79-627: Paddington , also known as London Paddington , is a London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel . As of the 2022–23 Office of Rail & Road Statistics, it
158-572: A 145V AC supply could light the terminus, office, goods yard and Royal Oak and Westbourne Park stations. It was praised for its scale and showing that electricity could compete with gas lighting on the same scale. Paddington became an important milk depot towards the end of the 19th century. A milk dock was built 1881, and by the 20th century over 3,000 churns were being handled at the station every day. Other goods such as meat, fish, horses and flowers were also transported through Paddington. Passenger traffic continued to improve as well. In March 1906,
237-508: A daily morning and evening service in both directions, changing at Newport, Cardiff or Swansea. This route has been in existence since 1906. Paddington is the terminus for suburban trains to West London, Thames Valley , Reading , and Didcot , operated by Great Western Railway. The general off peak service pattern in trains per hour (tph) is: Great Western Railway Elizabeth line (operates from underground Elizabeth line platforms, A and B) Heathrow Express Until May 2003, Paddington
316-645: A departure board. Platform 7 is dedicated to the Heathrow Express . Flight information display screens for airline passengers are provided at the Heathrow Express ticket office near these platforms. An integrated timetable is offered between Paddington and Rosslare Europort in Ireland via the Stena Line ferry from Fishguard Harbour railway station with through ticketing to stations and
395-603: A flat fare of 1/- (£4.29 as of 2023). These were suspended during World War II . All stations except Fenchurch Street and Blackfriars provided integrated taxi services on opening. These originally had dedicated access roads to the station platforms when cabs were horse-drawn, while later purpose-built roads were built for road traffic. In the early 20th century, stations were expanded and upgraded to fit demand. Six terminal stations (Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Cannon Street, Blackfriars and London Bridge) have been completely rebuilt and London Bridge has seen multiple rebuilds. Although
474-491: A fourth span of 109 feet (33 m) 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 has no transepts. The area between the rear of the hotel and the concourse is called the Lawn. It was originally unroofed and occupied by sidings, but was later built up to form part of the station's first concourse. Paddington's capacity
553-418: A hotel. In 2004–05 the lower floors of the hotel were re-clad in white stone to a design by Eric Parry Architects. The hotel received planning permission for the re-cladding to include the station façade. Lancaster Gate was closed from July to November 2006 so that the lifts and other parts of the station could be refurbished. The station's chronic lift failures were considered by Transport for London to be
632-601: A journey from Brighton cannot use a "London Terminals" ticket to travel to Euston or Paddington, as there is no permitted route to them using National Rail services alone. The concept of permitted routes did not exist until the National Routeing Guide was introduced: British Rail used the term "reasonable route", and in respect of the London station group merely stated that journeys between the origin station and London were "subject to normal route availabilities". The first London terminal stations were built in
711-488: A main central station at Farringdon , which would connect out to all branch lines. In 1846, the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini was established to see if it was appropriate to bring the terminal stations any further and possibly connect with each other, as per Pearson's plans. The report concluded this was unnecessary, a single terminal was undesirable as it would create too much congestion and it
790-476: A port with Bristol if the railway from Birmingham was extended. The first station was a temporary terminus for the GWR on the west side of Bishop's Bridge Road, opened on 4 June 1838. The first GWR service from London to Taplow, near Maidenhead, ran from Paddington in 1838. After the main station opened, this became the site of the goods depot. Brunel did not consider that anything less than a grand terminus dedicated to
869-415: A safety hazard and an inconvenience to passengers. Patronage has increased over the years and as a result the station's small ticket hall area is often congested, especially at weekends. Lancaster Gate station was also closed from January to June 2017 for complete replacement of the lifts. Due to the small size of the station, it was not feasible to do one lift at a time, so it was deemed necessary to close
