View source for West Hampstead railway station

{{Short description|London Overground station}}
{{for|other stations|Stations in West Hampstead}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox London station
| name             = West Hampstead
| symbol           = overground
| image_name       = File:West Hampstead Overground Station (geograph 6510672).jpg
| manager          = [[London Overground]]
| owner            = [[Network Rail]]
| fare_zone        = 2
| locale           = [[West Hampstead]]
| borough          = [[London Borough of Camden]]
| events1          = Opened
| years1           = 1 March 1888
| platforms        = 2
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| railcode         = WHD
| access           = yes
| access_note      = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/october/london-overground-s-west-hampstead-station-becomes-step-free|title=London Overground's West Hampstead station becomes step-free|website=Transport for London|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref>
| coordinates      = {{coord|51.5473|-0.1918|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| interchange      = {{stl|London Underground|West Hampstead}} {{rail-interchange|london|underground}}
| interchange1     = {{Stnlnk|West Hampstead Thameslink}} {{rail-interchange|london|thameslink}}
| interchange_note = <ref>{{citation London station interchange January 2016}}</ref>
| dft_category     = D
}}
'''West Hampstead railway station''' is a [[London Overground]] station on the [[North London Line]] between {{Stnlnk|Brondesbury}} and {{Stnlnk|Finchley Road & Frognal}} in the [[London Borough of Camden]] and is in [[Travelcard Zone 2]].
{{Overground RDT}}

The station and all trains are operated by [[London Overground]]. The station entrance is on [[West End Lane]]. 

==History==
The station opened on 1 March 1888 and was called '''West End Lane''' until 1975, when it became West Hampstead (making it one of three stations of essentially the same name along [[West End Lane]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=London Railway Atlas|author=Joe Brown|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing|year=2006}}</ref> The train service was provided by the [[North London Railway]] until 1909, when management of the NLR was taken over by the [[London and North Western Railway]]. Complete amalgamation with the LNWR followed in 1922, and the LNWR then amalgamated with other railways to form the LMS from January 1923. The LMS became the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, and the shortened brand name [[British Rail]] was used from 1965. The station and the rest of the North London Line was included in the reorganised BR business [[Network SouthEast]] in 1986.

Following the [[privatisation of British Rail]], the station was managed by the [[Silverlink]] franchise (National Express) from 1997 until 2007, when operations passed to [[Transport for London]]'s new London Overground.

After privatisation, [[Anglia Railways]] ran a regional service for a while between {{Stnlnk|Norwich}} and {{Stnlnk|Basingstoke}} which called here. This service, known as [[London Crosslink]], was discontinued in Autumn 2002 because of a shortage of train paths on the North London Line and the financial return being less than forecast.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}

The station was initially refurbished towards the end of 2007, to coincide with the takeover of the line by [[London Overground]].

The station was comprehensively upgraded in the late 2010s thanks in part to the adjacent [[Ballymore Group|Ballymore]] West Hampstead Square development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://westhampsteadlife.com/2013/07/12/new-overground-station-to-be-built-next-year/2664|title=New Overground station to be built next year|last=Turton|first=Jonathan|date=12 July 2013|website=West Hampstead Life|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ballymoregroup.com/project/detail/west-hampstead-square|title=West Hampstead Square {{!}} Ballymore|website=ballymoregroup.com|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> The upgrade included a new station building, wider platforms and step free access,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/october/london-overground-s-west-hampstead-station-becomes-step-free|title=London Overground's West Hampstead station becomes step-free|website=Transport for London|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> and was completed in December 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/december/work-to-improve-london-overground-s-west-hampstead-station-is-complete|title=Work to improve London Overground's West Hampstead station is complete|website=Transport for London|language=en|access-date=2020-02-26}}</ref>

==Accidents and incidents==
*On 23 February 1937, an express freight train, hauled by [[LMS Hughes Crab]] [[2-6-0]] No. 2765, was derailed near the station.<ref name=Trevena>{{cite book |first=Arthur |last=Trevena |title=Trains in Trouble |volume=1. |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |year=1980 |page=40 |isbn=0-906899-01-X}}</ref>

==Interchanges==
{{West Hampstead stations}}
West Hampstead railway station has an [[out of station interchange]] with both [[West Hampstead Thameslink railway station]] and [[West Hampstead tube station|West Hampstead Underground station]]. The arrangement of three separate stations (Thameslink, Overground and Jubilee Line) means that passengers wishing to change lines must walk along or cross West End Lane, a busy main road.

