10 interesting things about Acton Main Line station
1) Last time I turned up in February 2020 the station was an empty shell under construction, still with a side entrance down two sets of old steps. The new station building opened in March 2021 and has ticket barriers, two lifts and an uplifting message on its whiteboard. 2) Acton Main Line may be newly rebuilt but it still has a ticket office because it's a National Rail station, despite having fewer passengers than every single tube station, all of which lost their ticket offices years ago. 3) The ticket office has two windows, just in case a massive crowd ever turns up before 10.40am when it closes for the day.
4) The purple roundel on the front of the station is part concealed by plastic wrapping secured with cable ties, which looks really scrappy (and you can still see through it). This unsightly mess is because it would never do to uncover the eventual royal branding before it's offically introduced, which on the western arm is still over a year away. 5) Objects found outside the entrance includes a See It Say It Sorted sign, another sign urging you not to travel if you feel unwell and a lot of traffic cones because the public realm isn't finished yet. 6) Acton Main Line is served by trains every 30 minutes. This is the lowest frequency of any TfL London station in zones 1, 2, 3 and 4. 7) The Next Train indicator in the ticket hall is so deep that it shows all the trains for the next three hours. When the final service pattern is introduced next year it'll only be the next hour and a half.
8) The old Oyster card reader above the old steps at the old entrance has been covered over with tape reading "New asset not in service", because I guess they didn't have anything else. 9) The Friary Park estate across the road from the station (230 social rent homes) has just been demolished and will arise as a mixed use development (990 flats, 45% affordable) including four tower blocks of up to 24 storeys, because of course it will. 10) You cannot get a direct train from Acton Main Line to any of the other six Acton stations. To reach Acton Central would take at least two changes of train and the best part of an hour (or it's a 15 minute walk).
10 further observations regarding Acton Main Line station 1) Acton Main Line is in zone 3. 2) Previously if you'd arrived with one minute to spare you might have caught your train, but now you won't because there's a long passage to the new footbridge which lands a long way down the platform. 3) Acton station became Acton Main Line in 1949. 4) The old steps down to the platform are now locked at top and bottom. 5) Acton Main Line station has an accessible toilet (beyond the ticket barrier). 6) No rail replacement bus services operate from this station. 7) The empty piazza alongside the station, which is not yet open, can be accessed down six steps. 8) Acton Main Line has a Secure Station accreditation. 9) For historical/operational reasons there is no platform 1. 10) The new Acton Main Line station entrance was built by a company called Graham.
10 less noteworthy things about Acton Main Line station 1) The plastic binbags on the platforms are currently green. 2) The side windows at Acton Main Line each have six panes of glass. 3) Acton Main Line's postcode is W3 9EH. 4) The new tube map is in stock at Acton Main Line. 5) An off-peak journey from Acton Main Line to Neasden costs only £1.60 if you go via Ealing Broadway, Shepherd's Bush, Willesden Junction and West Hampstead. 6) The next building down Horn Lane is Goblin Motorcycles. 7) Acton Main Line gained a Sunday service in May 2019. 8) The zebra crossing outside Acton Main Line has a segregated cycle section. 9) Trains to Penzance always pass through Acton Main Line without stopping. 10) Harry's Cafe opposite the station has a big forked sausage on its roof.
10 increasingly desperate things about Acton Main Line station 1) Acton Main Line is in Acton. 2) The original station opened on a Saturday. 3) Acton Main Line is on the A4000. 4) There are no left luggage facilities. 5) Acton Main Line is due south of Elstree Studios. 6) The station is on the 100 foot contour. 7) Officially it's not Acton Mainline. 8) London Zoo is a five mile walk away. 9) Acton Main Line is an anagram of National Mince. 10) Maybe don't bother coming.
