24 Facts About Paddington station

Paddington station is the London terminus of the Great Western Main Line; passenger services are primarily operated by Great Western Railway, which provides the majority of commuter and regional passenger services to west London and the Thames Valley region as well as long-distance intercity services to South West England and South Wales.

The Paddington station is the eastern terminus for Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line services to Heathrow Airport; and for Elizabeth line services westwards to Reading, and eastwards to Abbey Wood.

Paddington station was first served by London Underground trains in 1863, as the original western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway.

The Paddington station is in a shallow cutting, a fact obscured at the front by a hotel building, but which can be clearly seen from the other three sides.

However, recent redevelopment of derelict railway and canal land, marketed as Paddington station Waterside, has resulted in new office complexes nearby.

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Narrow busy section of the incoming main railway line between Ladbroke Grove and Paddington station is known as Paddington Throat among some engineers.

Parts of the Paddington station, including the main train shed, date from 1854, when it was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the London terminus for the Great Western Railway .

Paddington station took inspiration from Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace and the Munchen Hauptbahnhof.

Paddington station became an important milk depot towards the end of the 19th century.

Unlike several other London termini, Paddington saw no damage during World War I Although Victoria and Charing Cross were the main stations for military movement during the war, Paddington was used for some of this traffic.

Suburban services, which had never been considered important at Paddington station, were increased as new housing estates in the Home Counties started being built.

On 17 April 1941, the departure side of the Paddington station was hit by a parachute mine, while on 22 March 1944, the roof between platforms 6 and 7 was destroyed by two 500-pound bombs.

On 29 July 1944, the Paddington 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.

The Paddington station had previously been criticised for very poor air quality inside the train shed, however this was improved with the replacement of diesel InterCity 125 trains by bi-mode Class 800 and trains in the late 2010s.

Paddington station is the London terminus for long-distance high-speed trains operated by Great Western Railway.

Paddington station is the terminus for suburban trains to West London, Thames Valley, Reading, and Didcot, operated by Great Western Railway and Elizabeth line.

Until May 2003, Paddington station was part of the Virgin CrossCountry network with services to the North of England and Scotland via Oxford and Birmingham New Street.

On 18 February 1991, Paddington was bombed by the Provisional IRA, causing bad damage to the station's roof.

Consequently, Paddington station was the original western terminus of the line when it opened on 1 January 1863.

An extension of the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway to Paddington opened on 1 December 1913, connecting to the Metropolitan Railway's Praed Street station.

Paddington station has been referred to in several popular works of fiction.

Paddington station was the subject of William Powell Frith's 1862 painting The Railway Station.

Paddington station is home to the Great Western Railway Paddington station Band, the last railway band in England.

In 1997, Railtrack unsuccessfully tried to evict the band, citing a lack of space while the Paddington station was redeveloped to accommodate Heathrow Express services.