Just to let you know, I'm no longer updating this page. This entry is a work in progress, and this tag will be removed if work resumes.

This Entry is part of the epic Stations of the London Underground project.

(History to be added at a later date)

The Hammersmith & City line runs alongside the District line from Barking, with the two lines separating east of Aldgate East. The Hammersmith & City line then runs alongside the Metropolitan line until Baker Street, and then splits off onto its own tracks after calling at Edgware Road and Paddington.

Barking

East Ham

Upton Park

Plaistow

West Ham

See the Jubilee Line section of this guide.

Bromley-by-Bow

Bow Road

This station is 'linked' to Docklands Light Railway via Bow Church station two hundered metres away.

Mile End

Stepney Green

Whitechapel

See the East London Line section of this guide.

St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road)

This station is now disused - see Abandoned Lines and Stations.

Aldgate East

the present Aldgate East station lies a little to the east of the original, which was replaced in 1938. For more information about the disused station see Abandoned Lines and Stations. The station sits just outside the triangle formed by the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines, with the latter two lines passing extremely close to the Circle and Metropolitan line stop at Aldgate before veering into Aldgate East station. The platforms at Aldgate East feature the old backlit boards which light up to show the destination of the next train, making it quite infuriating to wait for a Hammersmith & City line train while nothing but District line trains are being indicated by the board.

The current station bears a striking resemblance to a maze and not a fun one at that. The station has an exit at either end of the platforms, with two exits and entrances on the west side of the station, one of which is by the Whitechapel art gallery. It is not obvious once on the surface how to get from one of these exits to the other. The real confusion starts with the east exit/entrance, as it heads straight into a confusing concoction of enclosed subways with at least eight exits and an underground shopping mall¹. There are maps on the wall indicating where to go, but ironically these are practically usless unless you now the area well. Some of the exits are closed at night, and it is advisable not to get lost around here after sundown.

Liverpool Street to Edgware Road

The Hammersmith & City line runs alongside the Metropolitan line between Liverpool Street and Baker Street, and so Liverpool Street, Moorgate, Barbican, Farringdon, Euston Square and Great Portland Street are covered in the Metropolitan Line section of this guide. King's Cross St Pancras station is covered in the Victoria Line section, while Baker Street, and Edgware Road are covered in the Bakerloo line section.

Paddington

The Hammersmith & City line platforms at Paddington are accommodated in the mainline railway station, on Platforms 15 and 16 - tucked away on the north side of the station, parallel to the platforms for the main line Thames Valley commuter services. It's a very long walk through the railway station to the Bakerloo, Circle and District line platforms, particularly if you have luggage. Reaching the Hammersmith & City line from the main station concourse involves walking along two separate platforms and over a footbridge, while the Circle and District line platforms lie south of the station via an underpass or a brisk walk outside. If you want to change on to the Bakerloo line, you're better off doing it at Baker Street, and if you require the District or Circle we recommend waiting until Edgware Road. Catching the tube to or from Paddington can be especially infuriating due to the apparant randomness of the location of each of the three tube stops, with the Bakerloo line station being covered in the Bakerloo line section of this guide.

Royal Oak

A small station in the shadow of the Westway with an island platform between the two tracks.

Westbourne Park

Now a twin platform station at ground level, this is where the tube line starts to run alongside the Great Western main line that goes into Paddington. Westbourne Park used to be the first stop west of Paddington for suburban rail services but the railway service was later withdrawn due to lack of use. However, there are plans for Westbourne Park to be a stop on Crossrail if it ever gets built.

Ladbroke Grove

An elevated twin platform station on the section that runs parallel to the Westway, Ladbroke Grove lies close to the northern end of Portobello Road market and quite close to the legendary Rough Trade indie record shop and record label offices on Golborne Road. Before the Westway was built, the line around Ladbroke Grove was described by Colin MacInnes in his novel 'Absolute Beginners':

Across this whole mess there cuts, diagonally, yet another railway, that rides high above this slum property like a scenic railway at a fair. Boy, if you want to admire our wonderful old capital city, you should take a ride on this track some time.

The views from Westbourne Park to Hammersmith are still worth a look.

Latimer Road

White City

Disused one and upcoming one.

Shepherd's Bush

This is actually a collective name for two stations, one on the Central line and one down the road on the Hammersmith & City line. The Hammersmith & City stop consists of elevated twin platforms at roof level at the north end of the viaduct that carries the line over Shepherd's Bush market, and is a good ten minutes walk away from its counterpart. There was at one point a plan to rename the Central Line station 'Shepherd's Bush Green' but it was discarded, possibly for being far too sensible. The station is currently the nearest Hammersmith & City line station to QPR football club and the BBC, and consequently sees a lot of use in rush hour and during home matches, especially when the Central Line is out of action.

Goldhawk Road

This station's twin platform sit at roof level at the south end of the viaduct that carries the line over Shepherd's Bush market.

Hammersmith

This station consists of two elements. The first is the set of platforms serving the District and Piccadilly lines, and is an very simple station to find your way around. The other is the Hammersmith & City part, which is in fact a different station altogether.

The Kensington (Addison Road) Branch

Until 1940, the line contained a branch which ran from Lamiter Road to Kensington (Olympia) on the District line. This branch ran from a bifurcation just west of Latimer Road to Kensington (Addison Road) by way of a now disused station at Uxbridge Road. The line at Kensington was in fact continuous between the Metropolitan and District lines, allowing trains to run along an 'outer circle'.

The Richmond Branch

Until 1906, the line into Hammersmith would split into two branches, with one branch being served by the now-closed Hammersmith (Grove Road) station. This line would then continue to Ravenscourt Park on a section of line which no longer exists, and then run along the District line to Richmond. For more information, see the Shepherd's Bush section of Abandoned Lines and Stations.