Probably something to do with the distance between Acton Town and South Ealing, and South Ealing and Ealing Broadway. There is a massive, fairly densely populated, area to serve there.
If it wasn't for the 65 bus which passes South Ealing station, then I imagine they would have been tempted to replace South Ealing by reopening the Weymouth Road exit from Northfields. After all that's how they closed Brompton Road, by giving Knightsbridge a second entrance.
One reason to keep South Ealing open (others are also available, see other comments) is that there's a rather long distance between it and the next station in the other direction (i.e. eastwards to Acton Town), and that gap would be increased even further if S Ealing were closed.
My curiosity was piqued by the large words RADIO CARS on South Ealing station early in the video. What could this mean? A closer shot at 6:13 reveals more: "Brentford & Ealing Radio Cars". I looked that up, it's a taxi service. In 2023, in the era of satnav and instant messages on your smart watch, a taxi company offering reassurance that the cars are dispatched by radio is delightfully quaint 😊
Not at all quaint. Using a radio, drivers can speak with control without taking their hands off the wheel or looking away from the road, and (unlike cell phone) there is no call cost for the radio.
Thanks as ever Jago. South Ealing was our local station when I was growing up. I was always struck by the marked contrast with the smart large entrance and platform structures at Northfields and the obviously unfinished buildings at South Ealing. For example, I clearly remember the little wooden shed on the westbound platforms which, as you mentioned, was long overdue for replacement in the 1950s-60s. The station building on South Ealing Road was also little more than a larger shed on the south side of the lines. Clearly that's now changed for the better, but I'm glad LT planners rejected the obviously impractical idea to move the station eastwards, precisely as you say, because the bus connection was really important to us - I think the 65 still runs passed the station, as it has for at least six decades or more. I'm so old I can even remember catching a District Line train at the station.
On my occasionzl trips to Griffin Park, I tended to use South Ealing & either catch a 65 or walk the rest of the way (depending on the weather & how much time I had before kick off). Not been to the new ground, it'd be a different way now.
I’m so glad someone has finally given South Ealing a bit of recognition!! She always seems to be glossed over as just another station on the line and a splodge on the graphics I grew up in the area, and I can tell you I was frequently grateful for the proximity of Northfields. I would regularly fall asleep on my way home from work, and wake up just as the doors were closing I would jump off the train at Northfields, cross the platform and ride back the one stop, without too much impact on my arrival home!!
You should have seen the old wooden shack, bridge and stairs to the platforms, that served as the station on the south side of the road bridge!! To call them ramshackle makes it sound much grander than they were !! 😅😅
I'm glad they didn't go for a post modern re-interpretation of a Holden design, which would have been a very 80s thing to have done. I"m guessing a small budget saved us from that and gave us the elegant little station we see today.
@@ballyhigh11 I can just see it now, all cast concrete with white cladding, or perhaps rendered in steel with black cladding. Same overall shape but every other feature completely changed. Looks even worse after 10 years of aging. Yum.
I feel personally attacked! Over the last few years I spent a lot of time going to and from this station as a UWL student who commuted from the Kent coast via St Pancras, it was indispensable for me as a direct link from the highspeed, despite my expectation of not having to use it for long as I started university in 2018 and was looking forward to getting off at Stratford and changing onto Crossrail. Sadly for me, Crossrail opened on the last day I ever needed to be on campus. And that was with a years delay to my studies due to COVID as well!
My tourist self here to say South Ealing and those amazing bus connections did me and my sprained ankle a solid a few weeks ago so I am here to support it. I was also too tired to even realize how close it was to Northfields at the time.
Very interesting video! As someone who grew up nearby, I would say that South Ealing and Northfields are two distinct communities and it actually feels like there is quite a divide between them without the Piccadilly Line. Sure, if one closed, I’m sure most people would use the other, but actually in terms of serving different places, both stations are 100% necessary
As you said, Leicester Square and Convent Garden are also close together, on the Piccadilly Line. It's probable that in both cases, that you have to remember, trains used to be slower, hence the closeness originally, as well, as the other considerations, such as population growth and the development of housing before and after WW2 in North West London. Likewise Osterley station on the Piccadilly was also moved, like South Ealing ( pattern forming ? ). The original Osterley station is now a bookshop on a bridge. That said, the original Leicester Square station did end up as a station maintenance area, still again, it looks like a pattern. 😁 Some other lines like the Metropolitan have been more ruthless in closing stations, with several ghost stations.
In fact the Piccadilly also has several closed stations; Brompton Road, Down Street, York Road, which has given fewer stops and shorter journey times. Aren't the Metropolitan's ghost stations all where they have been replaced by parallel platforms on other lines, notably the Jubilee (originally Bakerloo)?
Fascinating as always! Another example of how often “and then World War 2 happened” comes up in the context of London Transport projects and programmes. Reminds me of City Thameslink and Blackfriars, which I’m pretty sure are barely a train-length apart…
It's all very easy to talk about certain London Underground stations being so close together but Canary Wharf station on the DLR might as well have one really long platform to serve Heron Quays and West India Quay where all three stations are ridiculously close to each other. Even West India Quay and Heron Quays are really close to each other without Canary Wharf in the middle.
South Ealing was very handy for visiting my great aunt: in the 1950s she had a bicycle & radio shop (not an uncommon combination at the time), which if memory serves was adjacent to the railway on the south side.
Not a criticism, but every time you end one of your well-researched and gently witty videos with "Cheerio" my husband does a little cheer. Every time you omit the "Cheerio" he sighs a sad little sigh.
