Paddington station, also known as
London Paddington, is a major
National RailNational Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
and
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
station complex in the
PaddingtonPaddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
area of central London, England.
The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates back to 1854, and was designed by
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
. The site was first served by Underground trains in 1863, and was the original western terminus of the
Metropolitan RailwayThe Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway were the first two underground railways to be built in London, creating the world's first metro system...
, the world's first
underground railwayA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
.
Despite its historic nature, and the wish to preserve many of its features, the complex has recently been modernised, and has a new role as the terminus of the dedicated
Heathrow ExpressHeathrow Express is an express train service from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in Central London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
service. The complex is in
Travelcard Zone 1Travelcard Zone 1 is the central 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. For most tickets travel through the zone is...
.
Location
The station complex is bounded at the front by
Praed StreetPraed Street is a street in London's Paddington district , most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it...
and at the rear by
Bishop's Bridge Road, which crosses the throat of the main line station on the recently replaced Bishop's Bridge. On the west side of the station is
Eastbourne Terrace, whilst the east side is bounded by the Paddington arm of the
Grand Union CanalThe Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 220 km with 166 locks...
. The main line station is located in a shallow cutting, a fact that is obscured at the front by an hotel building, but which can be clearly seen from the other three sides.
None of the bounding streets are major traffic thoroughfares, which makes access by road a little more difficult. The surrounding area is partly residential, and also includes the site of the major St Mary's Hospital, as well as restaurants and hotels, as is usual near stations.
Until recently there was not much office accommodation in the area, so that most of Paddington's commuters interchanged between
National RailNational Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
and the
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
to reach their destination in the
West EndThe West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, businesses, headquarters and the commercial West End theatres. Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
or the
CityThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. However, recent redevelopment of nearby derelict railway and canal land, marketed as
Paddington WatersidePaddington Waterside is a mixed residential and business development, situated adjacent to Paddington station and the Paddington branch of the Grand Union Canal in London, England. It is being developed on the site of the Great Western Railway's original London passenger terminus, to the west of...
, has resulted in a number of new office complexes in the area.
National Rail station
The National Rail station is officially named
London Paddington, a name that is commonly used outside London, but rarely by Londoners. Parts of the station, including the main
train shedA train shed is an adjacent building to a railway station where the tracks and platforms are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof...
, date back to 1854, when it was built as the London terminus for
Brunel'sIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
. Today it is one of seventeen UK railway stations managed by
Network RailNetwork Rail owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure. It is a British "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares....
.
History
The first station to open in the Paddington area was a temporary terminus for the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
on the west side of Bishop's Bridge Road. The first
GWRThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835, and ran its first trains three years later...
service from London to Taplow, near Maidenhead, began at Paddington in 1838. After the opening of the main station in 1854, this became the site of the goods depot. After years of dereliction, it is now being redeveloped as part of a mixed residential and business area called
Paddington WatersidePaddington Waterside is a mixed residential and business development, situated adjacent to Paddington station and the Paddington branch of the Grand Union Canal in London, England. It is being developed on the site of the Great Western Railway's original London passenger terminus, to the west of...
.
The main Paddington station between Bishops Bridge Road and Praed Street was designed by
Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
who was later commemorated by a statue on the station concourse (known as "The Lawn"), although much of the architectural detailing was by his associate
Matthew Digby WyattSir Matthew Digby Wyatt was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge....
. The station opened in 1854. The glazed roof is supported by
wrought ironthumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content, in comparison to steel, and has fibrous inclusions, known as slag. This is what gives it a "grain" resembling wood, which is visible when it is etched...
arches in three spans, respectively spanning 20.70 m (68 ft), 31.20 m (102 ft) and 21.30 m (70 ft). The roof is 213 m (699 ft) long, and the original roof spans had two
transeptFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram.
For the periodical go to The Transept....
s connecting the three spans. It is commonly believed that these were provided by Brunel to accommodate
traversersA transfer table, also called a traverser , is a piece of railroad equipment. It is similar in function to a turntable, though it cannot be used to turn equipment around. The table consists of a single length of track which can be moved from side to side, in a direction perpendicular to the track...
to carry coaches between the tracks within the station. However recent research, using early documents and photographs, does not seem to support this belief, and their actual purpose is unknown.
The
Great Western HotelThe Great Western Royal Hotel, now known as the Hilton London Paddington, is a hotel that forms part of the Paddington station complex in London, England...
was built on
Praed StreetPraed Street is a street in London's Paddington district , most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it...
in front of the station in 1851-1854 by
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
Philip Charles HardwickPhilip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...
