Hammersmith & City line

Template:Infobox TfL line The Hammersmith and 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. Formerly part of the Metropolitan line, part of it is the oldest underground railway in the world, as it includes the first part of the London Underground, the section between Paddington and Farringdon, which opened on 10 January 1863. It ranks 10th out of the 11 lines in passenger numbers. Out of the 29 stations served, 14 are underground. The original line opened on the 13 June 1864, although Hammersmith moved to a different location in 1868. With the exception of the two-stop Waterloo and City Line and the East London Line (which is no longer a part of the Underground) it is the least used line on the Underground (as well as the least used sub-surface line).

History

The line was a branch of the Metropolitan line until 1988, though in later years it was increasingly operated as a separate line, with the sections not used by the rest of the Metropolitan line (from Hammersmith to Baker Street and from Liverpool Street to Barking) not included on the main Metropolitan line maps. This is also reflected in the line's use of C-stock equipment, as opposed to the A-stock used on the 'main' Metropolitan Line.

The name derives from the Hammersmith and City Railway (H&CR), a 5-km (3-mile) section between Hammersmith (Grove Road) station and Westbourne Park that opened in 1864 and was built and operated jointly by the Metropolitan and Great Western Railways between 1864 and 1868.

Because the changeover is relatively recent, there are many stations on the line with permanent tiles and metal maps that still state that the Metropolitan Line runs there (for example, Bromley-by-Bow station with the District Line).

Trains

All Hammersmith & City line trains are in the distinctive London Underground livery of red, white and blue and are formed of C stock. The line shares trains with the Circle and District (Wimbledon-Edgware Road branch) lines.

Map

Geographically accurate path of the Hammersmith & City line

Stations

Hammersmith & City Line
Hammersmith District and Piccadilly lines Hammersmith Hammersmith depot Goldhawk Road Shepherd's Bush (MR) Shepherd's Bush Market White City Wood Lane │ White City Central line West London Line Latimer Road Ladbroke Grove GWML to Bristol Elizabeth line via Acton Main Line Westbourne Park Royal Oak Paddington Circle line via Tower Hill and District line via Earl's Court Elizabeth line via Bond Street Edgware Road Metropolitan line to Harrow Baker Street Great Portland Street Euston Square │ Euston King's Cross St Pancras Thameslink via St Pancras King's Cross Metropolitan Clerkenwell not built City Widened Lines Elizabeth line via Bond Street Farringdon Thameslink to Blackfriars via Snow Hill tunnel Barbican Moorgate Liverpool Street Elizabeth line via Whitechapel Circle line via Tower Hill Metropolitan line to Aldgate District line via Tower Hill Aldgate East St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road) Elizabeth line via Liverpool Street East London line to Highbury & Islington Whitechapel East London line to Surrey Quays Elizabeth line to Shenfield and Abbey Wood Stepney Green Central line via Bank Mile End Central line via Stratford LTS line to Fenchurch Street Bow Road Bow Church Bromley-by-Bow Jubilee line DLR West Ham Plaistow Upton Park East Ham Gospel Oak to Barking line to Gospel Oak Barking District line to Upminster Gospel Oak to Barking line to Barking Riverside LTS to Southend

Hammersmith & City line train at Wood Lane

in order from west to east

Station	Image	Additional Information
Hammersmith
Goldhawk Road
Shepherd's Bush Market		Opened as Shepherd's Bush
Wood Lane		Opened October 12, 2008
Latimer Road
Ladbroke Grove
Westbourne Park
Royal Oak
Paddington ( Trains to Heathrow)
Edgware Road
Baker Street
Great Portland Street
Euston Square ( Euston)
King's Cross St Pancras ( Trains to Gatwick and Luton)
Farringdon ( Trains to Gatwick and Luton)
Barbican
Moorgate
Liverpool Street ( Trains to Stansted)
Aldgate East
Whitechapel		Hammersmith &City line trains terminate here on Sundays
Stepney Green
Mile End
Bow Road
Bromley-by-Bow
West Ham
Plaistow
Upton Park
East Ham
Barking

Future plans

The Hammersmith & City line will merge with the Circle line in December 2009 to form a spiral route. The new route would run from Hammersmith to Paddington and then do a complete loop of the current Circle line, terminating at Edgware Road. This new line will be known as the Circle line, and so the Hammersmith & City line will cease to exist.

This would mean fewer delays than the existing orbital route. On the current Circle line one delayed train tends to affect all following trains. Having a terminus at Edgware Road, rather than the orbital route, would avoid this. The Hammersmith & City line's route from Liverpool Street to Barking will be taken back over by the Metropolitan Line, forming a new route from Uxbridge to Barking.

See also

Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways for details of opening of the H&CR

External links

• "Hammersmith and City line facts". Transport for London. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
• "Hammersmith & City Line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-07-11.