In the Buenos Aires Subway, the A Line has only 300 mts between Plaza de Mayo and Perú. Also before that the Alberti and Pasco stations were only 230 mts apart until they made them go only one way in each direction. (Alberti to San Pedrito and Pasco to Plaza de Mayo) Feels more like a underground tram than a metro.
Ah, another vid referencing my favourite (or at least most familiar) branch of the Piccadilly Line. I did know about the walkway to Northfields because it said so in a book. 🙂
I painted the triangles and shards outside element coffee opposite Northfields ave. Not knowing the E3 went there I got off and Acton Town and took the train. By the time I got to Northfields the same bus passed and I waved at the driver oops! (My signature is on the old storage box to the left ‘Apes’
5:10 There might be a logical reason for skipping the station in the peak service if a) it hadn't gotten a lot of ridership, b) there was another station close by (as in this case) and c) the number of passengers gained by an overall faster service was thought to be greater than the number of passengers lost by not stopping... the latter presumably being small, since a) and b). But, yes, it is counterintuitive.
The station in Ealing that I personally question the existence of most is North Ealing. Although it is a quaint and lovely little station, it is really quite tucked away and very close to other Piccadilly line stations (Park Royal + Ealing Common) and to my knowledge doesn’t have bus connections like that of South Ealing. I sometimes feel that developers went crazy over Ealing, it has so many tube stations 😂😂
I feel very similar about North Ealing. It is served by more London bus routes than South Ealing (although not as directly), but the entrance itself feels hidden away from the A406. I have only found one practical use for the station, but I like that it is often quiet whenever I pass by.
There are just two places where you can cross the railway line between Ealing Broadway and Acton Mainline. North Ealing and West Acton serve the communities north of the railway, Ealing Common serves the communities south of the railway. Population density is very high in both areas.
I lived in Popes Lane in the late 70s and, as our place was about 5 minutes' walk from South Ealing station, I would not have been keen on the station closing. It's also much closer to Gunnersbury Park and the adjacent cemetery than Northfields is, and I wonder if that had any bearing on the decision to keep South Ealing open? Mind you, I always thought that South Ealing was so named at the instigation of the local estate agents and that North Brentford might have been more accurate 😁
Removing stations should be a last resort. Stations close together are a good thing for people with limited mobility. And that 2 minute journey by train, may be much longer by foot, and that would certainly justify the station in my books.
There is a similar situation on the 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue subways in New York[Manhattan],both lines serve Penn Station(33rd/34th Streets)! Now the fun part; the next Station is 42nd Street,and both lines stop there too! If you are riding the first car,[heading North or South],on either line,you could see the other Station! LITERALLY!! Both stations are some short blocks of each other! The route maps don't really show the closeness,but the track maps do! There may be other Stations on the subway,but these are among the oldest,and still very much functioning operations! For reference;the lines involved are-8th Avenue-A,C,E /7th Avenue- 1,2,3 on the transit maps! Also respectively,they are the IND,and IRT,for the transit 🤓 nerds!Thank you,Jago,and I hope I didn't bore you silly with the outre data! Thank you 😇 😊!
Quite a short journey between South Ealing and Northfields - I have travelled a greater distance on one of those miniature trains that run round parks!
Then of course there's the stations on the Piccadilly line which are very close geographically, but where the normal laws of time and space seem to become suspended when travelling between them - looking at you, Finsbury Park to Manor House and Caledonian Road to Kings Cross/St Pancras.
I liked South Ealing station because it felt like the closest on this branch to Ealing Broadway, from Heathrow. This station was useful for me when I used the Piccadilly line from the Heathrow or Hounslow area, or to reach those areas when travelling via Ealing Broadway. I also liked how the roundels looked, and the station's overall design. It was a station that I felt a connection to.
I used to live in Disraeli Road (between South Ealing and Ealing Broadway), the Heathrow connection was something we kept coming back for even after moving away..... Now with Crossrail included if you live between South and Broadway you must be in on of the most connected suburbs in London.
When Jago replied to a comment on the Arnos Grove video saying that a South Ealing video was coming soon, I didn't think so soon, but boy it did not disappoint!
I really enjoyed that - lots of fascinating detail! So "better bus connections" was the deciding factor to UERL; might you some time consider doing a video about UERL's visions for integrated transport services? How did they make that happen in practice? Did it ever mean forcing the tube managers and bus managers to actually talk to one another? - something that I am not sure happens much in TfL these days ...
A few years ago, a D stock Ealing Bdwy service accepted the wrong signal and ended uo having to go to Northfields to reverse. The driver announced a signalling error meant the train would be diverted to terminate at Southfields. Whether he meant South Ealing or Northfields I don't know, but we all got tipped out at South Ealing.
Years ago I worked for the Beecham Group when their head office was on the Great West Road in Brentford. I lived in North London. My daily journey was from Cockfosters to South Ealing - the nearest station to Beecham's. Quite some commute!
Very interesting. I’m very glad the station is where it is - I live just off South Ealing Road and getting to Northfields Station would be far less convenient.