, son of
Philip HardwickPhilip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...
(designer of the
Euston ArchThe Euston Arch, built in 1837, was the original entrance to Euston Station in London. The Arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone has been located, and proposals have been formulated to reconstruct it as part of the planned redevelopment of the...
). The station was substantially enlarged in 1906-1915 and a fourth span of 33 m (109 ft) was added on the north side, parallel to the others. The new span was built in a similar style to the original three spans, but the detailing is different and it does not possess the transepts of the earlier spans.
On
Armistice DayArmistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the...
1922, a
memorialThe Great Western Railway War Memorial is a monument in London, United Kingdom, to the employees of the Great Western Railway who died during the First World War, and it is situated half-way along platform 1 at London Paddington station. The stonework was designed by the architect Thomas S...
to the employees of the GWR who died during the First World War was unveiled by
Viscount ChurchillMajor Victor Albert Francis Charles Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill GCVO JP was a British peer and courtier....
. The bronze memorial, depicting a soldier reading a letter, was sculpted by
Charles Sargeant JaggerCharles Sargeant Jagger MC was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war...
and stands on platform 1.
In 1961, the decomposing body of a male child was found in a case at the station. Paper stuffed into his mouth was the cause of death. His identity has never been discovered.
A very early construction by Brunel was recently discovered immediately to the north of the station. A cast iron bridge carrying the Bishop's Bridge Road over the Paddington Arm of the
Grand Union CanalThe Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 220 km with 166 locks...
was uncovered after removal of more recent brick cladding during the complete replacement of the adjacent bridge over the railway lines at the mouth of the station.
The station today
Today Paddington has 14 terminal platforms, numbered 1 to 14 from south-west to north-east (left to right as seen from the main concourse). Platforms 1 to 8 are located below the original three spans of Brunel's 1854 train shed, whilst platforms 9 to 12 are located beneath the later fourth span. Platforms 13 and 14 are within the
Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways, the first two underground railways to be built in London...
's old Bishops Bridge station to the north-west. Immediately alongside are two through platforms, numbered 15 and 16, used by the
Hammersmith & City LineThe Hammersmith & City line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the London Underground Map, running between Hammersmith in West London and Barking in East London...
of the
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
(see below).
Platforms 6 and 7 are dedicated to the
Heathrow ExpressHeathrow Express is an express train service from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in Central London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
, and platforms 13 and 14 can only be used by the 2 and 3 car Turbo trains used on local services. Platforms 1 to 5 and 8 to 12 can be used by any of the station's train services. However long distance trains usually use the south-western platforms, and local trains (including
Heathrow ConnectHeathrow Connect is a train service in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and First Great Western, connecting Heathrow Airport with Paddington station. The service follows the same route as the Heathrow Express service but serves intermediate stations en route, thus connecting several...
) the north-eastern ones.
The station concourse stretches across the head of platforms 1 to 12, underneath the London end of the four main train sheds. Platforms 13 and 14 can be reached directly from the country end of platform 12, or from the footbridge which crosses the country end of the station and gives access to all platforms.
The area between the back of the
Great Western HotelThe Great Western Royal Hotel, now known as the Hilton London Paddington, is a hotel that forms part of the Paddington station complex in London, England...
and the station concourse is traditionally called
The Lawn. It was originally unroofed and occupied by sidings, but was later built up to form part of the station's first pedestrian concourse. The Lawn has recently been reroofed and separated from the concourse by a glass screen wall. It is now surrounded by shops and cafes on several levels.
There are ticket barriers to platforms 2-5 and 10-16.
Services
Paddington is the London terminus for long distance trains, operated by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup, which operates services in the west and south west of England and South Wales....
, to
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
, Bath,
GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
,
WorcesterWorcester is a city and county town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, 29 miles north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people...
,
HerefordHereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
,
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
and
PenzancePenzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 20,255....
in the
West CountryThe West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
and Midlands, and
NewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff, and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
,
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
and
SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. It also acts as the terminus for shorter distance commuter services to West London and the
Thames ValleyThe Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows between Wiltshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire,Surrey and West London...
, also operated by First Great Western. Two services from Paddington serve
Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , located in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic. It is the world's second busiest airport in total passenger traffic. It is also the largest and busiest airport in the United Kingdom...
