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42-685: Kensington (Olympia) is an interchange station located in Kensington , in West London for London Overground and National Rail services. Limited London Underground services also run here. Services are provided by London Overground , who manage the station, along with Southern and London Underground . It is in Travelcard Zone 2 . On the Underground it is the terminus of a short District line branch from Earl's Court , originally built as part of

84-511: A new station, also called Kensington, to the north of Hammersmith Road, providing services to Willesden and Clapham Junction . Great Western Railway trains started serving the station in 1863, with London & North Western Railway trains arriving in 1872. A link to the Hammersmith & City Railway enabled the station to join the Middle Circle service, which operated via Paddington to

126-475: A wider range of InterCity destinations. The station's Underground connection after World War II was limited to a shuttle service to and from Earl's Court. With around 2.30 million passenger journeys recorded in 2023, Kensington (Olympia) is the 204th busiest station on the entire Underground network. In 1863, with the opening of the West London Extension Railway , a station named Kensington

168-591: Is a long standing commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva , with services operated by Arriva Herts & Essex . Green Line had its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) in the 1920s and 1930s, being absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. After World War II ,

210-682: Is offered between mainline railways and city metro systems, such as Barking and Stratford stations in London . In some cases, no dedicated underground passage or footbridge is provided, and therefore passengers have to transfer between two parts of a station through city streets. Examples include Kuramae Station of Toei in Tokyo , Japan and Lexington Avenue-59th Street / Lexington Avenue–63rd Street stations in New York City . In many cases, electronic ticketing allows transferring passengers re-admission to

252-691: The Middle Circle . On the main-line railway it is on the West London Line from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction , by which trains bypass inner London. The station's name is drawn from its location in Kensington and the adjacent Olympia exhibition centre in West Kensington . The station was originally opened in 1844 by the West London Railway but closed shortly afterwards. It reopened in 1862 and began catering for Great Western services

294-689: The New Territories , Hong Kong, and in the downtown of Lafayette , Indiana . In London and Paris , a number of stations on the Underground in London and the Métro in Paris are interchanges between two or more rapid transit lines. Examples include King's Cross St. Pancras in London, an interchange between six lines and Chatelet in Paris, an interchange between five lines. Green Line Coaches Green Line

336-462: The Oxford Bus Company ), Northampton and Brighton . New airport services also commenced: By this time, the orbital services 724 and 726 (a variant of the 725) had been revised to serve Heathrow. Green Line also became a National Express operator. In 1986, London Country was divided into four operating companies to prepare for privatisation . They were sold separately, and ownership of

378-493: The 702 was withdrawn between Legoland Windsor and Bracknell. On the same day, route 703 was introduced under the Green Line brand, running between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Bracknell, replacing the withdrawn section. In June 2023 it was announced that these services would no longer use the Green Line brand, replacing it with "London Line" for service 702 and "Flight Line" for service 703. In April 2020, Arriva Herts & Essex

420-521: The District line shuttle between Kensington (Olympia) and Earl's Court would close on weekdays at the end of the year. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea unsuccessfully protested against the closure, and general weekday services ceased in December 2011. Some special weekday services continue to run on the District line when there is an exhibition on. In 2012 TfL announced plans to introduce ticket gates at

462-520: The Green Line network became fragmented, with only a few routes surviving. The airport services passed to Jetlink and are now operated by National Express . The orbital route 726 was taken over by London Regional Transport in a reduced form and in April 2005 was renumbered London Buses route X26 . By the mid-1990s, Arriva had become the owner of most of the London Country successor companies and became

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504-574: The June 1944 Normandy landings . On 19 December 1946, the station was renamed Kensington (Olympia) and became the northern terminus of a peak-hour shuttle service to Clapham Junction , serving workers at the Post Office Savings Bank (later National Savings Bank ) in nearby Blythe Road. Until 1986, apart from Motorail services, this was the only British Rail service regularly stopping at the station. It

546-610: The London Rail & Tube Services map, it is labelled Kensington (Olympia) . On the automated announcements and the dot matrix indicators on District line trains, the station is shown as simply Olympia . The station is located alongside the namesake Olympia exhibition centre. The boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham here runs parallel to and immediately to

588-646: The West London and South Eastern Main Lines to Folkestone Central before entering the tunnel. Before Eurostar transferred in November 2007 to St Pancras International , Eurostar trains passed through the station between Waterloo International station and North Pole depot , and the station was a backup terminus for the services in case Waterloo International became unusable; immigration facilities were maintained there. In June 2011, Transport for London (TfL) announced that

630-664: The city outskirts in residential areas. Cities typically plan for land use around interchange stations for development . Passengers may be required to pay extra fare for the interchange if they leave a paid area . With the opening of the Woodside and Birkenhead Dock Street Tramway in 1873, Birkenhead Dock railway station in Birkenhead , England probably became the world's first tram to train interchange station. Verney Junction interchange station in Buckinghamshire , England