At least keep its name - so Ealing's 5 stations (North, South, West, Common & Broadway) give some balance to Acton's 7 (North, South, West, East, Main, Town & Central)
Or Wembley....Central, Complex ( formerly Stadium ) and North, etc, all over London, even stations with different names being close together, in the same locale, even when not on the same line. 😁
THanks for another very interesting video - about another area I have passed through many times. Expanding on what you've told us already, South Ealing station is on a through road, the South Ealing road that leads directly between Ealing itself and the Great West Road whereas Northfields (and Weymouth Avenue) does seem to be on backwater roads. Also, once upon a time, that stretch of the Great West Road was very industrial (including the original Lucozade factory) so this was not just a residential area, but a centre of employment too - and South Ealing station was well placed for this. I can vouch for how awkward Northfields is for busses - years ago I used to ride a shuttle bus from that tube station to work. And one more thing - the journey from South Ealing to Northfields can take longer if the train is due to terminate at Northfields. Terminating trains run on the outer trrack and may be overtaken by through trains on the inner track.
South Ealing has a long unserved area westwards. Arguably, the most expendable station on that section is Northfields, as South Ealing eastbound and Boston Manor being nearly as close Westbound would serve the Northfields area perfectly well. Not that they should, but South Ealing is more useful than Northfields.
However Northfields is well designed and easily accessible. The connecting bus service from GSK Brentford goes to Northfields rather than Boston Manor though the latter is a bit nearer.
And of course theres Bank.... where you are now able to walk underground between stations. To go back to where I used to live in Newhaven, East Sussex, you could almost extend the platform from Newhaven town to Newhaven Harbour and I bet the platform would still be shorter than some of the platforms in some London termini.
A fantastic video again Rob. Some scenes in the Starwars series Andor were filmed in Barbican. The walkways we’re used to represent urban areas on the planet Coruscant. Series 1: Ep7, Announcement.
I lived in London in 1993-1994. Living in South Ealing Road (just a block away from the station) South Ealing was *our station*: My mom, brother and I hopped early into the tube on it to reach our schools. In the afternoon, she picked us up and returned to our flat through the station. We discovered London thanks to the link it provided us to the rest of the Underground system and, when it was time to return to our country, we left for Heathrow via South Ealing Station. If LUL dares to close South Ealing, mark my words: I'll go back to London and lead the protests to avoid such travesty.
There's several stations in Zug in Switzerland that are very close together, less than a minute between them. You can see it on some of Railway Emotions' excellent videos
Jago, Jago, Jago - the lovely town of Ascot is pronounced AsCUT (as in ‘I cut my finger’). It is not a cot, as in what a baby goes in. I am the pedant to your does-this-really-matter raised eyebrows.
I'm within spitting distance of this stop and, to be honest, have always wondered why it and Northfields exist so close. But I'm glad it's still around!
I would like to know is why South Ealing and Northfields underground stations are so close to each other and why. How comes that these 2 tube stations on the Piccadilly Line since it was extended to Heathrow Airport are so close to each other which kind of baffles me. But still the Piccadilly Line is always as very busy and there’s so much history about the Piccadilly Line.
I have similar thoughts on Ruislip and Ruislip Manor - definitely the shortest gap between stations on my daily commute whereas Northwood and Northwood Hills share a place name but are further apart than some of the stations in separate towns!?
For me, considering how far SE and AT are along with BM and Osterley, and considering how close Northfields is from SE and BM, I always felt that Northfields was the odd one out as it was the one station which was close to both it's neighbours.
Was just about to say that surely the distance between South Ealing and Northfields, was shorter than that between Covent Garden and Leicester Square, when Jago aptly summarised this. 👍🏾 On the odd occasion that I've been at the south western end of the Piccadilly Line, it's been a source of fascination that these 'quiet' stations have four platforms. Quite a novelty compared to the east end of the District Line where the disused platforms at Bromley-by-Bow, Plaistow, Upton Park, East Ham, and (is it) Becontree or Dagenham East (?), have C2C services running through.
I tried to google this, but had no luck. Curious, are there a lot of halts in England? Guessing none in London, or maybe very few, but out in the boondocks I would imagine they might still be common. I have seen videos showing the existence of them in Japan.
Lots of stations in London used to be designated as "halts" but they aren't really designated that way any more. When is a halt a halt and not a station? In rural areas there are many "request stops" - small stations with basic amenities and you need to stick your arm out to request the train stops for you.
@@honeyfugle That was what I meant by a halt, I thought it was a place the train didn't stop unless someone specifically asked for it. Guessing I was wrong?
@@JP_TaVeryMuch Near where I live (between Sunningdale and Virginia Water) is Longcross, built to serve the studios next door - I have no idea how many passengers use it.
South Ealing has always been used for people coming to Brentford football club. On matchday there was always large numbers of fans travelling down the South Ealing Road towards the old Griffin Park at the end. Not sure if numbers are the same for the new stadium as Gunnesbury is probably the nearest underground.
Video idea: The joint platform 1 and 2 at Norwood Junction, where you could theoretically get off the train either side (if they opened the doors both sides)
I had to view this video titled "The Hard To Justify Existence of South Ealing" to find out if it was referring to place or the people. Fortunately it was about the tube station. I should have guessed!
I think this is one of the few train stations that is saved by a bus service. The route 65 is an important bus and I think TFL is bring another one down there.
Very interesting how you try to untangle the web that is the Underground. Especially the District. A suggestion would be a video simply to explain the freakish spider that is the District “line.” In other cities, simple services are elevated to the status of “network” (looking at you REM). It’s tough to understand for someone used to the simplistic shuttles of Paris and Montreal.
