West Hampstead interchange is a proposal by Chiltern Railways to connect three existing railway stations and two lines now without platforms, on West End Lane in West Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden in London, England. Although physically separate, they are near each other and the stations form a railway interchange. Two of the stations are part of the National Rail network and the third is on the London Underground.
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Stations and lines
West Hampstead Thameslink railway station is the oldest but acquired that name when the Thameslink route was established in 1988. Earlier names were West End and West End and Brondesbury. It is on the western side of West End Lane at the Iverson Road junction. Services are operated by Thameslink. Annual usage in 2009 was 2.318 million.
West Hampstead railway station is on the North London Line, with train services provided by London Overground which is managed by Transport for London. It was known as West End Lane until 1975. It is on the western side of West End Lane between the tube station and Iverson Road. Services are operated by London Overground. Annual usage in 2009 was 1.5 million.
West Hampstead tube station, on the Jubilee line, is owned and operated by Transport for London. It is on the eastern side of West End Lane near Broadhurst Gardens. It was a Bakerloo line station until 1979. Annual usage in 2009 was 7.44 million.
The three lines without stations at West Hampstead are:
Current interchange
To change stations passengers leave one and walk along West End Lane to the other. The diagram shows the relative locations of the stations which are spaced over about 200 yards (or metres). Out-of-station interchange within twenty minutes between any two of the stations entails no additional charge. As an example: a journey from Richmond to St Albans may be made on one ticket with a walk between the North London Line and the Thameslink stations.
Proposal
Chiltern Railways suggested building platforms for their line, and possibly for the Metropolitan line, and moving the Thameslink and London Overground stations to the east side of West End Lane to provide a combined station there. West End Lane would become "a tree-lined boulevard". The plans were put on hold in 2007 due to uncertainty over the North London Line rail franchise.
In January 2008, the London Group of the Campaign for Better Transport published a proposal for a North and West London Light railway, sharing the Dudding Hill Line freight corridor, and taking over one or both of the two unused freight lines which run through West Hampstead Thameslink station.