South Ruislip station

South Ruislip station stands in the London Borough of Hillingdon, where London Underground and Chiltern Railways share a single building. It opened in 1908 as Northolt Junction, later becoming South Ruislip & Northolt Junction before gaining its present name in 1947. The station’s rounded booking hall, designed by Brian Lewis and F.F.C. Curtis, was completed in 1960 and features a glass and granite frieze by artist Henry Haig. The track layout has been simplified over the years, with manual signalling removed in the 1990s and replaced by colour light systems. Fragments of the old trackwork still lie north of the line, while upgrades now allow trains to run at up to 160 km/h. The station serves as a key junction where Chiltern Railways and the Central line meet. Chiltern Railways operates an unusual off-peak service, with one train every two hours to London Marylebone and one per hour to High Wycombe. On weekends, services increase to hourly in each direction, extending to Aylesbury via Princes Risborough. The Central line runs every ten minutes off-peak, with nine trains per hour to West Ruislip and nine to Epping. London Buses routes 114, E7 and night route N118 stop outside. Visitors find a modern station with ticket barriers controlling access to all platforms. The bridge over Long Drive is unusually low at 3.58 m, often struck by high vehicles, though false deck beams reduce the risk of serious damage. The surrounding area includes the waste transfer depot, where Chiltern Railways’ Evergreen 3 improvements added a new down main line to speed services. The station’s concrete, glass and granite elements reflect its mid-20th-century design, while the upgraded tracks allow faster journeys toward London and beyond.