Chuffed by new train station
Monday September 21, 2009
Fulham's newest train station - Imperial Wharf - is now open.
In addition to Shepherds Bush station - which opened last October - the new West London Line station at Imperial Wharf means the north and south of the borough are connected by Overground rail for the first time since the Second World War.
Transport experts have praised the new station as it opens up an area previously reliant on bus services.
The news will be a boon to local residents as the area has consistently scored poorly in TfL 'transport accessibility' surveys. Recent developments like Imperial Wharf and Chelsea Harbour have also added to the number of people commuting to and from the area.
"Imperial Wharf station will make the lives of thousands of commuters in Fulham and Chelsea much easier," says Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh. "It has been a long road to get here but after a lot of hard work there is now light at the end of the tunnel.
"An area that has historically had very poor transport links is now much better connected."
Plans to build the station had been in limbo for more than 15 years before Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea Councils agreed a £7 million funding package with St George and TfL last year. The agreement paved the way for developers St George - the principal funders - to start building the station.
Three trains will run in each direction every hour and the station will allow residents much easier access to the Underground at West Brompton as well as linking Imperial Wharf to Britain's busiest rail interchange - Clapham Junction - in the south and Willesden Junction in the north.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, officially opened the station with the Leader of the council on September 29.
Imperial Wharf Park is also expected to formally open in a ceremony on Wednesday, 30 September. To the west of Imperial Wharf's sensory gardens, the park links Townmead Road and the river walk and includes a children's playground and boating pond. The park will be managed and maintained by St George who own and paid for the park, but will be open to the whole community under an agreement reached with the council.
