A little-known railway project is quietly changing how people will move around west London. The West London Orbital, an Overground service that will connect south and west London suburbs without forcing passengers through the busy central zone, has been progressing through planning — and Secret London has been following the story.
The idea is simple but genuinely useful. Today, if you want to travel between, say, Hounslow and Cricklewood, or Kew and Hendon, you usually have to trek into Zone 1 and out again. The orbital line reuses existing freight tracks to link the Hounslow area across to west and north London, connecting towns along the way with regular passenger services. Planned stops take in places like Brentford, Ealing, Harlesden and Old Oak Common — the latter set to be a major HS2 and Elizabeth line interchange.
For visitors, that opens up a slice of London most tourists never see. Brentford's riverside pubs and the new-look Golden Mile, Kew Gardens from a different direction, Wembley for stadium events, and the pub-and-market sprawl of Willesden all become easier to string together without touching the Tube. It's the kind of line locals have wanted for years: think of it as London's answer to the orbital east-west links that made the original Overground such a hit.
There's no firm opening date to book flights around yet — the scheme still needs funding and final approvals, with current projections pointing at the late 2020s at the earliest. But it's worth knowing about now if you're planning return trips or a longer London stay in the coming years, especially if your accommodation is in the outer western boroughs, where hotel prices are friendlier than the centre.
Even before it opens, west London rewards the slow approach. The Grand Union Canal towpath runs from Brentford through Hayes and beyond, and the District line's Richmond branch covers some of the same ground scenically. The orbital line will simply make the hop-by-hop version of that trip far quicker.
If you're the sort of traveller who prefers neighbourhoods to landmarks — food markets, canal walks, football grounds, leafy riverside strips — this is a development to watch. And if you're travelling sooner, the existing Overground and Elizabeth line network already covers plenty of this territory. Full details on the route and its stops are covered by Secret London.
