Location South Acton Station code SAT Accessible Yes Owner Network Rail | Managed by London Overground DfT category E Fare zone 3 Number of platforms 2 | |
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Similar West Acton tube station, Acton Central railway st, Homerton railway station, North Acton tube station, Grange Hill tube station | ||
South Acton railway station is in the London Borough of Ealing in South Acton, west London. It is on the North London Line, and the station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground. It is in Travelcard Zone 3. Until 1959 it was also served by the District line of the London Underground.
Contents
History
Between 1880 and 1917 the station served as an interchange station between the North London Line and the Hammersmith & Chiswick branch.
Construction
A short spur of the District Railway (DR) from Acton Town station, 1,232 yards (1,126 metres) long, was authorised by the Metropolitan Railway Act of 1874. When first opened, the spur was used for goods trains from 15 May 1899 onwards. Passenger services were introduced on 13 June 1905 to provide an interchange with the North London Railway which ran services from north London to the DR's Richmond branch. It thus provided an easier interchange for Richmond for eastbound passengers than changing trains at Turnham Green further east.
Operations
The South Acton station on the District line of the London Underground was located adjacent to South Acton station on the North London Line on the north-west side of the tracks.
Initially, the line had through passenger services to Hounslow Barracks (now Hounslow West). However, the line was relatively little used and in 1932 the line was reduced to a single track, operated by a one-car shuttle service between Acton Town and South Acton.
In 1933 the railway became part of the London Passenger Transport Board, becoming a branch line of the District line.
Just south of the station before the Bollo Lane level crossing was located a major creamery and milk bottling plant for Express Dairies, which was served by milk trains from both the Great Western Railway and the Southern Railway.
In later years, the shuttle train was normally worked by a single car of London Underground G Stock, specially modified for one person operation and fitted with additional brakes. Given the (then highly unusual) driver-only operation, the branch line was equipped with a two wire emergency telephone system at window level, a feature normally found only in tunnels on the London Underground.
Closure
The South Acton shuttle was withdrawn on 28 February 1959. Nothing now remains of the spur, except for a few bridgeheads and sections of the old trackbed, which indicate the route. Currently the rest of station of the same name continues to be well used.
Branch line to Kew Bridge and Brentford
A 2 km long branch exists to Old Kew Junction near Brentford station on the South West Trains line from Waterloo which does not carry passenger services. There is also another spur from Kew East Jn to Kew Bridge railway station on the line towards Brentford. This comprised part of the North and South Western Junction Railway.
Services
South Acton currently has the following London Overground (North London Line) services, which is operated by Class 378 trainsets:
Off-peak (Mon-Sat):
Connections
London Buses route 440 serve the station.