Rayners Lane tube station

Rayners Lane station stands in the north-west London district of Rayners Lane, part of the London Borough of Harrow. It was built in 1906 as a halt on the Metropolitan Railway’s new line to Uxbridge, named after local farmer Daniel Rayner. The station sits where Rayners Lane, Alexandra Avenue and Imperial Drive meet, just west of the junction. Both the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines serve the station, sharing tracks westbound before splitting eastbound. The area around the station developed in the 1930s as Harrow Garden Village, a residential estate with low-rise houses. The station’s importance grew quickly. By 1937, passenger numbers had risen from 22,000 a year in 1930 to four million, prompting a rebuild. Charles Holden and Reginald Uren designed the new station, completed in 1938. It became a Grade II listed building, recognised for its bold brick and glass ticket hall with a flat concrete roof. The station also gained a nickname in its early years: Pneumonia Junction, because of its exposed position. Visitors today find a station that still serves as a transport hub. The ticket hall’s large cube shape and clean lines reflect the modernist style of the late 1930s. To the west, a reversing siding allows half of the Piccadilly line trains to turn back during the day. East of the platforms, the two lines separate, with the Metropolitan line offering express services in the morning peak. London buses 398, H9, H10 and H12 stop outside, linking the station to the surrounding area.