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#1732792958390948-477: A ticket to take a train to several different London terminals, including London Bridge , London Charing Cross , London Cannon Street , Victoria , Blackfriars , City Thameslink or Waterloo via Clapham Junction . The ticket cannot be used to travel to any station using any non-National Rail modes of transport, including the London Underground , Docklands Light Railway or London Buses . Therefore,
1027-501: Is also the eastern terminus for Heathrow Express and the western terminus for Elizabeth line services from Shenfield . Elizabeth line services also run through Paddington westwards to Reading , Heathrow Terminal 5 , and Heathrow Terminal 4 , and eastwards to Abbey Wood . Situated in fare zone 1 , it has two separate tube stations providing connections to the Bakerloo , Circle , District , and Hammersmith & City lines . It
1106-641: Is in Travelcard Zone 1 . Lancaster Gate station was opened on 30 July 1900 by the Central London Railway (now the Central line). The original station building was typical of the work of the line's original architect Harry Bell Measures . It was demolished and a new surface building constructed as part of the development above in 1968. The development was designed by T P Bennett & Son as an office block but converted soon after into
1185-433: Is one of 11 London stations managed directly by Network Rail . The station has been perennially popular for passengers and goods, particularly milk and parcels. Major upgrades took place in the 1870s, the 1910s and the 1960s, each trying to add additional platforms and space while trying to preserve the existing services and architecture as much as possible. Paddington was first served by London Underground trains in 1863, as
1264-665: Is the second busiest station in the United Kingdom, after London Liverpool Street , with 59.2 million entries and exits. Paddington is the London terminus of the Great Western Main Line ; passenger services are primarily operated by Great Western Railway , which provides commuter and regional passenger services to west London and the Thames Valley region, as well as long-distance intercity services to South West England and South Wales . The station
1343-631: The Big Four grouping in 1923. A tube railway for the Post Office, opened in December 1927, could cater for around 10,000 mailbags every day. Paddington was extended again from 1930 to 1934. Platforms 2 to 11 were extended past the Bishop's Road bridge and a new parcel depot was built. Suburban services, which had never been considered important at Paddington, were increased as new housing estates in
1422-528: The Elizabeth Line , alongside London Liverpool Street , it has become far busier, and London Paddington had become the 2nd busiest station in the United Kingdom during the 2022–23 period, with 59.2 million total passengers, behind London Liverpool Street and ahead of London Waterloo , the former busiest station. Paddington is the London terminus for long-distance high-speed trains operated by Great Western Railway . Two services go to Heathrow Airport :
1501-481: The Euston Arch ) in a classical and French-chateau design. It opened on 9 June 1854, and had 103 bedrooms and 15 sitting rooms. Each corner contained a tower containing two additional floors beyond the five storeys of the main block. It was originally run by a consortium of GWR shareholders and staff, before the company took over operations completely in 1896. The station was substantially enlarged in 1906–1915 and
1580-557: The Great Eastern Railway and North London Railway with Liverpool Street and Broad Street respectively. The only main railway line built across Central London was the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) line connecting Blackfriars to Farringdon via Snow Hill Tunnel in 1866. Railway construction in London reached a peak between the mid-1850s and 1870s, where an estimated £40 million (£4,691 million as of 2023)
1659-418: The Heathrow Express travels non-stop at a premium fare, while Elizabeth line takes the same route but calls at all intermediate stations. The station has 13 terminal platforms, numbered 1 to 12 and 14 from south-west to north-east (left to right as seen from the concourse). Platforms 1 to 8 are below the original three spans of Brunel's train shed, platforms 9 to 12 beneath the later fourth span. Platform 13
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#17327929583901738-489: The München Hauptbahnhof . The glazed roof is supported by wrought iron arches in three spans, respectively spanning 68 feet (21 m), 102 feet (31 m) and 70 feet (21 m). The roof is 699 feet (210 m) long, and the original roof spans had two transepts connecting the three spans. It is commonly believed that these were provided by Brunel to accommodate traversers to carry coaches between
1817-698: The West End or the City . However, recent redevelopment of derelict railway and canal land, marketed as Paddington Waterside , has resulted in new office complexes nearby. The station is in London fare zone 1 . In addition to the Underground stations at Paddington, Lancaster Gate station on the Central line is a short walk away to the south. A little further to the south lie the conjoined parks of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens . The narrow busy section of
