White City tube station
Central line · Zone 2 · Hammersmith and Fulham
About White City station
White City replaced the older Central line terminus at Wood Lane, opening on 23 November 1947. Work had begun after 1938 with completion due by 1940, but the Second World War delayed the opening by seven years. The building won an award at the Festival of Britain, recorded on a plaque to the left of the main entrance. The station lies in a deep brick-sided cutting and is designed along similar lines to Harrow-on-the-Hill.
Its oddest feature is that trains run on the right rather than the left through the platforms. This is a legacy of the anti-clockwise loop built for Wood Lane, opened in 1908 as the Central London Railway’s western terminus a short distance to the south; the tracks switch back on a surface flyover roughly halfway to East Acton. There are three tracks, the centre one with platforms on both sides so that it can take trains in either direction, plus a reversing siding to the north and sidings to the below-ground White City depot to the south. A modernisation completed in 2008 kept the heritage features and won a certificate of merit at the 2009 National Railway Heritage Awards.
First and last trains from White City
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central towards West Ruislip, Ealing Broadway or North Acton | 05:14 to Ealing Broadway – 00:50 to Ealing Broadway | 05:14 to Ealing Broadway – all night | 24 hours | all night – 00:05 |
| Central towards Hainault, Epping or Loughton | 05:33 to Epping – 00:15 to Epping | 05:33 to Epping – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:27 |
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 28 Central trains an hour per direction from White City, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from White City
Running times between White City and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Central | East Acton | 3.1 min |
| Central | Shepherd's Bush | 3.5 min |
Connections
White City is served by the Central line only; there is no interchange with other rail lines here.
Station facilities
What is near White City station
On Wood Lane, the station is directly opposite the BBC Television Centre, and Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers, and Westfield London are within walking distance. Elephant West is only about 50 m away, Exhibition Park around 160 m, Centre Stage roughly 190 m and the Electric Cinema about 210 m. Imperial College London’s White City Campus is around 330 m off and Hammersmith Park about 340 m. The Wood Lane station nearby provides interchange with the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Hammersmith Park | 340 m |
| Elephant West | 50 m |
| Exhibition Park | 160 m |
| Centre Stage | 190 m |
| Electric Cinema | 210 m |
| John Lewis | 240 m |
| Scale Space White City | 320 m |
| Imperial College London, White City Campus | 330 m |
Frequently asked questions
The layout goes back to the anti-clockwise loop of the now-disused Wood Lane station, the Central London Railway’s western terminus from 1908. The track reversal in its tunnels means trains still run right-handed through White City, returning to normal left-hand running on a surface flyover about halfway to East Acton.
Yes. A Metropolitan line station called Wood Lane, a short distance to the south, was also known as White City from 23 November 1947 until it closed in 1959. It is not the same as today’s Wood Lane station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, which provides the interchange.