Would be interesting to know how many 'real' passengers thererare at Northfields compared to South Ealing - I suspect that Northfields higher passenger count may have something to do with the Depot. Given that Boston Manor is only a few yards further away from Northfields perhaps it's Northfields which is redundant 😂
South Ealing was my local station until lockdown - I have great affection for it. One of the things which saved it was Griffin Park - Brentford FC’s new ground which was an easy walk or 65 bus ride away
Continued-You can add Philadelphia[Broad Street],Chicago[North Western Elevated],and Boston[Tremont Street Subway-Green Line],the last being a streetcar subway! Note,all other subways in Boston are generally two tracks,but recently there is now a 4 track section,going towards Quincy,on the Red Line! Hopefully this will give a bit more updated information 🙏! Thank you 😇!
@@lassepeterson2740 An addendum- thank you for your attention! The usage of four track mains in subways/elevateds,really is uncommon,as the traffic in most cities doesn't get to the sheer density,that New York,Boston,Philadelphia has on a day-to-day basis! When you have 90 second headways,then definitely you need four tracks! Consider the Northeast Corridor,the former PRR mainline,or the Long Island Railroad Penn Station- Jamaica main,those lines,can and do,have under 5 minute headways at rush hour! I know,I photographed many an hour of that traffic,and I'll throw in,the ex- NYC,and New Haven mains out of Grand Central,for even more heavy traffic,all that on 4 track mains! You really can't comprehend the density,unless you see first hand! Anyway,this is my experience and knowledge,hope its useful! Thank you 😇!
Ooh Hounslow West again :) I would like to know Jago what your day job is, as you must spend a lot of time researching these wonderfully imformative videos.🚂
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
South Ealing must stay. It’s a possible answer to the question “Name any tube station with all five vowels in the name”.
Well there is always Mansion House for that matter.
@@hhj1897 I know, but it wouldn’t be fair to make the question harder.
You mean 5 out of the 6 vowels?
@@wta1518 If we’re getting into pedantry over consonants which also have usage as vowels, I’m surprised you didn’t say seven vowels.
@@colinbaker3916 what's the seventh?
2019 passenger stats (ie pre pandemic)
South Ealing - 3.52m
Northfields - 3.98m
Despite their close proximity, they are both well served.
Probably something to do with the distance between Acton Town and South Ealing, and South Ealing and Ealing Broadway.
There is a massive, fairly densely populated, area to serve there.
Agree, large local population.
@cossie6824 trust me I'd be all for that extra stop in the video but would never happen now
@@cossie6824 how many folk get a train from South Ealing to Northfields ?
and South Ealing is very handy for Ealing Studios.
South Ealing coming over for tea would definitely be a moment for train nerds 😂
As long as Northfields can come too, I mean they are close friends.
I've just spent far too long wondering what it would like to eat and drink.
@@bordershader South Oolong, of course.
If it wasn't for the 65 bus which passes South Ealing station, then I imagine they would have been tempted to replace South Ealing by reopening the Weymouth Road exit from Northfields. After all that's how they closed Brompton Road, by giving Knightsbridge a second entrance.
I'm pretty sure I would never of known of South Ealing's existence if it wasn't for the 65 bus.
One reason to keep South Ealing open (others are also available, see other comments) is that there's a rather long distance between it and the next station in the other direction (i.e. eastwards to Acton Town), and that gap would be increased even further if S Ealing were closed.
My curiosity was piqued by the large words RADIO CARS on South Ealing station early in the video. What could this mean? A closer shot at 6:13 reveals more: "Brentford & Ealing Radio Cars". I looked that up, it's a taxi service. In 2023, in the era of satnav and instant messages on your smart watch, a taxi company offering reassurance that the cars are dispatched by radio is delightfully quaint 😊
Not at all quaint. Using a radio, drivers can speak with control without taking their hands off the wheel or looking away from the road, and (unlike cell phone) there is no call cost for the radio.
Thanks as ever Jago. South Ealing was our local station when I was growing up. I was always struck by the marked contrast with the smart large entrance and platform structures at Northfields and the obviously unfinished buildings at South Ealing. For example, I clearly remember the little wooden shed on the westbound platforms which, as you mentioned, was long overdue for replacement in the 1950s-60s. The station building on South Ealing Road was also little more than a larger shed on the south side of the lines. Clearly that's now changed for the better, but I'm glad LT planners rejected the obviously impractical idea to move the station eastwards, precisely as you say, because the bus connection was really important to us - I think the 65 still runs passed the station, as it has for at least six decades or more. I'm so old I can even remember catching a District Line train at the station.
Yup the 65 still runs past the station. I grabbed it on the way home last Sunday.
same
@Damien N you must have very large hands...
Buses are so good that I have never taken a tube to South Ealing when going there! 😲😁
On my occasionzl trips to Griffin Park, I tended to use South Ealing & either catch a 65 or walk the rest of the way (depending on the weather & how much time I had before kick off). Not been to the new ground, it'd be a different way now.
South Ealing... One of the few London Underground station's with all of the five vowels contained within its name...
I’m so glad someone has finally given South Ealing a bit of recognition!!
She always seems to be glossed over as just another station on the line and a splodge on the graphics
I grew up in the area, and I can tell you I was frequently grateful for the proximity of Northfields.
I would regularly fall asleep on my way home from work, and wake up just as the doors were closing
I would jump off the train at Northfields, cross the platform and ride back the one stop, without too much impact on my arrival home!!
She ? Jesus wept
I thought you were going to say you just walked back from Northfields as it's so close!
@@darrenbertram7289 no sod that for a game of soldiers!!!
I was far too lazy to do that in them days!!! 😂😂😂
@@cossie6824 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
The platform buildings and canopies add a nice Art Deco touch.
5:36Uncle Albert has entered the building
I would never have guessed that station building dates from the 1980s, as it's very traditional in its design.