1896-480: The Acton-Northolt line closed. When its London Marylebone terminus was closed, Chiltern Railways diverted its services to London Paddington as did Wrexham & Shropshire between 2008 and 2011. On 9 August 1920, a passenger train collided with the buffers. Two people were injured. The following year, a passenger train was being shunted into a platform and collided with three luggage vans already occupying
1975-464: The GWR would be acceptable, and consequently this was approved in February 1853. The main station between Bishop's Bridge Road and Praed Street was designed by Brunel, who was enthusiastic at the idea of being able to design a railway station himself, although much of the architectural detailing was by his associate Matthew Digby Wyatt . He took inspiration from Joseph Paxton 's Crystal Palace and
2054-656: The Home Counties started being built. Bishop's Road station was rebuilt, giving an extra four platforms to Paddington (Nos. 13–16) and providing a new ticket office and entrance for suburban services next to the bridge. A public address system was introduced in 1936. By this time, around 22,000 parcels a day were being forwarded from Paddington, with the Royal Mail service processing around 4,500 mailbags and 2,400 parcel bags every day. The station came under attack several times during World War II . On 17 April 1941,
2133-540: The LCDR's line via Blackfriars and Farringdon almost bankrupted the company and left it in financial ruin for the rest of its existence. The 1864 Joint Committee on Railway Schemes (Metropolis) decided that, following the success of the underground Metropolitan Railway , that a circular railway should be built to connect the terminals, which eventually became the Circle line , though it was not completed until 1884. By 1870,
2212-437: The London end of the four train sheds. Platform 14 can only be reached indirectly via the north-western end of platform 12. A footbridge crosses the north-western end of the station and gives access to platforms 1–12 and 14. There are ticket barriers to platforms 2–7 and 10–14. A first-class lounge on Platform 1 provides complimentary refreshments and Wi-Fi internet access. It also has screens showing television news as well as
2291-404: The areas around them. Both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations have been modernised in the 21st century, and are now better regarded. Many goods sheds have been removed, and the area surrounding the stations includes a natural swimming pool, and numerous new apartments. The four former London and North Eastern Railway terminals (King's Cross, Marylebone, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street) are
2370-400: The best railway in the country. The GWR had originally planned to terminate London services at Euston as this allowed them to use part of the London and Birmingham Railway 's track into the station, which would have been cost effective. This received government approval in 1835, but was rejected as a long-term solution by Brunel as he was concerned it would also allow Liverpool to compete as
2449-542: The boom in building London terminals had finished. The final one to open was the Great Central Railway 's Marylebone , in 1899. By this time, around 776 acres (1.21 square miles; 3.14 square kilometres), or 5.4% of land in the central zone of London was owned by railway companies, more than the Corporation of London . The problem of connecting the various London terminals was ultimately resolved by
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2528-457: The departure side of the station was hit by a parachute mine, while on 22 March 1944, the roof between platforms 6 and 7 was destroyed by two 500-pound (230 kg) bombs. Passenger traffic greatly increased through Paddington during the war, partly by evacuation to the relatively quiet Thames Valley , and because holidaymakers chose to travel west as large areas of the south and east coasts had been taken over for military purposes. On 29 July 1944,
2607-412: The development of the Underground. The Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863, was designed to connect Paddington with King's Cross. The Circle Line was designed specifically to connect the London terminals together. All terminal stations had at least one underground connection by 1913, except Fenchurch Street , Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct . As an alternative to the tube, buses have connected
2686-485: The ends of the platforms for horse and coach traffic. The first GWR service from the new station departed on 16 January 1854, though the roof had not been finished at this point and there were no arrivals. It was formally opened on 29 May, and the older temporary station was demolished the following year. The Great Western Hotel was built on Praed Street in front of the station from 1851 to 1854 by architect Philip Charles Hardwick , son of Philip Hardwick (designer of
