West Drayton station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened on 4 June 1838 at the same time as the line.[2][3] The original station was located approximately 200m to the west of the current station and was opened in its current position on 9 April 1884.[4] This was four months before the Staines and West Drayton Railway branch line was opened on 9 August 1884.[3][5] Initially trains operated as far as Colnbrook, with services to Staines commencing on 2 November 1885.[6] From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor. The service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885.[7][8]
West Drayton was the junction station for both the Staines branch, and an earlier branch to Uxbridge Vine Street that opened on 8 September 1856.[4] The Uxbridge branch line closed to passengers on 10 September 1962, but the line south of the Grand Union Canal was retained for freight traffic until 8 January 1979.[4] The Staines branch closed to passengers on 29 March 1965, but freight trains still run from West Drayton serving the aviation fuel terminal for Heathrow Airport at Colnbrook and aggregates depots at Thorney and Colnbrook.[4]
From 1895 the station was named West Drayton and Yiewsley; it reverted to the original name West Drayton on 6 May 1974.[3]
The station has five platforms. Platform 1 down main line (away from London), platform 2 is the up main line (towards London), platform 3 is the down relief line, platform 4 is the up relief line. A fifth platform on the up goods line is not used for passenger services. This is used for freight services to access the branch line to Colnbrook and also to wait to continue on the up relief line. The platforms on the main lines see little use, other than when the relief lines are closed for maintenance. Access between the platforms is via steps and a pedestrian underpass.
Crossrail and the Elizabeth line
The station received major improvements through the Crossrail construction project in preparation for Elizabeth line services which commenced in May 2022. A new glass and steel extension was built together with a redeveloped main ticket office and new platform canopies. The platforms were extended to be greater than 200m long, accessed by a new over platform footbridge with four lifts.[9]
^Aerofilms (2006). London's Railways from the Air. Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-3144-4.
^"General News". The Globe. 3 November 1885. p. 2.
^Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN978-1-85414-315-0.
^Day, John R.; Reed, John (2008) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (10th ed.). Harrow: Capital Transport. p. 26. ISBN978-1-85414-316-7.