You should have seen the old wooden shack, bridge and stairs to the platforms, that served as the station on the south side of the road bridge!! To call them ramshackle makes it sound much grander than they were !! 😅😅
I'm glad they didn't go for a post modern re-interpretation of a Holden design, which would have been a very 80s thing to have done. I"m guessing a small budget saved us from that and gave us the elegant little station we see today.
@@ballyhigh11 I agree. Sympathetically done with the London yellow stocks looking bricks.
@@ballyhigh11 I can just see it now, all cast concrete with white cladding, or perhaps rendered in steel with black cladding. Same overall shape but every other feature completely changed. Looks even worse after 10 years of aging. Yum.
I feel personally attacked! Over the last few years I spent a lot of time going to and from this station as a UWL student who commuted from the Kent coast via St Pancras, it was indispensable for me as a direct link from the highspeed, despite my expectation of not having to use it for long as I started university in 2018 and was looking forward to getting off at Stratford and changing onto Crossrail.
Sadly for me, Crossrail opened on the last day I ever needed to be on campus. And that was with a years delay to my studies due to COVID as well!
HI-5 from another UWL alumni! Also commuted to South Ealing almost daily, loved it!
My tourist self here to say South Ealing and those amazing bus connections did me and my sprained ankle a solid a few weeks ago so I am here to support it. I was also too tired to even realize how close it was to Northfields at the time.
South Ealing came first and somehow gets this sort of treatment? Unfair
Very interesting video! As someone who grew up nearby, I would say that South Ealing and Northfields are two distinct communities and it actually feels like there is quite a divide between them without the Piccadilly Line. Sure, if one closed, I’m sure most people would use the other, but actually in terms of serving different places, both stations are 100% necessary
“…Which seems logical to me but that’s what this book says.”
Ah, that takes me back.
I can't help but think that, had Northfields not needed to make way for the depot, then we'd be having this chat about Northfields and Boston Manor.
When we used our staff radio at the end of the platform at Leicester Square, staff could pick it up at Covent Garden. That's how close they are.
As you said, Leicester Square and Convent Garden are also close together, on the Piccadilly Line. It's probable that in both cases, that you have to remember, trains used to be slower, hence the closeness originally, as well, as the other considerations, such as population growth and the development of housing before and after WW2 in North West London. Likewise Osterley station on the Piccadilly was also moved, like South Ealing ( pattern forming ? ). The original Osterley station is now a bookshop on a bridge. That said, the original Leicester Square station did end up as a station maintenance area, still again, it looks like a pattern. 😁
Some other lines like the Metropolitan have been more ruthless in closing stations, with several ghost stations.
The close proximity of the Central London stations also prevents overcrowded platforms.
@@denizalgazi Plus there are many alternatives, buses, taxis, etc.
@@denizalgazi I would have thought the lifts at Covent Garden would prevent overcrowded platforms just fine. ;)
In fact the Piccadilly also has several closed stations; Brompton Road, Down Street, York Road, which has given fewer stops and shorter journey times. Aren't the Metropolitan's ghost stations all where they have been replaced by parallel platforms on other lines, notably the Jubilee (originally Bakerloo)?
Piccadilly had Brompton Road and Aldwych, which they were right to close.
Hi Jago from Spain. Thank you once again for another interesting tale from the tube
Fascinating as always! Another example of how often “and then World War 2 happened” comes up in the context of London Transport projects and programmes.
Reminds me of City Thameslink and Blackfriars, which I’m pretty sure are barely a train-length apart…
"What have the World Wars done for us?!"
It's all very easy to talk about certain London Underground stations being so close together but Canary Wharf station on the DLR might as well have one really long platform to serve Heron Quays and West India Quay where all three stations are ridiculously close to each other. Even West India Quay and Heron Quays are really close to each other without Canary Wharf in the middle.
Once again like drawing a breath of London air while watching in Yorkshire. Thank you sir.
I used to live on Weymouth Avenue, almost opposite the old entrance to Northfields station! If only they’d kept it open :-(
Thanks Jago!
Love the end bit of this video between Beal Crossing and the Borders Bridge on the East Coast Main Line, where I walk my dog. Love it.
Shall we make this a series with the follow up videos being Hard-To-Justify 2: Mill Hill East and HTJ3: Roding Valley?
Excellent video as always! 🎉
West India Quay?
@@blythy87 It will need to serve a new development between Poplar/West India Quay/Crossrail CW station. Difficult to close it down
West India is now the osi for the lizzy line
But they should get rid of Maryland
Lovely final shots of train departure and arrival totally justifies the existence of South Ealing. Thank you Jago.
South Ealing was very handy for visiting my great aunt: in the 1950s she had a bicycle & radio shop (not an uncommon combination at the time), which if memory serves was adjacent to the railway on the south side.
Not a criticism, but every time you end one of your well-researched and gently witty videos with "Cheerio" my husband does a little cheer. Every time you omit the "Cheerio" he sighs a sad little sigh.
And this time he omitted the "and here on TH-cam" when thanking the Patrons.
In the Buenos Aires Subway, the A Line has only 300 mts between Plaza de Mayo and Perú. Also before that the Alberti and Pasco stations were only 230 mts apart until they made them go only one way in each direction. (Alberti to San Pedrito and Pasco to Plaza de Mayo)
Feels more like a underground tram than a metro.
Ah, another vid referencing my favourite (or at least most familiar) branch of the Piccadilly Line. I did know about the walkway to Northfields because it said so in a book. 🙂
I painted the triangles and shards outside element coffee opposite Northfields ave.
