page_title: West London Orbital
section_title: Detail of the scheme
hierarchical_section_title: West London Orbital / Detail of the scheme
caption_attribution_description: English: Cricklewood: Dudding Hill Junction and signalbox
context_page_description: The West London Orbital is a proposed extension to the London Overground railway system in London, UK. The extension would make use of a combination of existing freight and passenger lines including the Dudding Hill Line, North London Line and Hounslow Loop. The route would run for approximately 11 miles from West Hampstead and Hendon at the northern end to Hounslow at the western end via Brent Cross West, Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak Common, South Acton and Brentford.
  If the extension were opened, it would improve rail connectivity across West and North London and establish a number of new connections to existing radial rail infrastructure including Thameslink, the Jubilee line, the Bakerloo line, High Speed 2, Crossrail and the Piccadilly line. It is anticipated the line would be operational by the mid-2020s, due to the fact that it makes use of existing underused rail infrastructure rather than requiring significant lengths of new track or tunnels to be built. The planned line would follow a portion of the route of the former Super Outer Circle that was operated by the Midland Railway from 1878 to 1880.
context_section_description: The West London Orbital line consists of a number of distinct sections: The Dudding Hill Line, the North London Line and the Hounslow Loop. The Dudding Hill line itself has had no scheduled passenger service for over a century. It has no stations, no electrification and a 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit with semaphore signalling, and is lightly used by freight and very occasional passenger charter trains. It is roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) long.   
  Near the site of Old Oak Common the West London Orbital would connect to the existing North London Line, and then further south at Acton, use the link down to the Hounslow Loop to reach Brentford and Hounslow. Taken together, this set of routes would be known as the “West London Orbital” railway.
  In March 2017 the West London Alliance group of local authorities commissioned a study to assess the feasibility of the line so that a decision could be taken as to whether it merited pursuing further. This study found that:
  The route is technically feasible.
  The scheme represents a high value for money, with a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 2.2.
  Peak three-hour demand at 3,000 passengers southbound and 2,500 passengers northbound in 2031. This suggests that the level of passenger demand may be able to sustain a regular four-trains-per-hour or more service along the line.
  The line would enable significant new development to be undertaken along its length, supporting the creation of new homes and jobs.
  It would drastically improve orbital travel times around West London compared with the equivalent journey by car. For example a journey from Barnet to Park Royal (enabling a change on to Crossrail or HS2 services) would take approximately ​12 ¹⁄₂ minutes. A trip from Acton to Cricklewood or Brent Cross would take approximately ​16 ¹⁄₂ minutes. A journey along the whole line from Barnet to Hounslow would take approximately 39 minutes (times the same for reverse journeys).
  Eight trains per hour in each direction would be achievable given existing traffic along the length of the route.
  It would connect town centres and regeneration areas, including the 45,000 new homes and 86,000 new jobs that will be created at Old Oak Common, Wembley and Brent Cross regeneration areas, putting a greater number of jobs and homes within easy reach of one another and supporting intensification in growth areas.
  It would remove a significant number of cars from the road, reducing congestion and improving journey times, particularly along the North Circular Road, as the population of London approaches 10 million over the next 20 years.
  It would allow passengers in outer London to access new services on Crossrail and HS2 via an interchange at Old Oak Common Lane.
  Potential to unlock significant amount of new housing.
  It would help to reduce passenger demand for central London stations such as King's Cross and Paddington for orbital journeys that currently require travellers to go into central London before then travelling back out to reach their destination.
  In June 2017 Transport for London published the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, which stated that London government would work with the relevant boroughs to explore the feasibility of the proposed service, that would become the West London Orbital. In March 2018 the Mayor's Transport Strategy was published, which includes a proposal for this orbital connection to Old Oak between Hounslow and Brent Cross.
caption: The Dudding Hill freight line, which may be re-opened to passenger services
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