London's vast transport web, encompassing the Tube, Overground, DLR, and more, is home to stations with names ranging from the historic to the downright puzzling. While some, like Cyprus or Angel, raise tourists' eyebrows, one Metropolitan line stop had a title so cumbersome and unusual that officials were eventually forced to shorten it.
An Olympic Beginning and a Verbal Mouthful
This station, which first opened in 1908, was originally built to serve a clay pigeon shooting venue for the London Olympic Games that same year. However, when naming this new halt on the route towards Harrow, clarity and conciseness were clearly not top priorities.
The station was christened Preston Road Halt for Uxendon and Kenton. This unwieldy moniker was not only a challenge to fit onto station roundels and signs, but it also held a unique distinction in Tube history. It was the only station name to feature an instruction, effectively telling passengers destined for Uxendon and Kenton that they needed to alight here.
The Move That Prompted a New Identity
Between 1931 and 1932, the station was relocated to the opposite side of the road bridge, where it remains today. This physical shift provided the perfect opportunity for a much-needed rebrand. Shedding its verbose past, the station was finally given the succinct and familiar name it carries now: Preston Road.
More Than Just a Name Change: A Station with Character
Today, the Zone 4 station is known for more than its curious naming history. It has gained a reputation for its impressive and award-winning displays of platform plants and flowers, brightening the journeys of countless commuters.
This horticultural cheer is particularly welcome as Preston Road is only served by slow trains that stop at every station. Both fast and semi-fast services on the line speed past the stops between Wembley Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill, making Preston Road a quiet but colourful haven on the Metropolitan line.
