White City tube station

White City is a London Underground station on Wood Lane in White City, west London, England, on the Central line between Shepherds Bush and East Acton stations in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is in a deep brick-sided cutting - and is designed in a similar way to Harrow-on-the-Hill station.

This article is about the present-day White City Central line station. For the former White City Metropolitan line station, see Wood Lane (Metropolitan line) tube station. For other stations in the area, see Stations around Shepherd's Bush.

White City
Station entrance in 2008
White City
Location of White City in Greater London
LocationWhite City
Local authorityHammersmith and Fulham
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms4 (facing 3 tracks)
Fare zone2
OSIWood Lane [1]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015 7.70 million[2]
2016 8.95 million[2]
2017 8.84 million[2]
2018 8.12 million[3]
2019 9.56 million[4]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon Passenger Transport Board
Key dates
3 August 1920Line opened
23 November 1947Station opened
Other information
External links
WGS8451.512083°N 0.224583°W / 51.512083; -0.224583
 London transport portal

History

The station was opened on 23 November 1947, replacing the earlier Wood Lane station. Its construction started after 1938 and had been scheduled for completion by 1940, but the Second World War delayed its opening for another seven years. The architectural design of the station won an award at the Festival of Britain and a commemorative plaque recording this is attached to the building to the left of the main entrance.

The station today
Stations in Shepherd's Bush
Central line to East Acton
West London Line
to Willesden Junction
right-hand running starts
A40 (Westway)
White City
H&C and Circle lines
to Latimer Road
 Wood Lane
Shepherd's Bush Market
Shepherd's Bush (MR)
right-hand running ends
White City Depot
Shepherd's Bush (LU)
Shepherd's Bush (LO)
Goldhawk Road
Central line
to Holland Park
H&C and Circle lines
to Hammersmith
West London Line
to Kensington (Olympia)

An interesting feature of the station is that the line adopts right-hand running through the station rather than the conventional left-hand running. This is an historical consequence of the reversal of the tracks in the tunnels of the anti-clockwise loop track built for the now-disused Wood Lane station, situated a short distance to the south of White City which was opened in 1908 as the then western terminus of the Central London Railway. The two tracks return to their normal left-hand orientation by a surface fly-over roughly halfway between White City and East Acton stations.

The station's running layout has three tracks, with the centre track having platforms on each side meaning that it can handle trains running in either direction. A siding between the running lines to the north of the station allows trains from Central London to be reversed and run back eastwards. Trains going out of service can return to the below-ground White City depot to the south of the station via sidings between the running lines.

The nearby Wood Lane station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines provides an interchange between the lines.

This station is also directly opposite the BBC Television Centre and is within walking distance of Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers F.C. and Westfield London.

The station received a certificate of merit in the 2009 National Railway Heritage Awards, London Regional category, for the modernisation (completed in 2008) that took care to retain heritage and architectural features.[5]

Similarly named station

An earlier Wood Lane station on the Hammersmith & City line was located a short distance to the south and was also known as White City from 23 November 1947 until its closure in 1959.

  • Eastbound through platform looking west
  • Centre terminating track looking east
  • Platform roundel

Connections

London Buses routes 72, 95, 220, 228, 272 and 283 serve the station directly. White City bus station is a few minutes walk south of the station.

References
  1. "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures (2007–2017)" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  3. "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  5. "Christmas comes early to Maida Vale Tube station". Transport for London. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
Central line
towards Epping, Hainault
or Woodford (via Hainault)
  Former route  
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
Central line
towards Epping, Hainault
or Woodford (via Hainault)
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