Harrow-on-the-Hill station

Harrow-on-the-Hill
North entrance, opposite shopping centre
Harrow-on-the-Hill Location of Harrow-on-the-Hill in Greater London
Location	Harrow
Local authority	London Borough of Harrow
Managed by	London Underground
Station code	HOH
Number of platforms	6
Fare zone	5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	8.85 million[1]
2013	9.21 million[1]
2014	9.87 million[1]
2015	10.26 million[1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2007–08	0.294 million[2]
2008–09	0.157 million[2]
2009–10	0.453 million[2]
2010–11	1.309 million[2]
2011–12	1.444 million[2]
2012–13	1.411 million[2]
2013–14	1.397 million[2]
Key dates
2 August 1880	Opened as "Harrow"
1 June 1894	Renamed "Harrow-on-the-Hill"
3 April 1967	Goods yard closed
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°34′46″N 0°20′13″W / 51.5794°N 0.337°W

Harrow-on-the-Hill station is a London Underground station served by National Rail and London Underground trains, in Travelcard Zone 5. It is located between College Road and Lowlands Road in the Greenhill area of Harrow, about half a mile north of the locality from which it takes its name.

Railway geography

The station is the junction of four LU tracks from Baker Street (paired by direction), two Network Rail tracks from Marylebone, four LU tracks (paired by speed) to Amersham and the double-track LU line to Uxbridge which leaves via a burrowing junction west of the station. Services to Watford leave the "Main Line" to Amersham at Watford south junction (not to be confused with Watford Junction) near Rickmansworth.

London Underground

The London Underground service at Harrow-on-the-Hill is provided by the Metropolitan line. The adjacent Underground stations are (towards London) Northwick Park, (towards Amersham or Chesham) Moor Park (towards Watford) North Harrow and (towards Uxbridge) West Harrow. The Metropolitan line operates a varied pattern of trains and not all trains stop at all stations. "Fast" and "semi-fast" services (now reserved for peak times) do not stop between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Finchley Road. The "Fast" line at stations between Harrow and Wembley Park, and between Harrow and Moor Park have no platforms.

Trains to London go to either Aldgate (12tph) or Baker Street(4tph). All Aldgate trains run via Baker Street. Trains from Amersham (2tph),Chesham (2tph) and Uxbridge (8tph) generally terminate at Aldgate, with a 4tph service from Watford to Baker Street, however during peak hours all trains go to/from all destinations.

History

The station was opened as "Harrow" on 2 August 1880, when the Metropolitan Railway was extended from its previous terminus at Willesden Green. Its name was changed to "Harrow-on-the-Hill" on 1 June 1894. Like a number of other Underground stations the name is an example of marketing rather than precision; in this case the town "proper" of the same name is at the top of Harrow Hill while the station is located in Greenhill to the North of Harrow Hill which has become the main shopping area in this part of the Borough of Harrow.

Had the governors of Harrow School not made objections during the planning stage it is possible that the Metropolitan Railway might have followed a different route taking it closer to the town centre on the hill. The station is at the heart of Metro-land.

National Rail

The National Rail service at Harrow-on-the-Hill is provided by Chiltern Railways. Services operate between Marylebone station and Aylesbury using the separate Network Rail tracks from London to Harrow and sharing London Underground tracks between Harrow and Amersham. Chiltern Railways started operating in 1996 after the privatisation of British Rail and provide two trains per hour between Aylesbury and London via Harrow.

History

This service began as the Great Central Railway (GCR) on 15 March 1899. The GCR ran on the former Great Central Main Line, an intercity trunk route and provided services from Harrow to destinations such as Rugby, Leicester, Nottingham and Manchester. The passenger service north of Aylesbury ceased in 1966 due to the Beeching Axe. There was a goods yard, which closed on 3 April 1967.^[3]

Station layout

The station building is above ground with the six platforms in a cutting. Two (on the South side) are used by NR services and the other four by the Metropolitan line; the NR platforms are electrified with the LU system (normal services are operated by diesel trains) and incoming LU trains on some routes can be diverted into them should this be necessary during closures of tracks in the area.

The station has two entrances, one on Station Approach (leading to Lowlands Road and Harrow Hill) and one on College Road (for the adjacent Harrow Bus Station and the main shopping area).

The Station is popular as a through route, as it is possible to walk from one entrance to the other without passing through the ticket barrier.

The present main station building replaced older structures at the London end of the platforms (thus leaving Station Road with no station); it consists of a main circulating area built across all tracks with stairs down to all platforms and both street entrances thus requiring a number of steps to be negotiated by all users. During opening hours it also acts as a public footbridge between Lowlands Road and College Road. A pedestrian tunnel connected all platforms to the adjacent but now closed and semi-derelict Post Office sorting office to enable collection and delivery from trains in earlier years.

Disabled access

The TfL publication "Tube Access Guide" dated July 2006 indicates this station as having "Connection only between fast, semi-fast and "all stations" Metropolitan line services" (NB-without lifts there will only be step-free interchange between Metropolitan line trains travelling in the same direction) and "Entry and exit not accessible" (see station description above). The Lowlands Road entrance (which is also the route to the car park and the car passenger pick up and set down area) has the fewer steps.

Bus Station

There is a bus station located next to the station offering London Buses services right across North London.

References

1. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLS). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News (London Underground Railway Society) (591): 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.

Gallery

• 

  Alternative, southern entrance

• 

  Northbound Chiltern Railways Platform 1 looking south. Note start of fourth rail.

• 

  Southbound Chiltern Railways Platform 2 looking north. Note end of fourth rail on the platform's southern end.

• 

  Northbound Metropolitan line Platform 3 looking north. Chiltern railways platforms are on the left.

• 

  Northbound Metropolitan line Platform 4 looking south

• 

  Southbound Metropolitan line Platform 5 looking north

• 

  Southbound Metropolitan line Platform 6 looking south

• 

  Station platform Roundel

External links

• "Harrow-on-the-Hill". Tube live departure boards. Transport for London.