White City tube 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 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.

White City
Station entrance in 2008
White City Location of White City in Greater London
Location	White City
Local authority	Hammersmith and Fulham
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	4 (facing 3 tracks)
Fare zone	2
OSI	Wood Lane [1]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	9.56 million[2]
2020	4.01 million[3]
2021	4.62 million[4]
2022	7.39 million[5]
2023	7.89 million[6]
Railway companies
Original company	London Passenger Transport Board
Key dates
3 August 1920	Line opened
23 November 1947	Station opened
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51.512083°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

v t e Stations in Shepherd's Bush
Legend
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 Shepherd's Bush 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 a 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.^[7]

Similarly named station

An earlier Wood Lane station on the Metropolitan 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.

Connections

London Buses routes 72, 95, 220, 228, 272 and night route N72 serve the station directly. White City bus station is a few minutes walk south of the station.^[8]

References

1. "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
2. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
3. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
5. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
6. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
7. "Christmas comes early to Maida Vale Tube station". Transport for London. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
8. "Buses from White City" (PDF). TfL. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • White City Station in 1951.
• Shepherd's Bush and White City development

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
East Acton towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		Central line		Shepherd's Bush towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford via Newbury Park
Former route
North Acton towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		Central line		Wood Lane towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford via Newbury Park