2765-744: The entire station. Despite its name, the station is close to the Marlborough Gate entrance to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, about 300m to the east of the Lancaster Gate entrance. The station is within walking distance of Paddington station , providing a convenient interchange between the Central line and the main line station, although this is not highlighted on the Underground map . Transport for London's September 2011 report "Central London Rail Termini: Analysing passengers' onward travel patterns" did not include using Lancaster Gate as
2844-462: The following year. Three new platforms were added; platform 12 in November 1913, platform 11 in December 1915, and platform 10 the following year. The roof was completely reconstructed between 1922 and 1924, replacing Brunel's original cast-iron columns with steel replicas. Unlike several other London termini, Paddington saw no damage during World War I . Although Victoria and Charing Cross were
2923-533: The front by Praed Street and at the rear by Bishop's Bridge Road, which crosses the station throat on Bishop's Bridge . On the west side of the station is Eastbourne Terrace, while the east side is bounded by the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal . The station is in a shallow cutting, a fact obscured at the front by a hotel building, but which can be clearly seen from the other three sides. To
3002-410: The goods depot at Westbourne Park was moved to Old Oak Common . The main departure platform was extended in 1908 and used for milk and parcels. In 1911, work began to separate light and empty carriage traffic from running trains between Paddington to Old Oak Common, which involved the rebuilding of Westbourne Park station. The work was halted because of World War I but resumed in 1926, to be completed
3081-581: The group fall within London fare zone 1 . A ticket marked "London Terminals" allows travel to any station in the group via any permitted route, as determined by the National Routeing Guide . Most London terminal stations were developed in the mid-19th century during the initial boom of rail transport. Many stations were built around the edge of central London, stopping at what is now the London Inner Ring Road , because it
3160-632: The group includes four stations ( City Thameslink , Old Street , Vauxhall and Waterloo East ) that are not technically terminals but are used enough as a destination by National Rail to be considered appropriate as a "London Terminal" for ticketing purposes. The composition of the group has changed several times since 1983, when 18 stations were included: Blackfriars, Broad Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Euston, Fenchurch Street, Holborn Viaduct, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Midland City, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Marylebone, Moorgate, Paddington, St Pancras, Vauxhall, Victoria and Waterloo. Waterloo East
3239-426: The incoming main railway line between Ladbroke Grove and Paddington station is known as Paddington Throat among some engineers. The National Rail station is officially named London Paddington , a name commonly used outside London but rarely by Londoners, who call it just Paddington , as on the London Underground map . This same practice applies to all the London mainline rail termini, except London Bridge. Parts of
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3318-531: The late 1830s (starting with London Bridge in 1836) and the early to mid 1840s. Those north of the Thames came up to the edge of richly-developed property that was too expensive to demolish, while property south of the river contained slums and cheap property, making it easier to have terminal stations close to the City and West End, both the main desired areas. The solicitor and railway planner Charles Pearson proposed
3397-508: The late 2010s improved air quality. London Paddington has always been one of the busiest stations in the UK, and was ranked as the 8th busiest station in the United Kingdom during the 2016–17 period according to the Office of Rail & Road, with 36.6 million passengers during that period, and was placed between Stratford and London St Pancras International . However, as a result of the opening of
3476-467: The latter could be moved to a more southerly position. Aside from the June 1878 work, Brunel's original roof structure remained untouched throughout the improvements. The GWR began experimenting with the electric lighting in 1880, leading to Paddington being decorated with Christmas lights that year. Although the system was unreliable, it spurred the GWR on to a more ambitious lighting scheme in 1886, in which
3555-740: The line. A carriage was derailed and a luggage van was wrecked. On 23 November 1983, a sleeper train hauled by Class 50 locomotive 50 041 Bulwark was derailed on the approach to Paddington after speeding through a crossover. Three of the seventy passengers were injured. London station group The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London , England. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, and 4 other through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in
3634-517: The main station building. Coinciding with this project, a new taxi rank and pick up point was built north of the main station, as well as comprehensive upgrades to Paddington tube station . The underground platforms opened as the Elizabeth line on 24 May 2022. The station had historically been criticised for very poor air quality inside the train shed; however, the replacement of diesel InterCity 125 trains by bi-mode Class 800 and 802 trains in
3713-420: The main stations for military movement during the war, Paddington was used for some of this traffic. On Armistice Day 1922, a memorial to the employees of the GWR who died during the war was unveiled by Viscount Churchill . The bronze memorial, depicting a soldier reading a letter, was sculpted by Charles Sargeant Jagger and stands on platform 1. The GWR was the only railway company that continued through
3792-429: The modern concept of listed buildings had been introduced with the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act 1947 , stations were not high priority to be listed. While some had impressive facades and entrances, Victorian stations were not looked upon favourably in the 1960s and had become gradually neglected. One of the most significant examples was the demolition of the Euston Arch in 1962 as part of modernisation works to
3871-517: The name "LONDON BRIT RAIL" was adopted. After the privatisation of British Rail , the name "LONDON" on its own was used from the end of 1997 until April 1998, when the present designation "LONDON TERMINALS" was introduced. All stations in the London group are in London fare zone 1 and most are at the end of a railway line. This includes major national terminals such as Waterloo , Paddington , Euston and King's Cross , and local commuter terminals such as Cannon Street and Moorgate . In addition,
3950-517: The network; the first London terminal, London Bridge has been rebuilt and expanded on numerous occasions, and of the major 19th century terminals, only Broad Street and Holborn Viaduct have closed. The latter was replaced by the nearby City Thameslink . The London terminals had a significant impact on the local area. Originally, the demolition of poor properties, particularly south of the River Thames , caused blight and deprived areas around
4029-484: The north of the station is the Westway , to the northeast is Edgware Road , and to the east and southeast is the London Inner Ring Road . The surrounding area is partly residential, and includes the major St Mary's Hospital , restaurants and hotels. Until recently there was little office accommodation in the area, and most commuters interchanged between National Rail and the London Underground to reach workplaces in
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#17327929583904108-483: The original western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway , the world's first underground railway. In the 20th century, suburban and commuter services appeared at Paddington as the urban sprawl of London moved westwards. Despite the numerous upgrades and rebuilding, plus damage sustained in particular during World War II , Brunel's original design is still recognisable. The station complex is bounded at
4187-497: The pocket timetables it publishes, and its services to Bath, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and South Wales are in timetable number 1. With the building of the Elizabeth line Paddington gained two more low level platforms numbered A and B. These are located underground in the Elizabeth line section of the station directly to the south west of the main concourse. The concourse stretches across the heads of platforms 1 to 12, underneath
4266-403: The same year. By this time, public opinion had turned against wholesale demolition and redevelopment of stations such as Euston, and consequently the rebuilding work was done with an eye towards preserving Brunel and Wyatt's original station design. Special steam services began to be run from Paddington again in the 1980s. In 1982, a bronze statue of Brunel was erected on the station concourse. It
4345-444: The station directly to Heathrow Airport . From 1999 until 2003, Express Baggage check-in facilities for airline passengers were provided in the Lawn, however these were progressively replaced by retail units. The station's fourth span was renovated in 2010, involving repair and restoration of the original glazed roof, so that platforms 9 to 12 can once more enjoy daylight. A false ceiling or crash deck had been in place since 1996. Work
4424-462: The station was closed for three hours because the platforms were saturated with passenger traffic, while on the subsequent August bank holiday , crowds were controlled in tight queues along Eastbourne Terrace by mounted police. Steam traffic began to be replaced in the late 1950s. Between 1959 and 1961, suburban services switched to diesel multiple units , while the last regular long-distance steam train left Paddington on 11 June 1965. The track layout
4503-399: The station, including the main train shed , date from 1854, when it was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the London terminus for the Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of eleven stations in London managed by Network Rail . After several false starts, Brunel announced the construction of a railway from Bristol to London on 30 July 1833. This became the GWR, and he intended it to be
4582-499: The station, while the area around Kings Cross became run-down. An important exception was the Victorian Gothic structure of St Pancras , which became a Grade I listed building in 1967 after being threatened with demolition. Similarly, King's Cross and Paddington became Grade I listed in 1954 and 1961 respectively. In 1986, Broad Street, which had been a major London terminal for local and commuter services, closed. It
4661-555: The station. This has changed in the 21st century, where development around the main terminals has been well-received and attracted occupants and businesses. Until 1970, railway tickets to London were issued to a specific named terminal. From April of that year, Southern Region terminals were grouped together as a "notional common station" called "LONDON S.R."; tickets issued to this destination were valid to Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Holborn Viaduct, London Bridge, Vauxhall, Victoria, Waterloo and Waterloo East. The concept
4740-414: The stations on a standard British Monopoly board. Download coordinates as: Notes Citations Sources Lancaster Gate tube station Lancaster Gate is a London Underground station near Lancaster Gate on Bayswater Road in Paddington ( City of Westminster ), to the north of Kensington Gardens . It is on the Central line between Queensway and Marble Arch stations and
4819-532: The time the station was built, which was eventually cleared away in 1867 when the London and South Western Railway made a compulsory purchase order for the properties and demolished them, to accommodate an expanded station. A significant exception was the later-constructed Marylebone, while Charing Cross was less affected by slum building than neighbouring stations. Around Battersea and New Cross , railway lines and interchanges occupied about 300 acres (120 ha) of available space. The low-income property that
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#17327929583904898-453: 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 original station used four platforms, 27-foot (8.2 m)-wide and 24-foot-6-inch (7.47 m)-wide departure platforms, a 21-foot (6.4 m) arrival platform, and a 47-foot (14 m) combined arrival platform and cab road. A series of nineteen turnplates were sited beyond
4977-665: The various terminals. In 1928, the Southern Railway , London and North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway began to provide dedicated buses between their terminals for Pullman and Continental trains. These were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) upon its formation in 1933, and replaced with regular bus services. From 1936, the LPTB supplied purpose-build 20-seater coaches for this services, with large luggage boots and
5056-440: Was available, creating slums, and the immediate area around the stations were filled with cheap souvenir shops and prostitutes. Conversely, the middle class moved out into suburbs which now had easy access to Central London via train, and railway traffic increased. Around 76,000 people lost their homes between 1853 and 1901 as a direct result of rail expansion. The area around Waterloo had already become notorious for prostitution by
5135-522: Was completed and the restored roof unveiled in July 2011. A second phase of improvements began in July 2014 and was completed two years later. Network Rail originally planned to demolish Span 4 and build an office block over it, which was successfully contested by Save Britain's Heritage . In the mid 2010s, construction began on an underground station as part of the Crossrail project, located south west of
5214-401: Was decommissioned in December 2016 to permit lengthening of platform 12 for 10-coach trains. Platform 14 is within the Metropolitan Railway 's old Bishop's Road (Suburban) station to the north-west. Immediately alongside are through platforms 15 and 16, used by the London Underground 's Hammersmith & City and Circle lines. The current operator, Great Western Railway, assigns numbers to
5293-401: Was destroyed by building the stations was generally not replaced, and consequently the remaining accommodation became overcrowded. The proliferation of railway lines south of the Thames is why the Underground has more lines north of the river, as it did not have alternative overground services. In contrast to the 19th century impact of stations, newer developments have seen gentrification of
5372-470: Was doubled to four tracks in the 1870s. The quadrupling was completed to Westbourne Park on 30 October 1871, Slough in June 1879 and Maidenhead in September 1884. An additional platform (later to become No. 9) opened in June 1878, while two new departure platforms (later Nos. 4 and 5) were added in 1885. One of the lines between what is now platform 5 and 7 was removed, in order that
5451-418: Was extended to the rest of London's terminals with effect from British Rail 's fares update of May 1983, when the London station group was created: "as part of the progress towards simplification of routes and a reduction of [separate fares] ... a common origin/destination of LONDON BR has been adopted for most London fares". Tickets to the London station group were issued to "LONDON BR" until January 1989, when
5530-491: Was feared that Marylebone and St Pancras would follow, but both have been revitalised; the former became an alternative terminal for services to Oxford and Birmingham while the latter is now the main entry point for Eurostar services via the Channel Tunnel . The various terminal stations began to affect their surrounding area once built. Those displaced by the railways crammed into whatever existing accommodation
5609-454: Was included separately from January 1984. Two years later, Moorgate was dropped from the group in favour of Old Street, and Kensington Olympia was included; this was in connection with its upgrade in early 1986 to an InterCity station with regular British Rail services from northwest England to the south coast. Moorgate was reinstated as a member of the group in May 1988, and Kensington Olympia
5688-583: Was part of the Virgin CrossCountry network with services to the North of England and Scotland via Oxford and Birmingham New Street . From June 2005 until May 2018, Paddington was the terminus for Heathrow Connect services. Until December 2018, Chiltern Railways operated a weekday parliamentary service from South Ruislip and to High Wycombe via the Acton–Northolt line . It ceased when
5767-400: Was prohibitively expensive to build right into the centre, and because each railway was owned by a private company competing with the others. The creation of the London Underground provided a practical connection to the various terminals, which continues to be the case as of the 21st century. Many of the stations have been upgraded and modernised to provide a greater capacity and connections to
5846-416: Was removed from the list in May 1994 as British Rail decided to make fares to and from the station identical to those of neighbouring station Willesden Junction . Tickets issued to "LONDON TERMINALS" can be used to travel from the station of origin to any London terminal that can be reached via a permitted route as defined by the National Routeing Guide . For example, a journey from Brighton can use such
5925-469: Was renamed First Great Western in 1998, and merged with First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains to form the Greater Western franchise in 2006. In 2015, the operating company was renamed Great Western Railway . In the mid 1990s, the Great Western Main Line approaches and platforms were electrified as part of the Heathrow Express project. Opening in 1998, the airport rail link connects
6004-455: Was reorganised in 1967, abolishing the distinction between arrival and departure platforms that had been a feature of Paddington since opening. A new set of sidings was built south of Royal Oak, and the track curve into Paddington was eased. Services to the Midlands were rerouted via Marylebone during this time. The station concourse was enlarged in 1970, and the ticket office was rebuilt in
6083-511: Was sculpted by John Doubleday and funded by the Bristol and West Building Society . Between 1989 and 1999, the Lawn was re-roofed and separated from the concourse by a glass screen wall. It is surrounded by shops and cafes on several levels. As with other major British railway termini, Paddington is owned and managed by Network Rail . Train services were privatised in 1996, initially to Great Western Trains and Thames Trains . The former company
6162-490: Was spent constructing routes around the capital. The competition between terminals led to increased costs and financial overruns. Around £2 million (£235 million as of 2023) was spent constructing the final approach of the GER main line from the original terminal at Bishopsgate to Liverpool Street, while the extension from London Bridge to Cannon Street and Charing Cross cost £4 million (£469 million as of 2023). The construction of
6241-472: Was too expensive to demolish remaining property in the way. The Royal Commission recommended that no new stations should be built in the West End of London or the city, and that the New Road should be the northern boundary of railway development. This created competition between the individual railway companies, who could promote new terminals with individual financial backers. Exemptions were made for
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