Ickenham tube station
Encyclopedia
Ickenham tube station is a London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

 station located in Ickenham
Ickenham
Ickenham is a suburban area centred on an old village in Greater London, part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain have been discovered during archaeological surveys, and the...

 in the London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...

.
The station is on the Uxbridge branch
Uxbridge tube station
Uxbridge is a London Underground station in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, north-west London. The station is the terminus of the Uxbridge branches of both the Metropolitan Line and the Piccadilly Line. The next station towards London is Hillingdon. The station is 15.5 miles west of...

 of both the Metropolitan line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...

 and Piccadilly line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...

, between Ruislip
Ruislip tube station
Ruislip is a London Underground station in Ruislip in west London. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ruislip Manor and Ickenham stations. The station is located on West End Road...

 and Hillingdon
Hillingdon tube station
Hillingdon tube station is a London Underground station in North Hillingdon in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ickenham and Uxbridge stations and in Travelcard Zone 6.-History:The...

 stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 6
Travelcard Zone 6
Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The zone was created in January 1991; from May 1983 it had...

.

History

The Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

 (Harrow and Uxbridge Railway) constructed the line through Ickenham between Harrow on the Hill and Uxbridge
Uxbridge tube station
Uxbridge is a London Underground station in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, north-west London. The station is the terminus of the Uxbridge branches of both the Metropolitan Line and the Piccadilly Line. The next station towards London is Hillingdon. The station is 15.5 miles west of...

 and commenced services on 4 July 1904 with, initially, the only intermediate stop being at Ruislip
Ruislip tube station
Ruislip is a London Underground station in Ruislip in west London. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ruislip Manor and Ickenham stations. The station is located on West End Road...

. At first, services were operated by steam trains, but track electrification
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...

 was completed in the subsequent months and electric trains began operating on 1 January 1905.

Progressive development in the north Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

 area over the next two decades led to the gradual opening of additional stations along the Uxbridge branch to encourage the growth of new residential areas. On 25 September 1905 a small halt was opened as Ickenham Halt by the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

, following lobbying by the Ickenham Parish Council. The railway company had been reluctant to open a station in the area due to a perceived lack of revenue and so a compromise was reached with the halt.

The new halt brought with it travellers from London seeking a day-out in rural surroundings. Villagers living near the halt sold flowers from their gardens and served teas. The parish council later requested shelters for passengers on the platforms, which were built in December 1905. A booking hut followed in 1910. The platforms, which had been too short for trains to call at fully, were extended in 1922.

On 1 March 1910, an extension of the District Line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...

 from South Harrow
South Harrow tube station
South Harrow is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line. The station is between Sudbury Hill and Rayners Lane. It is located on Northolt Road . The station is in Travelcard Zone 5...

 to connect with the Metropolitan Railway at Rayners Lane
Rayners Lane tube station
Rayners Lane is a London Underground station in the district of Rayners Lane in north west London, amid a 1930s development originally named Harrow Garden Village. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan Line, between Eastcote and West Harrow stations, and the Piccadilly...

 was opened, enabling District Line trains to serve stations between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge from that date. On 23 October 1933 District Line services were replaced by Piccadilly Line trains.

Ickenham Halt was later rebuilt as a station in the 1970s.

Transport connections

London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...

route U10 serves the station, operating between Uxbridge and Southcote Rise in Ruislip.

External links

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