672-536: The emergence of numerous small independent operators, often running single routes. As well as express services operated by LGOC, some were run by subsidiary companies such as East Surrey Traction & Autocar Services and some on LGOC's behalf by the National Omnibus & Transport Company. The Green Line livery and fleetname was rolled out across the existing express services, differentiating these from LGOC's red service buses. New services quickly followed, with

714-526: The facility would have been directed to join trains at this station, chosen since the West London Line connected to the Great Western Main Line (and hence Wiltshire) at North Pole Junction, 1  mile 68  chains (2.98 km) to the north. These trains would have connected with buses at Warminster for further transfer to the bunker near Corsham . In 1966 Kensington (Olympia) became

756-491: The following year. In 1872 it became part of the Middle Circle train route that bypassed central London. The station was bombed during World War II and subsequently closed. It reopened in 1946 but the limited service to Clapham Junction was recommended for withdrawal in the 1960s Beeching Report . The main-line station was revitalised later in the decade as a terminus for national Motorail , and upgraded again in 1986 to serve

798-625: The footbridge was painted in InterCity colours. These trains were operated by the InterCity division of British Rail and later, after privatisation , by Virgin CrossCountry and CrossCountry . Destinations included Birmingham New Street , Liverpool Lime Street , Manchester Piccadilly , Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley . The services were withdrawn in October 2008, by which time only two daily Brighton–Manchester journeys were operated. The station

840-507: The main London terminus for British Rail Motorail trains, which carried passengers and vehicles across Britain. In the London Midland Region timetable for 1970–71, services are shown to Perth , Stirling , Carlisle , St Austell , Totnes , Newton Abbot and Fishguard (connecting with the ferry for Rosslare ). This facility closed in 1981 with operations transferred to Paddington , Euston and King's Cross . The car park for

882-452: The network was part of London Transport Executive / London Transport Board , and from 1970 to 1986 was operated by London Country Bus Services . Green Line Coaches Limited was formed on 9 July 1930 by the LGOC, which from 1927 had built up a network of coach services from London to towns up to 30 miles away, comprising 60 vehicles on eight routes. These services were largely started in response to

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924-630: The new London Passenger Transport Board and competing services within the London Passenger Transport Area were absorbed into the network. Various vehicles of numerous different types were inherited, and much effort was made in replacing these with a standardised fleet of vehicles from late 1936. Poland Street coach station was closed, and almost all routes were linked to run across London. Services were suspended during World War II , resuming in February 1946. More services were added, and

966-479: The north and South Kensington to the south. In 1868 the station was renamed Kensington Addison Road . From 1869 the London & South Western Railway operated trains from Richmond to London Waterloo via Addison Road, until their branch via Shepherd's Bush closed in 1916. By 1907 the Middle Circle had been replaced by a link to Hammersmith. The station appears on the first 'London Underground' map in 1908 with Metropolitan and District Railway services. There

1008-491: The number of routes increasing to 27 by October 1931 and the number of coaches to 275. Green Line also began to acquire some of its independent competitors. The laying over of coaches in central London began to create congestion, so, to relieve this, some routes were linked to form cross-London services, and a short-lived coach station was opened in Poland Street, Soho at the end of 1930. On 1 July 1933, Green Line passed to

1050-504: The other West London Line stations after the line was bombed, and it was not considered cost-effective to rebuild by the London Passenger Transport Board . Due to its ability to access all lines radiating from London, its close location to SHAEF headquarters and its relative quietness compared to the main London termini, it was the preferred embarkation point for US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower when he visited troops in Wales preparing for

1092-495: The owner of the Green Line brand. It licensed the brand to other operators: First Berkshire & The Thames Valley ( 700, 701 and 702 ), New Enterprise Coaches (routes 781 and 784 from 2005 to 2009) and Stephensons of Essex ( routes X1 and X10 from 2002 until 2008). Following closure of its Bracknell depot in 2015, First Berkshire services were revised and routes 700 and 701 were discontinued. Reading Buses took over operation of route 702 on 24 December 2017. On 8 May 2018,

1134-604: The responsibility of the Greater London Council , so control of Green Line was passed from London Transport to London Country Bus Services , part of the state-owned National Bus Company . Patronage was declining, partly as a result of increasing car use and quicker parallel rail services, and the last cross-London routes ceased in 1979. The Transport Act 1980 deregulated coach services, and Green Line expanded services beyond its traditional area, to Cambridge ( route 797 ), Oxford (routes 290 and 790, in conjunction with

1176-427: The routes were given numbers in the 700 series. Ridership increased to a peak of 36 million passenger journeys a year between 1957 and 1960. In 1962, AEC Routemaster double-deck coaches were introduced on some routes, notably route 721 which ran every 12 minutes at peak times, and route 704 conveying tourists to Windsor and Royal Tunbridge Wells . Orbital coach routes commenced: In 1970, London Transport became

