# Kew Bridge railway station

Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford, the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby Kew Bridge.

## History

The station was built by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) and was opened on 22 August 1849 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which had absorbed the WS&SWR whilst that railway was under construction. Originally named Kew, it was renamed Kew Bridge on 1 January 1869. The North & South Western Junction Railway in a spirit of affording LSWR access to Fenchurch Street operated its admittedly rival 'Kew' station (1853–1866) on the western curve. From 1862 the companies cooperated: the junction railway company built additional Kew Bridge platforms (which were closed in 1940), the LSWR having constructed the eastern curve itself.
The Grade II listed large station building, designed by Sir William Tite, is now a coffee shop.

## Present

The station, on the Hounslow Loop Line, is on the southern and eastern curves of the Kew Bridge railway triangle, although the eastern curve platforms are abandoned. The station building was extensively refurbished in June 2013, with the platforms reached by a side walkway.
The station has two active platforms and two disused platforms:
* Platform 2: Trains to Brentford, Hounslow and Weybridge
* Platform 1: Trains to Chiswick, Barnes, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo
* Platform 3: Disused, served trains via South Acton
* Platform 4: Disused, served trains from South Acton continuing via Chiswick.
There are currently no passenger services on the eastern and western curves, but both have been proposed by the London Borough of Hounslow for Crossrail and also for Zone 3 Overground Orbirail. The football stadium redevelopment plan includes space for additional platforms on the other curves.
Briefly, between 2000 and 2002, Anglia Railways ran trains originating from the Great Eastern Main Line via the North London Line and the western curve as far as Basingstoke. This was termed the "Crosslink" service.

## Local attractions

Britain's largest foldable cycle manufacturer, Brompton Bicycle, was based behind the station, along the northeast edge of the railway triangle. It has now relocated to Southall. Nearby attractions include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the London Museum of Water & Steam, Gtech Community Stadium, the home of Brentford Football Club, and the Musical Museum, Brentford.

## Proposals

Hounslow Council proposed that Crossrail services from the east have the option of terminating at Hounslow as well as Reading by a mix of existing line and new connections. This proposal was rejected.
Other plans have been drafted and floated to Network Rail for reinstatement of track on the curves and direct services for Brentford Football Club's development of its Lionel Road stadium.

## Gallery

* The footbridge viewed from platform 1 in July 2016. Note the large space under the footbridge on platform 2.
* The view back from the footbridge in July 2016
* The view under Chiswick High Road to New Kew junction from platform 1 in July 2016
* This subway goes under Chiswick High Road in July 2016. It is not known why it was built.
* This is the subway under Lionel Road to abandoned platform 3 in July 2016.
* The abandoned platforms 3 & 4, view from Chiswick High Road in July 2016
* The ramp down to abandoned platform 4 in July 2016

## Services

All services at Kew Bridge are operated by South Western Railway.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
* 2 tph to London Waterloo via Barnes
* 2 tph to Weybridge via Hounslow
Additional services, including trains to and from London Waterloo via Richmond call at the station during the peak hours.
On Sundays, the service is reduced to hourly in each direction and westbound trains run to and from Woking instead of Weybridge.
| Preceding station | National Rail | National Rail | National Rail | Following station |
| Chiswick | | South Western Railway Hounslow Loop Line | | Brentford |

## Connections

London Buses routes 65, 110, 237, 267, night routes N9 and N65 serve the station.