Latimer Road tube station

Latimer Road Station is a London Underground station in North Kensington on the Circle, and Hammersmith and City lines, between Wood Lane and Ladbroke Grove stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 2.

History
The station opened on 16 December 1868 at a junction formed between two existing railway lines – the Hammersmith & City Railway (owned by the Great Western Railway and running between Westbourne Park and Hammersmith stations) and the West London Railway (WLR) (between Willesden Junction and Addison Road (now Kensington (Olympia) stations). Services to Addison Road were originally provided via the junction to the WLR tracks but these were discontinued in 1940 and the junction no longer exists. Between Latimer Road and Addison Road was the closed Uxbridge Road station.

The station ticket hall at Latimer Road is located at ground level within the arches of the viaduct carrying the tracks above. The platforms are accessed by stairs and retain much of their original character with simple open timber canopies.

Unusually, Latimer Road and the station that bears its name are not geographically close, being approximately 500 metres apart and on opposite sides of the Westway Flyover (A40 road) – the road being to the north and the station to the south. Prior to the construction of the Westway and the elevated roundabout that joins it to the West Cross Route (A3220), Latimer Road ran further south and closer to the station. The construction of the elevated road required the demolition of the central section of Latimer Road and the truncated and isolated southern end of the road was renamed as part of Freston Road. Despite the renaming of the southern part of the road, the station retained its original name.

Refurbishment
In April 2010 long overdue refurbishment work started on the westbound platform. VolkerRail have been contracted by TFL to demolish and rebuild both platforms, starting firstly with the westbound platform, then moving over to the eastbound. However due to the poor conditions of the arches underneath the platforms and the bridge over Bramley Road, the station will be closed for 14 weeks, starting on January 17th 2011. A new station entrance is to be built in place of the disused kiosk, with the old entrance being bricked up.

In popular culture
The station appears in the film Adulthood (2008).