Paddington station

Paddington station is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located at Praed Street including the junction of the area. The site has been the London terminus for Great Western Main Line since 1838. It is also the terminus for connections to Heathrow Airport through Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect. The future Crossrail will also ply along Paddington station.

London Buses route 205 also plies through the station.

The station came under attack several times during World War II. On 17 April 1941, the departure side of the station was hit by a parachute mine, while on 22 March 1944, the roof between platforms 6 and 7 was destroyed by two 500 lb flying bombs. Passenger traffic greatly increased through Paddington during the war, partly by evacuation to the relatively quiet Thames Valley, and because holidaymakers chose to travel west as large areas of the south and east coasts had been taken over for military purposes. On 29 July 1944, the station was closed for three hours because the platforms were saturated with passenger traffic, while on the subsequent August bank holiday, crowds were controlled in tight queues along Eastbourne Terrace by mounted police.

Steam traffic began to be replaced in the late 1950s. Between 1959 and 1961, suburban services switched to diesel multiple units, while the last regular long-distance steam train left Paddington on 11 June 1965. The track layout was reorganised in 1967, abolishing the distinction between arrival and departure platforms that had been a feature of Paddington since opening. A new set of sidings was built south of Royal Oak, and the track curve into Paddington was eased. Services to the Midlands were rerouted via Marylebone during this time. The station concourse was enlarged in 1970, and the ticket office was rebuilt in the same year. By this time, public opinion had turned against wholesale demolition and redevelopment of stations such as Euston, and consequently the rebuilding work was done with an eye towards preserving Brunel and Wyatt's original station design. Special steam services began to be run from Paddington again in the 1980s.