Key Crossrail and London Underground (LU) station upgrade works at Paddington carried out during closure. Additional upgrade work carried out during closure to minimise future weekend closures.
"I want to thank our customers for bearing with us during these works"
Nigel Holness
LU's Service Director

I want to thank our customers for bearing with us during these works

Full service on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines resumed this morning following a three-week closure between Hammersmith and Edgware Road which enabled vital upgrade work to be carried out.

During the closure, from 24 July to 15 August, work was carried out at Paddington to upgrade the Tube station, as well as to help deliver Crossrail.

The works at Paddington meant that trains were not able to operate as they involved the demolition of a disused taxi ramp and canopy sited above the Hammersmith & City line platforms.

LU also took advantage of the blockade to carry out many essential renewal and upgrade works as part of the upgrade of the sub-surface railway - the Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines - which could otherwise have required additional weekend closures.

These included:

  • Removal of the taxi ramp using a 500ft crane which carried out 50 lifts, extracting 260 tons of spoil from the site
  • Installation of 30m of platform drainage at Paddington
  • A total of 550m of track replaced in both directions at Royal Oak, and 4,200m of new low-loss conductor rail installed
  • Platform lengthening works to accommodate the new longer, air-conditioned S-Stock trains at Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road
  • Start of construction on a new ticket office at Hammersmith station following demolition of the old office
  • Track and points replacement at Hammersmith depot, as well as preparation for construction of new storage facilities

Works vital for London

Rail replacement services operated between Hammersmith and Edgware Road for the duration of the works, along with ticket acceptance on local bus and Tube services.

Nigel Holness,LU's Service Director, said: 'I want to thank our customers for bearing with us during these works, the nature of which has meant we haven't been able to operate services between Hammersmith and Edgware Road.

'We've made the most of this to accelerate additional upgrade works including platform extensions essential for the new longer air-conditioned trains which are being rolled out across the sub-surface network from this year.'

Transport for London (TfL) is delivering a multi-billion pound Investment Programme to improve and expand the transport network.

Between now and 2018, TfL will be upgrading the Tube network, build Crossrail, and expand the Docklands Light Railway and London Overground networks, as well as delivering other major improvements.

Such investment is vital to the future growth, prosperity and the competitiveness of London and the UK, particularly for creating new jobs and opportunities.

Notes to editors:

  • New trains (SSR upgrade) equipped with air cooling will be delivered for the sub-surface network from 2010 onwards. Metropolitan from summer 2010, Circle and Hammersmith & City from 2012, and District line from 2013
  • The new trains have a number of features which will equip them to run on the network for the next 30 to 40 years. These include air-conditioning, walk-through carriages, wheelchair areas, wider doors and walkways, better audio and visual information systems, CCTV and energy efficient braking systems