Not knowing the E3 went there I got off and Acton Town and took the train. By the time I got to Northfields the same bus passed and I waved at the driver oops!
(My signature is on the old storage box to the left ‘Apes’
5:10 There might be a logical reason for skipping the station in the peak service if a) it hadn't gotten a lot of ridership, b) there was another station close by (as in this case) and c) the number of passengers gained by an overall faster service was thought to be greater than the number of passengers lost by not stopping... the latter presumably being small, since a) and b). But, yes, it is counterintuitive.
Once again, you teach me things I never knew I needed to know!
holds a special place in most geeks hearts for being 1 of only 2 stations with all 5 vowels in the spelling... mansion house being the other
Excellent vlog. I don’t know why I particularly enjoyed this one, but I did. 🙏🏻
The station in Ealing that I personally question the existence of most is North Ealing. Although it is a quaint and lovely little station, it is really quite tucked away and very close to other Piccadilly line stations (Park Royal + Ealing Common) and to my knowledge doesn’t have bus connections like that of South Ealing. I sometimes feel that developers went crazy over Ealing, it has so many tube stations 😂😂
I feel very similar about North Ealing.
It is served by more London bus routes than South Ealing (although not as directly), but the entrance itself feels hidden away from the A406. I have only found one practical use for the station, but I like that it is often quiet whenever I pass by.
There are just two places where you can cross the railway line between Ealing Broadway and Acton Mainline. North Ealing and West Acton serve the communities north of the railway, Ealing Common serves the communities south of the railway. Population density is very high in both areas.
South Ealing needs to be preserved as one of two stations that have all the vowels in its name
I thought someone might mention that and if they hadn't I was going to comment myself.
But which is the other??!
@@brian9731 Mansion House, I absolutely love this trivia
Rename Northfields to Northfield Avenue, the road on which it is situated. Problem solved.
I lived in Popes Lane in the late 70s and, as our place was about 5 minutes' walk from South Ealing station, I would not have been keen on the station closing. It's also much closer to Gunnersbury Park and the adjacent cemetery than Northfields is, and I wonder if that had any bearing on the decision to keep South Ealing open?
Mind you, I always thought that South Ealing was so named at the instigation of the local estate agents and that North Brentford might have been more accurate 😁
Oi ! Hands orf ! Brentford lies entirely to the south of the M4.
@@hb1338 😁
Removing stations should be a last resort. Stations close together are a good thing for people with limited mobility. And that 2 minute journey by train, may be much longer by foot, and that would certainly justify the station in my books.
There is a similar situation on the 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue subways in New York[Manhattan],both lines serve Penn Station(33rd/34th Streets)! Now the fun part; the next Station is 42nd Street,and both lines stop there too! If you are riding the first car,[heading North or South],on either line,you could see the other Station! LITERALLY!! Both stations are some short blocks of each other! The route maps don't really show the closeness,but the track maps do! There may be other Stations on the subway,but these are among the oldest,and still very much functioning operations! For reference;the lines involved are-8th Avenue-A,C,E /7th Avenue- 1,2,3 on the transit maps! Also respectively,they are the IND,and IRT,for the transit 🤓 nerds!Thank you,Jago,and I hope I didn't bore you silly with the outre data! Thank you 😇 😊!
It's even worse between 18 23 28 and 34 on the 7th ave! but hey at least everyone gets the train
Quite a short journey between South Ealing and Northfields - I have travelled a greater distance on one of those miniature trains that run round parks!
😁
I partially wish they had retained the old wooden shelter... it looks quite nicely unique, very different from other stations in London
Then of course there's the stations on the Piccadilly line which are very close geographically, but where the normal laws of time and space seem to become suspended when travelling between them - looking at you, Finsbury Park to Manor House and Caledonian Road to Kings Cross/St Pancras.
Comment from a true Urban Spaceman
this came up in my mobile feed as The Hard-To-Justify Existence...., which is deeply philosophical
I liked South Ealing station because it felt like the closest on this branch to Ealing Broadway, from Heathrow. This station was useful for me when I used the Piccadilly line from the Heathrow or Hounslow area, or to reach those areas when travelling via Ealing Broadway. I also liked how the roundels looked, and the station's overall design. It was a station that I felt a connection to.
I used to live in Disraeli Road (between South Ealing and Ealing Broadway), the Heathrow connection was something we kept coming back for even after moving away.....
Now with Crossrail included if you live between South and Broadway you must be in on of the most connected suburbs in London.
When Jago replied to a comment on the Arnos Grove video saying that a South Ealing video was coming soon, I didn't think so soon, but boy it did not disappoint!
I really enjoyed that - lots of fascinating detail! So "better bus connections" was the deciding factor to UERL; might you some time consider doing a video about UERL's visions for integrated transport services? How did they make that happen in practice? Did it ever mean forcing the tube managers and bus managers to actually talk to one another? - something that I am not sure happens much in TfL these days ...
A few years ago, a D stock Ealing Bdwy service accepted the wrong signal and ended uo having to go to Northfields to reverse. The driver announced a signalling error meant the train would be diverted to terminate at Southfields. Whether he meant South Ealing or Northfields I don't know, but we all got tipped out at South Ealing.
Years ago I worked for the Beecham Group when their head office was on the Great West Road in Brentford. I lived in North London. My daily journey was from Cockfosters to South Ealing - the nearest station to Beecham's. Quite some commute!
You’ve also got Ruislip & Ruislip Manor, they almost share a car park
Very interesting. I’m very glad the station is where it is - I live just off South Ealing Road and getting to Northfields Station would be far less convenient.
