Feltham railway station

Feltham
Feltham Location of Feltham in Greater London
Location	Feltham
Local authority	London Borough of Hounslow
Managed by	South Western Railway
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	FEL
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2016–17	4.315 million[1]
2017–18	4.321 million[1]
2018–19	4.316 million[1]
2019–20	3.923 million[1]
2020–21	1.110 million[1]
Key dates
22 August 1848 (1848-08-22)	Opened
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°26′53″N 0°24′32″W / 51.4481°N 0.4088°W / 51.4481; -0.4088Coordinates: 51°26′53″N 0°24′32″W / 51.4481°N 0.4088°W / 51.4481; -0.4088
London transport portal

Feltham railway station serves Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It was opened on 22 August 1848 by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (later the London and South Western Railway).

It is 14 miles 68 chains (23.9 km) down the line from London Waterloo and is in Travelcard Zone 6. Two regular bus routes run from the main road, to its east, to and from differing parts of Heathrow Airport.

Facilities[]

A central, internal footbridge with stairs and lifts connects the platforms. To the west nearby is a footbridge and beyond that another that allows crossing by ramps and connects part of the town's 21st-century shopping/restaurants plaza to the eastbound side and a small part of Feltham, beyond which is Bedfont. The high street of Feltham starts 100 metres south and somewhat more, east.

A small shop, ticket machines and seating area are in the booking hall before the ticket barriers on the northern platform (1, eastbound or 'up'). Covered seating, vending machines, toilets and a coffee kiosk serve the platform.

The southern platform (2, westbound, or 'Down') hosts the bulk of the original station house.^[2] Two near-adjoining entrances, a small shop, automatic ticket machines and covered seating serve the platform. The mid-19th century former house is at the northern extremity of Feltham's principal architectural conservation area, taking in Hanworth Road, lined primarily with detached late Victorian houses.^[2]

The southern forecourt hosts a taxi rank, small car park and bays for courtesy buses to local employers (and if any track is closed, rail replacement bus services).

History[]

Before World War II a main station entrance was built on the road bridge carrying Hounslow Road across the line — this and a footbridge were demolished in the early 1990s. A former Red Star Parcels office is vacant space in the southerly station house.

Adjacent land, once used in the rail sector, has become a supermarket and a private sports centre; to the east of the station was Feltham marshalling yard, one of the largest marshalling yards in the British Isles (1917–67) and a motive power depot.

Construction of the booking hall, internal bridge, their accessways and most facilities on the northern side dates to the 1990s. This was built under the SWELTRAC partnership between local authorities, Heathrow Airport Ltd (part of BAA), and the rail industry to boost public transport, including easy rail/bus interchange. Its apron/forecourt, for buses, fronts the southwestern part of New Road (and it fronts Bedfont Lane, with semi-open pavements to both).

Services[]

The typical hourly off-peak weekday service from the station is:^[3]

• 6 to London Waterloo, of which:
  • 2 call at only Twickenham, Richmond, and Clapham Junction
  • 2 call at Whitton, Twickenham, Richmond, Putney, Clapham Junction, and Vauxhall
  • 2 call at all stations on the Hounslow Loop
• 2 to Windsor & Eton Riverside, calling at all stations
• 2 to Weybridge, calling at all stations.
• 2 to Reading calling at Staines then all stations.

On Sundays the typical hourly service is:

• 5 to London Waterloo, of which:
  • 3 call at Whitton, Twickenham, Richmond, Putney, Clapham Junction, and Vauxhall.
  • 1 calls at all stations via Richmond.
  • 1 calls at all stations on the Hounslow Loop.
• 2 tph to Windsor & Eton Riverside, of which:
  • 1 calls at Ashford (Surrey), Staines, and Datchet
  • 1 calls at Ashford (Surrey), Staines, Wraysbury, Sunnymeads, and Datchet
• 1 tph to Woking, calling at all intermediate stations.
• 2 tph to Reading calling at Staines then all stations.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Twickenham or Whitton		South Western Railway Waterloo to Reading		Staines
Whitton		South Western Railway Waterloo to Windsor		Ashford (Surrey)
Hounslow		South Western Railway Waterloo to Chertsey via Hounslow
	Historical railways
Staines		Anglia Railways London Crosslink		Brentford

Connections[]

v t Heathrow area rail services
Legend
miles  Crossrail  (under construction) London Underground │ 0⅓ Paddington TfL Rail Heathrow Express 4¼ Acton Main Line London Underground 5⅝ Ealing Broadway 6½ West Ealing 7¼ Hanwell 9⅓ Southall 10⅞ Hayes & Harlington London Underground 11⅛ Airport Junction Great Western Main Line to Slough and Reading Hatton Cross Heathrow Junction closed 1998 Heathrow Airport: Terminal 4 16⅜ Terminal 4 Terminals 2 & 3 14½ Terminals 2 & 3 16¼ Terminal 5 Western Rail Approach to Heathrow (proposed)

Heathrow Airport[]

Feltham is one of the nearest rail stations to Heathrow Airport, especially to Terminal 4. Signs at the station and in timetables give Feltham as a connection for the airport. One such bus route links directly to the airport's Central Bus Station between terminals 2 and 3; the other to terminals 4 and 5. Specifically, these are Route 285 and Route 490 – respectively. The four terminal numbers make up all of the terminals which are open.

A high street and suburb-serving bus, Route H25, greets the London-bound platform's forecourt (immediately outside of Platform 1) which thus assists passengers who need any assistance to reach the main choice of bus stops a few hundred yards to the east and north-east.^[4]

Since March 2008's opening of the newest terminal, route 490 has been extended, westerly, to Heathrow Terminal 5.^[5]

The two routes serve the same local stops up until Hatton Cross.^[6]

Historic express buses[]

A shuttle (express) bus fleet served the airport from 1999: Route T123 for the Central Bus Station, and route T4 for terminal 4. In 2000 T4 was withdrawn and the frequency of T123 cut.^[7] Until 2008 their replacement was the existing route 285 which until 2020 had a traffic-light junction detour;^[8] passengers for terminal 4 were advised to change at Hatton Cross (with free rail services, underground, to the four active terminals).

Local buses[]

All are London Buses. Route H25 serves the station immediately.

The main street, which is to the east and more importantly, as to stops, north-east is served by routes 90, 117, 235, 285, 490 and H26.

Proposals[]

The station's track lay in the now abandoned Heathrow Airtrack plan proposed by BAA. Railways, for passenger trains, would have splayed out from Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Waterloo, Reading and Guildford, replacing express bus services, and the first listed of these running directly via (calling at) Feltham. BAA withdrew the Airtrack plan in 2011.^[9]

Smaller proposals have followed. Hounslow Council, in 2016, consulted on a direct railway, with passenger services, between the line and Terminal 5 of Heathrow.^[10] The plan was again disbanded.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feltham railway station.

• Train times and station information for Feltham railway station from National Rail