West Ruislip tube station
Central line · Zone 6 · Hillingdon
About West Ruislip station
Long before the Central line arrived, this was Ruislip & Ickenham, opened on 2 April 1906 by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway, whose route linked London with the Midlands via High Wycombe. The London Passenger Transport Board’s 1935–40 New Works programme planned to run the Central line beside the main line as far as Denham, but the post-war Metropolitan Green Belt cut the scheme back to West Ruislip. Had it been finished, the next stop would have been Harefield Road, and trackbed built for it can still be seen west of the road overbridge, beyond the Central line buffer stops.
The name changed to West Ruislip (for Ickenham) on 30 June 1947, the day the extension’s first section opened from North Acton to Greenford. Central line trains began running from here on 21 November 1948, although the station building, built by British Railways for London Underground, was not finished until the 1960s, around the time the suffix was dropped. London Underground manages both the Central line and the Chiltern Railways platforms, as well as the ticket hall.
First and last trains from West Ruislip
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central towards Epping, Hainault or Loughton | 05:23 – 23:53 | 05:23 – 23:53 | Not in TfL's timetable data; check tfl.gov.uk | Not in TfL's timetable data; check tfl.gov.uk |
Times are TfL’s published timetable departures from this station; on Saturday the list follows TfL’s “Saturdays and public holidays” timetable.
At the busiest hour on a weekday there are up to 10 Central trains an hour per direction from West Ruislip, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from West Ruislip
Running times between West Ruislip and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Ruislip Gardens | 2.7 min |
Connections
- National Rail: Chiltern Railways.
Station facilities
What is near West Ruislip station
As one of the Central line’s two western termini, West Ruislip is where trains from Epping end their run, and where passengers can switch to Chiltern Railways trains towards London Marylebone and High Wycombe. The station is on Ickenham High Road, on the border between Ickenham and western Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon, and has a car park. The nearest Metropolitan and Piccadilly line station, Ickenham, is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) away.
Frequently asked questions
Pre-war plans took the line further, alongside the main line to Denham, with Harefield Road as the next station. The post-war introduction of the Metropolitan Green Belt cut the extension back to West Ruislip. A section of trackbed built for it is still visible west of the road overbridge, beyond the buffer stops.
The station took that name on 30 June 1947, having opened in 1906 as Ruislip & Ickenham. The ‘(for Ickenham)’ suffix was dropped at about the time the station building was completed in the 1960s, but some Central line stations with older signage still show the longer name on their platform diagrams.