Pokhraj Roy stole my thunder with his comments. But it shows just how much thought / careful writing goes into Jago's work. 👏👏👏
At least keep its name - so Ealing's 5 stations (North, South, West, Common & Broadway) give some balance to Acton's 7 (North, South, West, East, Main, Town & Central)
Or Wembley....Central, Complex ( formerly Stadium ) and North, etc, all over London, even stations with different names being close together, in the same locale, even when not on the same line. 😁
Is it a coincidence Acton is part of the Borough of Ealing? Between them they have a dozen stations using only two names! :-)
When I lived in Ealing, South Ealing was the only one of the five stations that I didn't use regularly.
Think it’s about time that they did something with york road in regards to all the regeneration in the area
THanks for another very interesting video - about another area I have passed through many times.
Expanding on what you've told us already, South Ealing station is on a through road, the South Ealing road that leads directly between Ealing itself and the Great West Road whereas Northfields (and Weymouth Avenue) does seem to be on backwater roads.
Also, once upon a time, that stretch of the Great West Road was very industrial (including the original Lucozade factory) so this was not just a residential area, but a centre of employment too - and South Ealing station was well placed for this.
I can vouch for how awkward Northfields is for busses - years ago I used to ride a shuttle bus from that tube station to work.
And one more thing - the journey from South Ealing to Northfields can take longer if the train is due to terminate at Northfields. Terminating trains run on the outer trrack and may be overtaken by through trains on the inner track.
South Ealing has a long unserved area westwards. Arguably, the most expendable station on that section is Northfields, as South Ealing eastbound and Boston Manor being nearly as close Westbound would serve the Northfields area perfectly well. Not that they should, but South Ealing is more useful than Northfields.
However Northfields is well designed and easily accessible. The connecting bus service from GSK Brentford goes to Northfields rather than Boston Manor though the latter is a bit nearer.
Pretty sure the old lightbox indicators at Mile End still had one of the old Ealing destinations on it which was no longer served.
And of course theres Bank.... where you are now able to walk underground between stations.
To go back to where I used to live in Newhaven, East Sussex, you could almost extend the platform from Newhaven town to Newhaven Harbour and I bet the platform would still be shorter than some of the platforms in some London termini.
Why are there (apparently) railings above the canopies on the platforms of South Ealing?
Is this a common feature on other stations?
Jago: “Why hate on the little guy?”
Me, an Intellectual: “Is there something you’d like to share?”
Thanks for taking up my idea Jago 👍 (some others may have as well)
South Ealing was my local station for ages. Love it.
"Ghost rat" walks down platform edge on bottom right at 6:18
A fantastic video again Rob.
Some scenes in the Starwars series Andor were filmed in Barbican. The walkways we’re used to represent urban areas on the planet Coruscant.
Series 1: Ep7, Announcement.
South Ealing is very useful for the 65 bus link to University of West London (Ealing). Surprised the University hasn't given any assistance.
For many years, I used this station to attend Brentford FC matches at Griffin Park, before we moved to the new stadium.
I lived in London in 1993-1994. Living in South Ealing Road (just a block away from the station) South Ealing was *our station*: My mom, brother and I hopped early into the tube on it to reach our schools. In the afternoon, she picked us up and returned to our flat through the station. We discovered London thanks to the link it provided us to the rest of the Underground system and, when it was time to return to our country, we left for Heathrow via South Ealing Station.
If LUL dares to close South Ealing, mark my words: I'll go back to London and lead the protests to avoid such travesty.
South Ealing is the closest station to my Cousin, at one time it was closed on sundays. Guess which day I used to go and visit her.
There's several stations in Zug in Switzerland that are very close together, less than a minute between them. You can see it on some of Railway Emotions' excellent videos
I was wondering if there have ever been any plans to extend the tube/overground/crossrail out to Chafford hundred and grays?
Jago, Jago, Jago - the lovely town of Ascot is pronounced AsCUT (as in ‘I cut my finger’). It is not a cot, as in what a baby goes in. I am the pedant to your does-this-really-matter raised eyebrows.
I always thought it was pronounced As-CT!
@@LesD9 I defer to you! The ‘cut’ certainly has to be enunciated short and sharp.
No - the second vowel in Ascot is neutral, not 'uh'.
I'm within spitting distance of this stop and, to be honest, have always wondered why it and Northfields exist so close. But I'm glad it's still around!
I would like to know is why South Ealing and Northfields underground stations are so close to each other and why. How comes that these 2 tube stations on the Piccadilly Line since it was extended to Heathrow Airport are so close to each other which kind of baffles me. But still the Piccadilly Line is always as very busy and there’s so much history about the Piccadilly Line.
I have similar thoughts on Ruislip and Ruislip Manor - definitely the shortest gap between stations on my daily commute whereas Northwood and Northwood Hills share a place name but are further apart than some of the stations in separate towns!?
For me, considering how far SE and AT are along with BM and Osterley, and considering how close Northfields is from SE and BM, I always felt that Northfields was the odd one out as it was the one station which was close to both it's neighbours.
Was just about to say that surely the distance between South Ealing and Northfields, was shorter than that between Covent Garden and Leicester Square, when Jago aptly summarised this. 👍🏾 On the odd occasion that I've been at the south western end of the Piccadilly Line, it's been a source of fascination that these 'quiet' stations have four platforms. Quite a novelty compared to the east end of the District Line where the disused platforms at Bromley-by-Bow, Plaistow, Upton Park, East Ham, and (is it) Becontree or Dagenham East (?), have C2C services running through.
