White City tube station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
White City | |
Location | |
---|---|
Place | Wood Lane |
Local authority | Hammersmith and Fulham |
Operations | |
Managed by | London Underground |
Platforms in use | 2 |
Annual entry/exit | 6.19 million |
Transport for London | |
Zone | 2 |
History | |
Key dates | Opened 1947 |
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail |
White City tube station is a London Underground station situated in Wood Lane in west London. The station is on the Central Line, between Shepherds Bush and East Acton stations, in Travelcard Zone 2.
Contents |
[edit] 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 World War II 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.
[edit] The station today
White City is the innermost surface station on the western leg of the Central line, and trains enter tube tunnels immediately to the central London side of the station (the south side). An interesting feature is that the Central 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 half way between White City and East Acton stations.
The station's running layout has three roads (tracks), with the centre road having platforms on each side meaning that it can handle trains running in either direction. A siding between the running lines to the west allows trains coming from Central London to be reversed and run back eastwards. Trains going out of service can return to the car sheds at White City depot to the east of the station via sidings between the running lines.
This station is also directly opposite the BBC Television Centre.
[edit] Future developments
A new station called Wood Lane is being constructed [1] on the Hammersmith and City Line close by which will aid the new White City and Shepherd's Bush development.
[edit] See also
The closed Wood Lane station on the Hammersmith & City Line which was located a short distance to the south was also known as White City from 23 November 1947 until its closure in 1959.
[edit] External links
- London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive White City Station in 1951.
- Shepherd's Bush and White City development
Preceding station | Underground Lines | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
East Acton | Central Line | Shepherd's Bush |