The Anonymous Widower

The Proposed Lionel Road Station On the West London Orbital Railway

Starting with Lionel Road station may seem a strange place to start, but this important station for supporters of Brentford FC, may in the end define how the new line is designed and built.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the tracks around the stadium, that has been built for the Premier League football club, which is now called the Gtech Community Stadium.

Note.

  1. In the North-West corner of the map is the Piccadilly Line branch to Heathrow Airport.
  2. Northfields Depot is prominent, with the station of the same name to its East.
  3. South Acton station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  4. Syon Lane station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  5. The West London Orbital Railway runs between these two stations.
  6. Lilac sections are electrified and black sections have none.
  7. South Acton station is also on the North London Line, which runs North-South to Richmond station off the bottom of the map.
  8. Syon Lane Station is also on the Hounslow Loop Line, which curves across the bottom half of the map to the South-East corner.
  9. Click the map to show it to a larger scale.

This second OpenRailwayMap shows triangular junction in the middle of the first map to a larger scale.

 

Note.

  1. The Gtech Community Stadium sits in the middle of the triangular junction.
  2. Provision has been made in the layout of the stadium for the station to be on the North-West leg of the triangular junction.
  3. Kew East Junction is in the North-East corner of the map.
  4. Old Kew Junction is in the South-West corner of the triangular junction.
  5. New Kew Junction is in the South-East corner of the triangular junction.
  6. The lilac track crossing the map is the electrified Hounslow Loop Line.
  7. The M4/A4 runs across the map
  8. Only the Southern leg of the triangular junction is electrified.
  9. Click the map to show it to a larger scale.

These are some of my thoughts.

Lionel Road Station Will Be Unlikely To Be Electrified

Consider

  • It will be extremely unlikely that between South Acton station and Old Kew junction will be electrified with third-rail electrification because of safety issues.
  • There is a very long chance, that it might be decided to create a 25 KVAC overhead electrified route across London, by means of the North London Line.
  • I believe hydrogen trains will be developed for freight services.
  • The station will have large numbers of passengers on match-days, so safety may determine an electrification-free station.
  • The electrification gap is only 1.4 miles, which is well within range of a battery-electric train.

I think it is more likely that hybrid trains will use what is available.

Will Lionel Road Station Be Step-Free?

Sixty years ago, I used Manchester United  station to see a match.

This Google Map shows the station.

Note.

  1. The station is a single platform tucked in behind the South stand.
  2. The station entrance is indicated by a red arrow.
  3. When I went in the 1960s, the train was a steam-hauled shuttle from the city centre.
  4. This Wikipedia entry gives more details.

I suspect a similar space-saving desigh could be used at Lionel Road station.

 

 

March 6, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment