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Similar Aldwych tube station, West Kensington tube station, London Transport Museum, Embankment tube station, Charing Cross tube station | ||
West Ashfield underground station is a mock-up London Underground District line station situated on the third floor of Ashfield House in West Kensington. It is used for staff training purposes and was opened in 2010 at a cost of £800,000.
Contents
Facilities
Designed by Reyneke Designs and completed in 2009, the station is used by the London Underground for training staff and is laid out exactly as a real station would be, except it is significantly shorter, the anti-suicide pit is a painted effect and the train façade in the tunnel won't actually move into the station.
The single platform is nominally a westbound platform on the District line. Staff are able to run training sessions which reflect signal points, tannoy announcements and electricity power controls. A fan in an upper corner of the room simulates the familiar blast of air when a train arrives and the platform can vibrate to simulate the rumbling of an approaching train.
The Model Railway
Also located at the West Ashfield training facility, and also designed by Reyneke Designs, is a fully working model railway, which is used to simulate various faults, so that staff can learn how to deal with them.
The five stations on The Model Railway are: 'Hobbs End', 'Kensington Palace', 'West Ashfield', 'Strand-on-the-Green' and 'Hammersmith Bridge'.