip station is aligned approximately east–west with the main station buildings on the road overbridge across the lines at the western end of the station. The station has four platforms; two each for London Underground and National Rail services. The London Underground tracks are south of the National Rail ones and operate from an island platform whilst the National Rail platforms are outside of their tracks. The National Rail platforms are also served by a separate station building north of the tracks and adjacent to the car park. In a legacy of the original scheme to continue the extension to Denham, the Central line tracks continue for a short distance beyond the station before ending at buffers. The intended alignment of the unbuilt tracks can be seen from the width of the unused railway land south of the existing tracks.
The Central line's Ruislip depot is east of West Ruislip station, and has a connection via a shunting neck to the Network Rail westbound track west of the station to allow rolling stock and material deliveries. The depot also has a connection to theUxbridge branch tracks of theMetropolitan andPiccadilly Lines which pass under the Central line east of West Ruislip; it is used only for empty stock movements and works train access. Two sidings west of the station to the north of the running lines provide layover facilities for works trains.
There areticket barriers at the main entrance to the station, controlling access to the Central line platforms from the public highway and the pedestrian walkway linking the car park to the station. The Chiltern platforms can be reached from the car park walkway without tickets.
London Buses routes278,U1 andU10 serve the station.
| Stations |
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||||
| History |
| ||||||||||||||
| Proposed stations | |||||||||||||||
| Depots | |||||||||||||||
