Ravenscourt Park

 

The line through Ravenscourt Park station was opened on 1 January 1869 by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) on a new branch line to Richmond. The branch was built from the West London Joint Railway starting north of Addison Road station (now Kensington (Olympia)). The line ran through Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith via a now closed curve and initially the next station west from Hammersmith (Grove Road) (also now closed) was Turnham Green. Ravenscourt Park station was opened as Shaftesbury Road by the L&SWR on 1 April 1873. On 1 June 1877, the District Railway (DR, now the District line) opened a short extension from its terminus at Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR tracks east of Ravenscourt Park station. The DR then began running trains over the L&SWR tracks to Richmond. On 1 October 1877, the Metropolitan Railway (MR, now the Metropolitan line) also started a service to Richmond via Grove Road station.

 

Following an accident at Turnham Green on 9 April 1878 when a passenger fell trying to climb the 24 inches (610 mm) from the platform into a DR carriage, the platforms at Shaftesbury Road were experimentally raised from the L&SWR standard height of 1 foot 9 inches (530 mm) above rail level to 2 feet 10 inches (860 mm), which was lower than the DR standard height of 3 feet 1 1⁄2 inches (952 mm). The Richmond branch was a major stimulus to residential development along the route and traffic on the line was high. The DR's service between Richmond, Hammersmith and central London was more direct than either the L&SWR's or the MR's routes via Grove Road station or the L&SWR's other route from Richmond via Clapham Junction and it took much of the custom. On 1 March 1888, the station was given its present name in advance of the nearby park being opened to the public.

 

The station also maintains platforms for the Piccadilly line but these are only put to use occasionally. This is usually on the occasion of engineering works taking place on other sections of the District line, and during all-night services on New Year's Eve. London Assembly member Murad Qureshi has called for Piccadilly line trains to stop at Ravenscourt Park on a regular basis. To the east of the station, the remaining parts of the viaduct taking the L&SWR's tracks to Grove Road station are situated between the eastbound District and Piccadilly lines on the approach to Hammersmith station. The station has payphones, a waiting room and a bridge.

 

Connections: Picadilly Line (rarely). London Buses routes 27, 190, 266, 391 and H91 and night routes N9 and N11 serve the station.

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