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 and Piccadilly lines. On the Metropolitan line, the station is between Eastcote and West Harrow stations. On the Piccadilly line, it is between Eastcote and South Harrow stations. The station is located to the west of the junction of Rayners Lane, Alexandra Avenue and Imperial Drive (A4090). It is in Travelcard Zone 5. Just east of the station, the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines tracks join for services to Uxbridge and separate for those to Central London.
Rayners Lane  | |
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  Rayners Lane Location of Rayners Lane in Greater London | |
| Location | Rayners Lane |
| Local authority | London Borough of Harrow |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Fare zone | 5 |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2019 |  4.16 million[1] |
| 2020 |  2.34 million[2] |
| 2021 | 1.78 million[3] |
| 2022 | 3.04 million[4] |
| 2023 | 3.34 million[5] |
| Key dates | |
| 4 July 1904 | Tracks laid (Metropolitan) |
| 26 May 1906 | Opened (Metropolitan) |
| 1 March 1910 | Start (District) |
| 23 October 1933 | End (District) |
| 23 October 1933 | Start (Piccadilly) |
| 10 August 1964 | Goods yard closed[6] |
| Listed status | |
| Listing grade | II |
| Entry number | 1261430[7] |
| Added to list | 17 May 1994 |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°34′31″N 0°22′17″W / 51.57528°N 0.37139°W |
 London transport portal | |
History
editThe Metropolitan Railway (Harrow and Uxbridge Railway) constructed the line between Harrow on the Hill and Uxbridge and commenced services on 4 July 1904 with, initially, Ruislip being the only intermediate stop. At first, services were operated by steam trains, but track electrification was completed in the subsequent months and electric trains began operating on 1 January 1905.
Progressive development in the north Middlesex 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. Rayners Lane opened as Rayners Lane Halt on 26 May 1906, and was named after a local farmer called Daniel Rayner.[8] It was nicknamed Pneumonia Junction because of its exposed location.[9]
On 1 March 1910, an extension of the District line was opened from South Harrow to connect with the Metropolitan Railway at Rayners Lane junction east of the station 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.[10]
Design
editThe station, more a halt, was rebuilt, following the start of house building in the locality in the 1930s that saw passenger figures rise from 22,000 per annum in 1930 to 4 million in 1937 by a new station to a design by Charles Holden and Reginald Uren that opened on 8 August 1938.[11] Work had started in earnest with the opening of a temporary timber booking hall and shops on 14 March 1935 allowing work on the new station to proceed.[12] The station, now Grade II Listed by Historic England, features the large cube-shaped brick and glass ticket hall capped with a flat reinforced concrete roof and geometrical forms typical of the new stations built in this period. To the west of the station, there is a reversing siding between the running tracks and, during the day, half of the Piccadilly line service reverses here. Two sidings were located south of the station but these were no longer used: with no connection with the running lines. In late 2017 these sidings were lifted.
Services
editMetropolitan line
editThe Metropolitan Line is the only line to operate an express service, though currently for Metropolitan Line trains on the Uxbridge branch this is eastbound only in the morning peaks (06:30 to 09:30) Monday to Friday.[13]
Metropolitan Line trains are able to terminate at Rayners Lane from the westbound platform either by a crossover to the east of the station or via a centre reversing siding to the west, under normal circumstances all westbound Metropolitan Line trains continue to the terminus of the branch at Uxbridge.
The off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:[13]
- 8tph Eastbound to Aldgate (all stations)
- 8tph Westbound to Uxbridge
The morning peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:[13]
- 2tph Eastbound to Aldgate (semi-fast, running non-stop between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Wembley Park)
- 4tph Eastbound to Aldgate (all stations)
- 4tph Eastbound to Baker Street (all stations)
- 10tph Westbound to Uxbridge
The evening peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:[13]
- 7tph Eastbound to Aldgate (all stations)
- 3tph Eastbound to Baker Street (all stations)
- 10tph Westbound to Uxbridge
Piccadilly line
editPiccadilly line trains are also able to terminate here by means of a crossover to the east of the station (separate from the Metropolitan Line crossover) and via the centre reversing siding although only the latter is used in normal service.
Between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge there is no Piccadilly Line service before approximately 06:30 (Monday - Friday) and 08:45 (Saturday - Sunday), except for one early morning departure from Uxbridge at 05:18 (Monday - Saturday) and 06:46 (Sunday).[14]
The off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:[14]
- 6tph Eastbound to Cockfosters
- 3tph Westbound to Uxbridge
- 3tph Terminate Here
The peak time service in trains per hour (tph) is:[14]
- 12tph Eastbound to Cockfosters
- 8tph Westbound to Uxbridge
- 4tph Terminate Here
Connections
editLondon Buses routes 398, H9, H10 and H12 serve the station.
References
edit- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be – freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News (591). London Underground Railway Society: 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
- ^ Historic England. "Rayners Lane Underground Station (1261430)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Harris, Cyril M. (2001) [1977]. What's in a Name? (4th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. p. 58. ISBN 1-85414-241-0.
- ^ "UK: Middlesex on line".
- ^ Rails Through The Clay : Croome & Jackson : Lond.: 1962
- ^ Rails Through the Clay : Croome & Jackson : Lond : 1962
- ^ Rails Through The Clay : Croome & Jackson : Lond : 1962
- ^ a b c d "CULG - Metropolitan Line". www.davros.org.
- ^ a b c "Working timetable 16 May 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
External links
edit- "Rayners Lane station". Tube live departure boards. Transport for London.
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
- Rayners Lane station building, 1933
- Platforms at Rayners Lane station, 1934 One platform shows a London Underground style roundel name board, the other a Metropolitan Railway Diamond name board.
- New station building, 1938
- View of platforms, 1938
Gallery
edit
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Entrance on southern face of station building -
Eastbound platform looking west -
Westbound platform looking east -
Platform roundel -
Reversing siding to the west of the station, with Piccadilly line train awaiting departure -
Way Out Sign
| Preceding station |  London Underground
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastcote towards Uxbridge
|
Metropolitan line Uxbridge branch
|
West Harrow towards Baker Street or Aldgate
| ||
| Piccadilly line Through services
|
South Harrow towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
| |||
| Terminus | Piccadilly line Terminating services
|
|||
| Former services | ||||
| Preceding station | London Underground
|
Following station | ||
| Eastcote towards Uxbridge
|
District line (1910–1933)
|
South Harrow towards Upminster
| ||