: the
Heathrow ExpressHeathrow Express is an express train service from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in Central London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
travels non-stop whilst the
Heathrow ConnectHeathrow Connect is a train service in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and First Great Western, connecting Heathrow Airport with Paddington station. The service follows the same route as the Heathrow Express service but serves intermediate stations en route, thus connecting several...
service runs along the same route but calls at most intermediate stations. Paddington also serves as an alternative London terminal for
Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways is a train operating company in England. It was formed by the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates mainline passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and Birmingham Snow Hill...
' service to
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, used when
London MaryleboneMarylebone station, also known as London Marylebone, is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. The station is located midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each....
is inaccessible for engineering or other reasons, and for one daily service, London-bound only.
London Underground stations
Paddington has stops on several
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
lines: the
Hammersmith & City LineThe Hammersmith & City line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the London Underground Map, running between Hammersmith in West London and Barking in East London...
at surface platforms on the north side of the main line station and parallel with it; the
District LineThe 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 and the third busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60...
and Circle Line in a cutting in front of the main line station and at right angles to it; and the
Bakerloo LineThe Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from the Elephant and Castle in south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in north-west of London. The lines serves 25 stations of which 15 are underground...
in deep-level tubes below the main line station. On the London Underground map, the Hammersmith & City line platforms are shown as a separate station, as they have no direct passenger access to the other lines.
History
As originally built, these were three stations on separate lines that subsequently became part of the London Underground.
On 10 January 1863 the
Metropolitan RailwayThe Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway were the first two underground railways to be built in London, creating the world's first metro system...
opened the first underground railway, running from
Paddington (Bishop's Road) to
FarringdonFarringdon station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Clerkenwell, just north of the City of London in the London Borough of Islington.-Services:...
. The platforms serving this line were on the north side of the mainline station with the tunnel entrance under Praed Street. There was a connection to the GWR mainline which allowed it to run regular services onto the GWR's
HammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London approximately 5 miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
branch. The station was renamed "Paddington" on 10 September 1933. From the 1930s until the late 1960s the
Metropolitan LineThe Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in TfL's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening on 10 January 1863...
and GWR suburban services shared a group of four
platformsA railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
, but the Underground is now entirely separate and forms Paddington station on the
Hammersmith & City LineThe Hammersmith & City line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the London Underground Map, running between Hammersmith in West London and Barking in East London...
.
In 1868 the Metropolitan Railway opened a new branch to
South KensingtonSouth Kensington is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. It is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. On the District and Circle lines, the station is between Gloucester Road and Sloane Square, and on the Piccadilly Line, it is between Gloucester Road and...
, with a station called
Paddington (Praed Street) in a cutting along that street south-east of the mainline station. This station was renamed as "Paddington" on 11 July 1948 and now serves the Circle and District Lines. It is linked to the mainline station and to the Bakerloo line by a footway that passes underneath Praed Street and the Great Western Hotel.
The deep-level Baker Street and Waterloo Railway—now the
Bakerloo LineThe Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from the Elephant and Castle in south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in north-west of London. The lines serves 25 stations of which 15 are underground...
—opened on 1 December 1913, with platforms underneath the mainline station.
The stations today
Today the District/Circle line platforms and the
Bakerloo LineThe Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from the Elephant and Castle in south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in north-west of London. The lines serves 25 stations of which 15 are underground...
platforms are linked by an underground corridor under Praed Street within the fare paid area. They form a single station, which is shown as such on the
tube mapThe tube map is the schematic diagram representing the lines and stations of London's rapid transit rail system, the London Underground ....
.
The platforms of the Hammersmith & City Line station are still quite separate from the other Underground platforms, and were until the September 2009 revision of the Underground map shown as a separate station on the tube map. They are similar to the mainline platforms alongside them, and are numbered (15 and 16) in the same sequence as the mainline platforms. Interchange between the District/Circle/Bakerloo lines and the Hammersmith & City Line involves walking the length of the mainline station outside the London Underground barrier lines, although the ticket barriers are programmed to permit changing between the two stations as part of a single journey.