1218-518: The service is now used for exhibition vehicles, and by Europcar for car rental, and is called "Olympia Motorail Car Park P4". From 12 May 1986 services at the station were greatly enhanced. The London Underground shuttle service started to run to a regular daily schedule, and inter-regional services from the Midlands and northern England stopped at Kensington (Olympia). Southern Region destinations included Brighton and Dover Western Docks . As part of this

1260-432: The station during the early mornings and late evenings. Notes Citations Sources [REDACTED] London transport portal Interchange station Transfer may occur within the same mode, or between rail modes, or to buses (for stations with bus termini attached). Such stations usually have more platforms than single route stations. These stations can exist in either commercial centers or on

1302-513: The station during the peak hours. During the late evenings, London Overground services at the station run between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction only. The London Underground District line operates a shuttle service to and from High Street Kensington every 20 minutes on weekends and public holidays or occasionally when an event takes place at the Olympia Exhibition Centre . A very limited weekday service runs to and from

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1344-652: The station to combat fare dodgers, which would remove access to the footbridge used by local residents for years. Both the councils within whose boundaries this station falls challenged this loss of an established right of way. The gates were added in September 2013, dividing the bridge into two to maintain pedestrian access on one side without accessing the station platforms. National Rail services at Kensington Olympia are operated by Southern and London Overground using Class 377 and 378 EMUs . The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: Additional services call at

1386-407: The station. A station called Kensington was opened by the West London Railway as its southern terminus on 27 May 1844, located just south of Hammersmith Road . The line was not popular and it was closed on 1 December that year due to the losses made. A scant and erratic goods service continued. The line was re-opened to passengers on 2 June 1862 as part of the West London Extension Railway with

1428-433: The transit system without paying fare a second time, as if they had never left the fare control area in the station (this process is called a "free out-of-system transfer"). There are also bus interchanges , where people can change between different bus routes with no extra fare or only the differences of the fares of the two routes. Examples include Tai Lam Tunnel Bus Interchange and Shing Mun Tunnel Bus Interchange in

1470-652: The west of the railway line. The platforms are accessed via Russell Road from the east and Olympia Way from the west. A footbridge connects the two roads, and is segregated so it is possible to walk directly from Russell Road to Olympia Way without having to pass through any ticket barriers. Platform 1 serves the part-time District line services towards High Street Kensington via Earl's Court , platform 2 serves Overground trains towards Willesden, and platform 3 runs towards Clapham Junction. London Buses routes 9 , 23 , 27 , 28 , 49, 306, C1; night routes N9 , N28 and Green Line Coaches services 701 and 702 call at and pass

1512-541: Was an Express Dairies creamery and milk bottling plant close to the station. It was served by milk trains running from the Great Western Railway at Old Oak Common to a siding adjacent to the station. The new London Overground line names and colours were introduced across the London rail network in November 2024 In 1940, Addison Road and the link to the Metropolitan line at Latimer Road closed along with

1554-461: Was built at the point of two railway lines intersecting each other in open countryside. The station was built in an open remote field being used from 1868 to 1968. The Manhattan Transfer (PRR station) on the Pennsylvania Railroad was located outside Newark, New Jersey in a relatively isolated area, and was used primarily for passenger interchange. Sometimes cross-platform interchange

1596-468: Was known as the "Kenny Belle" and was unadvertised, reportedly because the Post Office Savings Bank was under the Official Secrets Act . There was also a District line shuttle to Earl's Court , as the station had been left without a dedicated Underground connection. The service originally only ran when there was an exhibition at the centre, but a permanent platform opened on 3 March 1958. The station

1638-471: Was lifted; the space was used for an additional car park for the exhibition centre. One of the former platforms is now Olympia Garden, a community garden with 89 vegetable plots. Before the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was proposed in 1996, Kensington (Olympia) was planned to be expanded to accommodate a car terminal for international services including Regional Eurostar . The line would have run via

1680-514: Was opened 3 ⁄ 8 mile (600 m) north of the junction with the West London Railway , but when several underground lines opened stations at High Street Kensington and West Kensington , the station name was changed to Addison Road to avoid any confusion. The station appears as Kensington Olympia on the National Rail website and on some of its maps and timetables. On London Underground and London Overground maps, station signage and

1722-509: Was part of the London Station Group , accepting "London Terminals" tickets, until it was delisted in May 1994. The same year, a full passenger service between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction was reinstated after a gap of 54 years. There were two bay platforms on the south-eastern side, mainly used by services to/from Clapham Junction. These platforms were removed in 1983 and the track

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1764-620: Was sometimes used as a terminus during reconstruction and upgrading of mainline London terminal stations. Kensington (Olympia) was included in 1960s Cold War plans to ensure continuity of government in the event of hostilities. Secret plans entailed use of the station, in the prelude to a nuclear war, to evacuate several thousand civil servants to the Central Government War Headquarters underground bunker (codenamed "Burlington") in Wiltshire . Civil servants tasked with staffing

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