Hammersmith London Underground Station

This is service from Barking station is very poor from 05.50 to 07.00 No train? Really bad service if you are going to work and you need this train between the this hour?

The Hammersmith and Circle Line is a dffierent Station from the Picadilly and District Line. They are oppostie each other across the street

Hammersmith station is good, as it is a perfect transport hub to get you almost anywhere in London and there are a huge number of shops and eateries within the station and in the general Hammersmith area. However, the fact you catch Piccadilly and District from one station and Hammersmith and City and Circle from another is hugely confusing. It makes tapping in and out complicated and leaves many feeling very lost. Surely there is a solution to make this less complicated?!

Slightly confusing for those who aren’t aware that there are two stations situated in Hammersmith– one with the District and Piccadilly lines and the other with the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines.
I usually get the Piccadilly line which leads me to the Broadway (across the road from its sister station) which is also a bus station. The Broadway has a selection of various shops and fast food outlets (Tesco, Mcdonalds, Starbucks, Wasabi etc) for the hungry traveller. It’s good if you’re in a rush and need something on the go.
There is currently no step free access at this station as the lifts are out of service. TFL have provided alternative routes for those who need step free access:

When I first came to London I had to change in Hammersmith to get to Acton. And this was a bad experience sind I couldn’t find the right train. Why? Because there are actually two different stations for the different underground lines!
They should really have signs that show you where to go. Now I know and it’s not a big deal anymore but for tourists that’s tricky.

It is a tube station, in fact it is actually two stations.
You have on the north side of the Broadway the Hammersmith & City + Circle Line Station, in the centre of the Broadway you have the Piccadilly and District Line Station. Although it is generally considered one station and is an interchange as a result.
The Piccadilly/​District Line station is in the shopping area and is pretty non-​descript, at least the H&C+Circle line station is a nicer looking old Tube Station building despite the damage TFL have done to it remodelling the station.

This is a lovely old fashioned little station with a lot of charm. Spacious and with regular trains, this is one of my frequently visited commuter spots. The station itself has limited facilities, but is disabled person friendly (no stairs). Anyway, hammersmith is just outside if you need to run quickly to get anything.

Yesterday I got charged 50 of the Queen’s pennies to urinate in a piss poor (yes you read right!) loo. As many of you may know by now, I like to review the bathrooms in places, it can sometimes be make or break at a coffee shop and it certainly surprises me when dingy restaurants have posh bogs.
Anyway, that was THE post expensive pee in my life. End of!

Hammersmith is the westernmost station on the Hammersmith & City line and a number of the Circle Line trains take this branch and terminate here as well. It is also on the Piccadilly and District lines, but there are two separate stations separated by Hammersmith Broadway — you have to exit and cross the street to transfer from the Hammersmith & City station to get to the Piccadilly/​District entrance. It’s about 200 feet.
There are ticket barriers and Oyster readers, the station is in Zone 2. It does have step-​free access, which is a fantastic boon when you are dragging along a couple of suitcases.

This station is currently being renovated which causes no end of misery. If it isn’t missing a train by seconds because staff are forcing people around the long way to the platform, it it moving the barriers but leaving the old ones in, surly staff, waiting forever for the train to go or the overall myckyness if the place.
To be fair, there are cleaning staff constantly battling the muckyness of the station so they get 2 stars.

I must admit it is a relief to be arriving at Hammersmith at this station rather than the chaos and the shopping centre that the other lines thrust you into. It’s a nice small basic station with no stairs, escalators or lifts to negotiate during your escape.
If you have to change to those other lines thoughhow does that work. I’ve never really figured that out. I only did it once and didn’t pay enough attention to my Oyster balance to see what I ended up paying for. Even without the financial considerations it is a bit of a pain to have to cross roads when changing trains, I even prefer the underground treks that make you feel like you are secretly walking all the way to your eventual destination under the guise of a stroll between trains.

The pink line…
I give this the Hammersmith Line a 3 star, during the whole time while the building works have taken place at Shepherd’s Bush this was the best alternative. Butyou need to have patience. As at some point the line goes overground I usually catch up with all my text messages.
This line brings you from Hammersmith/​Shepherds Bush West London to Barking East London. Formerly part of the Metropolitan line, part of it is the oldest underground railway in the world, as it includes the first part of the London Underground, the section between Paddington and Farringdon, which opened on 10 January 1863.
This line will transport you to various markets: (from West to East)
Goldhawk Road — Shepherd’s Bush market/​Westfield Shopping Centre
Ladbroke Grove — Portobello Market
Farringdon — Smithfield Meat Market
Liverpool Street — Spitalfield Market
Aldgate East — Bricklane Market

The Hammersmith & City line is only slightly better than the District. In east London they follow the same tracks, meaning they have the same failings. The poor times updates, infrequent trains and liability of breaking down make it an annoying line to use.
As its name hints, it services the City. The major stations along the line are Paddington, Baker St, Kings Cross and Liverpool Street.
I must admit, with this being a major line used by suits, it brings me a small sense of joy knowing it breaks down with delays so often. Anything that infuriates the power hungry, money gorging suits can’t be all bad. Sadly for our pretty pink Hammersmith & City line, it is that bad.

The Hammersmith & City line’s terminus in Hammersmith is rather smaller and less busy than the main District & Piccadilly station, but it is older and historic (and, to my mind, a nicer building, but then I don’t have to use it every day).
The existing station was opened in 1868, itself a replacement for a station slightly north of the present site opened in 1864, when the original Metropolitan Line — the world’s first underground — was extended from Paddington. It is one of the oldest surviving underground termini in London.
The station is in a red-​brick Italianate style with portland stone facings, although the main feature — the large central clock tower, with its sweeping gables — is one of a kind. The station used to have an attractive iron-​and-​glass awning, long since removed. The interior has an attractive glazed roof, although the passenger facilities are rather limited, and it is undeniably draughty in winter. A plus is that it offers step-​free access from the road to the platform.
Anyone transported here from the 1890s would find themselves struggling to get their bearings, however, as Hammersmith once had a small cobweb of railway lines.
The first was a connection running from just north of the present station, over a viaduct to join what is now the District line to Richmond, with a station at Grove Road. The station is long-​since gone, although the remains of the viaduct can be seen next to the District and Piccadilly line on the way to Ravenscourt Park. This enabled Richmond trains to reach Paddington, via the H&C line.
The other line ran from Grove Road station, up to Shepherd’s Bush Green and then curved back down again to Kensington Olympia (then named Addison Road). This enabled Richmond trains to run via Olympia, West Brompton and Battersea to Waterloo. Both lines declined after the opening of the District Line extension from Hammersmith to Earl’s Court in 1877, and closed after the First World War.
To-​day, Hammersmith (H&C) is used by over 7 million passengers a year. The line itself suffers from having two conflicting junctions on its route (where other tracks join on the level) at Edgware Road and Baker Street. This slows the service down and hampers reliability, as well as reducing the permissable train frequency to 8 – 9 minutes.

The Hammersmith and City line station is the end of the line. In terms of my patience it too, is often the end of the line.
The H&C line is reliably unreliable. The station is cold and ill-​designed. You will often wait ages for the train to leave the platform.
The good thing about this station is that is has an AMT coffee bar, and I like them.