I tried to google this, but had no luck. Curious, are there a lot of halts in England? Guessing none in London, or maybe very few, but out in the boondocks I would imagine they might still be common.
I have seen videos showing the existence of them in Japan.
Lots of stations in London used to be designated as "halts" but they aren't really designated that way any more. When is a halt a halt and not a station? In rural areas there are many "request stops" - small stations with basic amenities and you need to stick your arm out to request the train stops for you.
@@honeyfugle That was what I meant by a halt, I thought it was a place the train didn't stop unless someone specifically asked for it. Guessing I was wrong?
@@JP_TaVeryMuch Near where I live (between Sunningdale and Virginia Water) is Longcross, built to serve the studios next door - I have no idea how many passengers use it.
I travelled to and from South Ealing when I taught briefly at what was then Ealing College of Higher Education.
South Ealing has always been used for people coming to Brentford football club. On matchday there was always large numbers of fans travelling down the South Ealing Road towards the old Griffin Park at the end. Not sure if numbers are the same for the new stadium as Gunnesbury is probably the nearest underground.
Yeah, people tend to hop off at Gunnersbury or Kew Bridge nowadays - there's still somewhat of a presence at South Ealing however
Video idea: The joint platform 1 and 2 at Norwood Junction, where you could theoretically get off the train either side (if they opened the doors both sides)
Great vid Jago.Will hear no slander on South Ealing aha. As a proud UWL man it's provided so much agony and joy at university. Wonderful memories
HI-5 from another UWL alumni and fellow South Ealing commuter
I use South Ealing often, and can recommend the minicab office.
It's surpringly distant from Northfields by car.
For closeness of stations check the distance from Dumbarton Central to Dalreoch. You can see either one from the platform of the other.
Ty Glas to Birchgrove in the northern suburbs of Cardiff is the shortest distance between stations on National Rail
I used South Ealing when I attended Ealing Tech, I always thought it a lovely station .
South Ealing is definitely one of those forgotten stations, along with West Harrow, South Ruislip, North Ealing and most of all West Kensington.
In Vienna we have a few stations that are at least as close together (on the U-Bahn of course).
I had to view this video titled "The Hard To Justify Existence of South Ealing" to find out if it was referring to place or the people. Fortunately it was about the tube station. I should have guessed!
I read the title as North Ealing, which is a truly bizarre tube station for Zone 3
I really would like to see your face when South Ealing knocks on your door for tea. Or any other station for that matter.
I think this is one of the few train stations that is saved by a bus service. The route 65 is an important bus and I think TFL is bring another one down there.
Very interesting how you try to untangle the web that is the Underground. Especially the District. A suggestion would be a video simply to explain the freakish spider that is the District “line.” In other cities, simple services are elevated to the status of “network” (looking at you REM). It’s tough to understand for someone used to the simplistic shuttles of Paris and Montreal.
Would be interesting to know how many 'real' passengers thererare at Northfields compared to South Ealing - I suspect that Northfields higher passenger count may have something to do with the Depot.
Given that Boston Manor is only a few yards further away from Northfields perhaps it's Northfields which is redundant 😂
Hove to Aldrington to Portslade is a very close set of 3.
Southwick, Fishersgate and Shoreham that lay beyond aren’t far apart either.
Ah my old home tube station 😊
South Ealing was my local station until lockdown - I have great affection for it. One of the things which saved it was Griffin Park - Brentford FC’s new ground which was an easy walk or 65 bus ride away
Kew Bridge and Gunnersbury are both very much closer than South Ealing.
@@hb1338 it would depend on the destination of the particular fan and I would contest but don’t know for sure that Gunnersbury is further away too
@@hb1338 (I don’t mean the current new ground but the one Brentford moved into originally)
South Ealing was the station of choice for many heading to Griffin Park. No longer alas!
I'll tell you who wasn't a 'little guy'...Charles Tyson Yerkes, that's who.
You tell 'em, Captain!
People always say New York is unique in having 4 track "subway service " . London has a few lines too .
You can add Philadelphia[
Continued-You can add Philadelphia[Broad Street],Chicago[North Western Elevated],and Boston[Tremont Street Subway-Green Line],the last being a streetcar subway! Note,all other subways in Boston are generally two tracks,but recently there is now a 4 track section,going towards Quincy,on the Red Line! Hopefully this will give a bit more updated information 🙏! Thank you 😇!
@@roberthuron9160 Recently doesant count . But i guess Mew York is not as unique as they claim . Thanx .
@@lassepeterson2740 An addendum- thank you for your attention! The usage of four track mains in subways/elevateds,really is uncommon,as the traffic in most cities doesn't get to the sheer density,that New York,Boston,Philadelphia has on a day-to-day basis! When you have 90 second headways,then definitely you need four tracks! Consider the Northeast Corridor,the former PRR mainline,or the Long Island Railroad Penn Station- Jamaica main,those lines,can and do,have under 5 minute headways at rush hour! I know,I photographed many an hour of that traffic,and I'll throw in,the ex- NYC,and New Haven mains out of Grand Central,for even more heavy traffic,all that on 4 track mains! You really can't comprehend the density,unless you see first hand! Anyway,this is my experience and knowledge,hope its useful! Thank you 😇!
@@JP_TaVeryMuch That is assuming trains never have to cross over to the other track once in a while .
Ooh Hounslow West again :) I would like to know Jago what your day job is, as you must spend a lot of time researching these wonderfully imformative videos.🚂