The Richmond and West End Railway (R&WER) opened the first station at Richmond on 27 July 1846 as the terminus of its line from Clapham Junction on a site, which later became a goods yard, to the south of the present through platforms and where a multi-storey car park now stands. The Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) extended the line westward resiting the station to the west side of The Quadrant, on the extended tracks slightly west of the present through platforms. On 1 January 1869[10] the L&SWR opened a line to Richmond from north of Addison Road station (now Kensington (Olympia) station) on the West London Joint Railway. This line ran through Hammersmith (Grove Road) station, since closed, and Turnham Green and had connection with the North & South Western Junction Railway (N&SWJR) near Gunnersbury. Most of this line is now part of the London Underground District line; the line south from Gunnersbury was also served by the North London Railway (NLR) and is now used also by London Overground. Before this line was built services north from Richmond ran somewhat circuitously via chords at Kew Bridge and Barnes.
The area now known as Richmond was formerly part of Shene. Shene was not listed in Domesday Book, although it is depicted on the associated maps as Sceon, its Saxon spelling. Henry VII had a palace built there and in 1501 he named it Richmond Palace in recognition of his earldom and his ancestral home at Richmond Castle in Yorkshire. The town that developed nearby took the same name as the palace. The station has seven platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are through platforms for South West Trains services. Platforms 3 to 7 are terminating platforms used by: London Overground services (normally platforms 3 and 4 but sometimes 5, 6 and 7), District line services (normally platforms 5, 6 and 7. Occasionally 4 but never 3 due to 3's lack of a fourth rail, which the District Line uses for electrification). It is in Travelcard Zone 3. There is a taxi rank at the front station entrance, which opens onto Kew Road. There are staff-operated lifts to all platforms. An extensive bike storage facility is located outside the back entrance from Church Road, from where 27 steps lead down into the main platform area, which includes platforms 2-7 and a set of ticket barriers. The station building, in Portland stone and dating from 1937, is in Art Deco style and its facade includes a square clock. The area in front of the station main entrance was pedestrianised in 2013. The station has wi-fi, payphones, lifts, boarding ramps, cash machines and toilets.
Connections: District Line. National Rail. Bus routes 33, 65, 371, 391, 419, H22, H27 (London United), 190 (Metroline), 337, 443 (Go-Ahead London), 490, 969, R68, R70 (Abellio) and night route N22 (Metroline) serve the station.
