West Hampstead Thameslink is a
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...
station on the
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...
and is served by
Thameslink
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...
trains as part of the
Thameslink route between
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath.
Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...
and
Cricklewood
Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross.
Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...
. The station is in
Travelcard Zone 2.
History

The station was built by the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
on its extension to
St. Pancras, to serve the newly developed area around the hamlet of West End. It opened on 1 March 1871, and was originally named West End for Kilburn and Hampstead.
For a short period from 1878 the station formed part of the
Super Outer Circle, Midland trains running through from
St Pancras to
Earl's Court
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
via
Acton Central and
Turnham Green
Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Littl ...
.
It was renamed several times: to West End on 1 July 1903; to West End and Brondesbury on 1 April 1904; to West Hampstead on 1 September 1905; West Hampstead Midland on 25 September 1950; and finally West Hampstead Thameslink on 16 May 1988.
It was popular for many years for people taking a day out on
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...
and those visiting the
chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...
springs in Hampstead itself.
Oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...
Pay as you go was introduced in late 2007.
From March 2009,
Southeastern and Thameslink began running some peak hour trains from
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...
to
Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
,
though in the off-peak these services turn back at
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath.
Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...
.
Connections
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...
routes
139 139 may refer to:
* 139 (number), an integer
* AD 139, a year of the Julian calendar
* 139 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 139 (New Jersey bus)
* 139 Juewa
139 Juewa ( ) is a very large and dark main belt asteroid. It is probabl ...
,
328 and
C11 serve the station.
Services
All services at West Hampstead Thameslink are operated by
Thameslink
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...
using
EMUs
Emus may refer to:
* Emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the ...
.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
* 2 tph to (non-stop to and from )
* 2 tph to (all stations except and )
* 4 tph to (all stations)
* 2 tph to via
* 2 tph to via
* 4 tph to (2 of these run via and 2 run via )
During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services between Luton and via .
The station is also served by a night service between Bedford and on Sunday to Friday nights.
See also
*
Stations in West Hampstead
References
External links
{{TSGN and SE Stations, CityFlyer=y, CityMetro=y, Catford Loop=y, Ashford=y, SE None=y, SN None=y
Railway stations in the London Borough of Camden
DfT Category E stations
Former Midland Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1871
Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway