On 12 April 1869, the District Railway (DR, now the District line) opened tracks through Earl's Court as part of a south-westward extension from its station at Gloucester Road to West Brompton where the DR opened an interchange with the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line). At its opening, the extension had no intermediate station. The first decade of the 20th century saw other developments at Earl's Court station. On 30 June 1900 The Middle Circle service was withdrawn east of Earl's Court which became the terminus of the service until 31 January 1905 when the service was cut back again to terminate at Addison Road. On 15 December 1906, the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly line) opened between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park serving Earl's Court from platforms in deep tube tunnels constructed beneath the surface station. Unlike at Gloucester Road and South Kensington, other stations served by both the District and Piccadilly lines, a new building to house the lifts to the deep level platforms was not required. Instead space was provided within the existing station shed and the lifts descended directly to platform level without the need for intermediate stairs below ground. On 31 December 1908, Earl's Court became the terminus of the Outer Circle service when services east of the station to Mansion House ended. By this date the service was operated by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR, successor to the NLR). It was reduced again in 1912 to a shuttle service operating between Willesden Junction and Earl's Court only. The lift access was supplemented in 1911 by the London Underground's first escalators. These operated from new passageways beneath the surface platforms down to the GNP&BR platforms. "Bumper" Harris, a one-legged engineer, rode the escalators on the first day of operation to reassure passengers of their safety.
The station is located between Earls Court Road and Warwick Road (both A3220). The station is in both fare zones 1 and 2. The station is 'Grade II' listed as being of architectural and historical interest. At the 2009 National Railway Heritage Awards the reconstruction of the station's train shed roof gained a certificate of merit for the quality of the work carried out. The station has cash machines, Euro cash machines, wi-fi, escalators, a bridge, payphones, lifts and boarding ramps.
Connections: District Line. London Buses routes 74, 328, 430, C1 and C3 and night routes N31, N74 and N97 serve the station.
