Kew Bridge National Rail
Kew Bridge station with platform shelters
Kew Bridge is located in Greater London
Kew Bridge
Kew Bridge
Location of Kew Bridge in Greater London
LocationBrentford
Local authorityLondon Borough of Hounslow
Grid referenceTQ189781
Managed bySouth Western Railway
OwnerNetwork Rail
Station codeKWB
DfT categoryF1
Number of platforms2
Fare zone3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2017–18Decrease 1.189 million[1]
2018–19Increase 1.282 million[1]
2019–20Decrease 1.281 million[1]
2020–21Decrease 0.356 million[1]
2021–22Increase 0.810 million[1]
Railway companies
Original companyWindsor, Staines and South Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
22 August 1849 (1849-08-22)Opened as Kew
1 January 1869Renamed Kew Bridge
Other information
External links
WGS8451°29′22″N 0°17′16″W / 51.4895°N 0.2878°W / 51.4895; -0.2878
 London transport portal

Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford, the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby Kew Bridge.

History

Kew Bridge station building, current entrance to the right.

The station was built by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) and was opened on 22 August 1849 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which had absorbed the WS&SWR whilst that railway was under construction. Originally named Kew, it was renamed Kew Bridge on 1 January 1869.[2][3] The North & South Western Junction Railway in a spirit of affording LSWR access to Fenchurch Street operated its admittedly rival 'Kew' station (1853–1866) on the western curve. From 1862 the companies cooperated: the junction railway company built additional Kew Bridge platforms (which were closed in 1940), the LSWR having constructed the eastern curve itself.

The Grade II listed large station building, designed by Sir William Tite, is now a coffee shop.[4]

Present

The station, on the Hounslow Loop Line, is on the southern and eastern curves of the Kew Bridge railway triangle, although the eastern curve platforms are abandoned. The station building was extensively refurbished in June 2013, with the platforms reached by a side walkway.

The station has 2 active platforms and 2 disused platforms:

There are currently no passenger services on the eastern and western curves,[5][6] but both have been proposed by the London Borough of Hounslow for Crossrail and also for Zone 3 Overground Orbirail.[7] The football stadium redevelopment plan includes space for additional platforms on the other curves.

Briefly, between 2000 and 2002, Anglia Railways ran trains originating from the Great Eastern Main Line via the North London Line and the western curve as far as Basingstoke. This was termed the "Crosslink" service.

Local attractions

Britain's largest foldable cycle manufacturer, Brompton Bicycle, is based behind the station, along the northeast edge of the railway triangle. Nearby attractions include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the London Museum of Water & Steam, Gtech Community Stadium and the Musical Museum, Brentford.

Proposals

Hounslow Council proposed that Crossrail services from the east have the option of terminating at Hounslow as well as Reading by a mix of existing line and new connections.[8] This proposal was rejected.

Other plans have been drafted and floated to Network Rail for reinstatement of track on the curves and direct services for Brentford Football Club's development of its Lionel Road stadium.[citation needed]

Gallery

  • A canopied footbridge. Underneath the footbridge are a pair of railway tracks & platforms, approximately at a 55° angle. Behind the footbridge is a yellow brick wall. The wall has a hole in it to allow the railway tracks to go through into an area of green foliage. Behind the wall there is an apartment building. Underneath the footbridge there is a cycle rack & a blue, white & orange sign bearing the text "Kew Bridge" "Fare zone 3" "Alight here for The Royal Botanic Gardens". The weather is partially cloudy.

    The footbridge viewed from platform 1. Note the large space under the footbridge on platform 2.

  • The view back from the footbridge. The pair of 3rd-rail-electrified tracks curve to the left between the 2 platforms. the left one has a sign with the number 2, stairs & a help-point. They both have a shelter, a ticket machine, display boards & lamp-posts. The trees on the left are darker in colour than the trees on the right. There is a silver car on the right & a modern office building.

    The view back from the footbridge

  • 2 railway tracks go under a graffiti-ed bridge & enter an area of green foliage, where 2 more tracks join them from the left. 1 of them crosses the left hand track & joins the right-hand one, while the other runs to the left of both tracks, parallel to them. To the left is a blue latticework support against which a piece of light-coloured wood has been left. There is a railway signal close to the camera.

    The view to New Kew junction from platform 1

  • A tall brown brick wall has a tunnel entering it. The tunnel is approximately 20 metres long & 3 metres wide, going to some green foliage. In front of the tunnel is a metal fence. To the right of the image are some danger signs.

    This subway goes under Chiswick High Rd. It is not known why it was built.

  • A barrel-vaulted brown brick tunnel approximately 10 metres long & 5 metres wide leads to a lush green clearing. The tunnel has graffiti & is being used to store large black bins.

    This is the subway under Lionel Road to abandoned platform 3.

  • 2 overgrown railway tracks snake to the right. To the left are brambles & to the right is grass, lavender & one solitary signal. In the distance are modern office towers.

    The abandoned platforms 3 & 4

  • An overgrown ramp slopes down to a grass area with a railway track & signal. The ramp has 2 gravel tracks where a vehicle has been. In the distance is a modern office tower.

    The ramp down to abandoned platform 4

Service

The typical off-peak weekday service in trains per hour is

On Sundays there is one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Woking via Feltham and one train per hour in each direction between Waterloo and Twickenham, Kingston, Wimbledon and Waterloo via Hounslow.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Chiswick   South Western Railway
Hounslow Loop Line 		  Brentford

Connections

London Buses routes 65, 110, 237, 267, night routes N9 and N65 serve the station.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 202. CN 8983.
  3. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 131. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. ^ Historic England (23 July 1992). "Kew Bridge Station, Kew Bridge Road (1260672)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  5. ^ loveplums page on Kew Bridge station
  6. ^ London's Abandoned Tube Stations: Kew Bridge
  7. ^ "London orbital railway on mayor's £1.3tn wishlist". The Guardian. 30 July 2014.
  8. ^ Corridor 7: Crossrail to Hounslow Archived 14 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Buses from Kew Bridge" (PDF). TfL. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kew Bridge railway station.
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