==Development==
A [[West Hampstead interchange]] proposal was put forward in 2004 by [[Chiltern Railways]] which would link the three West Hampstead stations with subterranean walkways. New platforms would be built for the [[Chiltern Main Line]], and possibly also for the [[Metropolitan line]], and the Thameslink and London Overground (formerly Silverlink) stations would be relocated on the east side of West End Lane.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=564194
|title=Planning Framework for West Hampstead Interchange Area Appendix 2
|publisher=London Borough of Camden
|date=19 April 2005
|access-date=2008-07-29
|pages=25
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611231733/http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=564194
|archive-date=11 June 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
The redevelopment would involve demolishing existing buildings and the redevelopment of West End Lane as "a tree-lined boulevard".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/35
|title=West Hampstead Interchange
|publisher=AlwaysTouchOut.com
|date=11 January 2006
|access-date=2008-07-29
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/environment/planning-and-built-environment/planning-consultations/recently-completed-planning-consultations/west-hampstead-interchange-draft-planning-framework.en;jsessionid=A1B1F3E4933E5E57C796C7B2389A2E0E.node1
|title=West Hampstead Interchange Draft Planning Framework
|publisher=London Borough of Camden
|date=19 April 2005
|access-date=2008-07-29
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024093559/http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/environment/planning-and-built-environment/planning-consultations/recently-completed-planning-consultations/west-hampstead-interchange-draft-planning-framework.en
|archive-date=24 October 2007
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> The plans were put on hold in 2007 due to uncertainty over the [[North London Line]] rail franchise.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.thecnj.com/camden/031507/news031507_12.html?headline=Station_interchange_plans_put_on_hold
|title=Station interchange plans put on hold
|publisher=Camden New Journal
|date=15 March 2007
|access-date=2008-07-29
}}</ref> This has now been shelved with [[Network Rail]] instead redeveloping the Thameslink station by installing a second footbridge with lift access leading to a new station building on Iverson Road.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nce.co.uk/major-projects/thameslink-upgrade/thameslink-station-redevelopment-gets-go-ahead/5212259.article|access-date=2016-09-18|title=Thameslink station redevelopment gets go-ahead|publisher=New Civil Engineer}}</ref>

In early 2008, the London Group of the [[Campaign for Better Transport (United Kingdom)|Campaign for Better Transport]] published a plan<ref>[http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/london_local_group London Campaign for Better Transport] North and West London light railway (NWLLR) / Brent Cross Railway (BCR) plan</ref> for an off-road, mainly orbital [[North and West London Light Railway]], sharing the orbital [[Dudding Hill Line]] freight corridor, and taking over at least one of the two [[Midland Railway]] freight lines which run through the neighbouring West Hampstead Thameslink station.

==Connections==
[[London Buses]] routes [[London Buses route 139|139]], [[London Buses route 328|328]] and [[London Buses route C11|C11]] serve the station.

==Services==
All services at West Hampstead are operated by [[London Overground]] using {{brc|378}} [[Electric multiple unit|EMUs]].

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:<ref>{{NRtimes|December 2023|59}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/richmond-to-stratford-london-overground-timetable-dec-to-june-2024.pdf|title=London Overground Timetable: Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford|work=[[Transport for London]]|access-date=22 January 2024}}</ref>
* 8 tph to {{stn|Stratford}} via {{stnlnk|Camden Road}}
* 4 tph to {{stn|Richmond||London}}
* 4 tph to {{stnlnk|Clapham Junction}}

During the late evenings, the services to and from Clapham Junction do not operate.

{{Adjacent stations|noclear=y|system1=London Overground
|line1=North|left1=Brondesbury|right1=Finchley Road & Frognal|to-left1=Richmond or Clapham Junction
|header2=Historical Railways
{{s-rail-national|status=Historical|previous=Willesden Junction|next=Camden Road|toc=AR|route={{smalldiv|[[London Crosslink]]}}}}
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|West Hampstead railway station}}
{{stn art lnk|WDH|NW62LJ}}
{{London Overground navbox|Serving=y|NLL=y}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Hampstead Railway Station}}
[[Category:Railway stations in the London Borough of Camden]]
[[Category:Former London and North Western Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1888]]
[[Category:Railway stations served by London Overground]]