Services
The
Hammersmith & City LineThe Hammersmith & City line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the London Underground Map, running between Hammersmith in West London and Barking in East London...
trains run between
HammersmithHammersmith is a London Underground station in Hammersmith. It is the western terminus of the Hammersmith & City Line. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2 and is a short walk from the identically named but separate Hammersmith station on the Piccadilly and District lines. The two stations are...
and
BarkingBarking station is a railway station served by National Rail, London Underground and London Overground services. It is located in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in East London. The station is in Zone 4, has nine platforms, and is managed by c2c...
stations. Circle Line trains run in a continuous loop, as the name implies, and trains of the
District LineThe 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 and the third busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60...
serving this station run between
WimbledonWimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, and is the only London station that provides an interchange between rail, Underground, and Tramlink services...
and
Edgware RoadEdgware Road tube station is a name shared by two separate stations on the London Underground, in Travelcard Zone 1. This article is about the station serving the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines. See Edgware Road Bakerloo Line for the station on that line...
. The
Bakerloo LineThe Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from the Elephant and Castle in south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in north-west of London. The lines serves 25 stations of which 15 are underground...
runs between
Elephant & CastleElephant & Castle tube station, is a station on the London Underground system. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark and on the boundary of Travelcard Zone 1 and 2...
and Harrow & Wealdstone stations.
All London Underground services serving Paddington are summarised in the following table:
Under the planned reorganisation of the Circle Line, trains of that line will also call at platfroms 15 and 16 on their way to Hammersmith. Thus there will be the fairly unusual situation of the same trains stopping at completely different platforms of the same location in the course of a single journey.
Layout
Hammersmith & City line
⇒ towards HammersmithHammersmith is a London Underground station in Hammersmith. It is the western terminus of the Hammersmith & City Line. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2 and is a short walk from the identically named but separate Hammersmith station on the Piccadilly and District lines. The two stations are...
⇒ |
| Island Platform An island platform on a railway is where a single platform lies between at least two tracks, serving both of them. Usually, the two tracks are on the same line, running in opposite directions...
|
| ⇐ towards Barking Barking station is a railway station served by National Rail, London Underground and London Overground services. It is located in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in East London. The station is in Zone 4, has nine platforms, and is managed by c2c...
⇐ |
Crossrail station
Between 2009 and 2015, a new
CrossrailCrossrail is a project to build major new railway connections under central London. The project's name refers to the first of two routes proposed by Cross London Rail Links Ltd, based around an east-west tunnel from Paddington to Liverpool Street station...
station will be built under London Paddington, serving as both a connection to National Rail services, as well as London Underground. Services are due to start in 2017.
Future Development
Paddington station in fiction
The children's book character
Paddington BearPaddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
was named after Paddington station. In the books, by Michael Bond, he is found at the station in London, coming from "deepest, darkest
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
" and with a note attached to his coat reading "please look after this bear, thank you". In real life there is a statue of Paddington Bear in the station concourse, and a small shop full of Paddington Bear paraphernalia in the main station area. This merchandise can also be found at Hamley's Toy Store and at Harrod's. This statue is a representation of the original Paddington drawings by
Peggy FortnumPeggy Fortnum is an English illustrator. She worked as an art teacher, painter, and textile designer before becoming a full-time book illustrator. She has illustrated nearly sixty-five books to date. Fortnum resides in Essex, England...
.
The mystery novel
4.50 From Paddington4.50 from Paddington is detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 4 1957, and in US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month under the title of What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!. The UK edition retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence ...
(1952) by
Agatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE , was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but is best remembered for her 80 detective novels and her successful West End theatre plays...
begins with a murder witnessed by a passenger on a train from Paddington station.
One of
The Railway SeriesThe Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. There are currently 41 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. From 1983 to...
books (
The Eight Famous Engines) has a story in it about Gordon, Duck, and a foreign engine debating which station London is. Duck says that he used to work at London Paddington as a station pilot so he thinks Paddington is most important. However, Gordon later finds out that the station in London is
St. PancrasSt Pancras railway station is a major railway station situated in the United Kingdom that is celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London, between the British Library, King's Cross station and the...
.
A toilet at Paddington station makes an appearance in the film
The Long Good FridayThe Long Good Friday is a British gangster film starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. It was completed in 1979 but, because of release delays, it is generally credited as a 1980 film...
.
There is an underground Paddington Station, separate from the real one, on the North London System in the novel
The Horn of Mortal DangerThe Horn of Mortal Danger is a 1980 novel by British musician Lawrence Leonard. It relates the adventures of a brother and sister as they discover a secret civilisation buried beneath the streets of London...
(1980).
See also
External links
- Station information on Paddington station from Network Rail
Network Rail owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure. It is a British "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares....
- Train times and station information for Paddington railway station from National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
(Station code: PAD)
- Image gallery of the station