One of the reasons the London Underground is so attractive is its "turn-up-and-go" service. In theory, it means that you should be able to turn up to any station on the network, and within 15 minutes a train will take you onwards to your destination.

There are a few locations where trains don't run as often though. Woodford to Hainault on the Central line, Amersham and Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer on the Metropolitan line and the Waterloo & City line is closed on Sundays. There's also Kensington Olympia on the District line which is a total anomaly. It's the only 'part-time' station on the 272 station Tube network.

Since December 2011, the District line service has been advertised as "open weekends and some public holidays". There are actually seven departures on weekday mornings between 5.50 and 7.15am from Olympia to Earl's Court and two return journeys between Earl's Court and Olympia on weekday evenings between 7.43 and 8.43pm but these journeys are not well advertised.

READ MORE:The one station where you'l only see a London Underground train in the middle of a winter's night.

There is no information screen on the Tube platform at Olympia, but there are pink Oyster readers for those who use the limited tube service to obtain a cheaper fare. Contrary to what the sign would suggest, this photo was taken on a Tuesday

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The decision to cut the weekday service down to just nine trains one way and two the other was taken by then Mayor Boris Johnson, as the London Overground service to Kensington Olympia had recently been increased. That runs from West Brompton station, just two minutes away and also on the District line.

The London Overground service was boosted on weekdays from every 30 minutes in 2007 to every 10-20 minutes with newer, longer trains from 2009, making the District line service at the station look like a poor return on investment for TfL which could use the spare Tube trains to provide extra District line trains elsewhere. Local residents and the Olympia centre have repeatedly asked TfL to restore the full weekday service.

Currently, at weekends, when there are fewer trains elsewhere on the District line and exhibitions are taking place at the Olympia exhibition centre next to the station, TfL still affords the station a Tube service. Trains run as a shuttle service every 20 minutes between Kensington Olympia and High Street Kensington calling at Earl's Court, a rare example of an entire Tube journey which remains in the same borough.

In the near future, the station's remaining Tube service is not under threat. That's because Kensington Olympia has a direct track connection to Lillie Bridge depot, where District line trains are stored overnight. However, this depot is set to close in 2024 due to the redevelopment of nearby Earl's Court, which could mean that TfL gives Olympia the chop for once and for all.

Prior to 2011, District line trains ran for most of the day to Olympia, and there was no Overground service from West Brompton which was then a part-time Tube station itself
Now, Olympia is the part-time Tube station and passengers are advised to change at West Brompton for Overground trains to Olympia on weekdays

The station's real asset to TfL is being a turnback facility which faces the right way. It can be used when there is disruption elsewhere on the District line to turn around trains without disrupting other lines or District line branches. If there is a problem on the branches to Ealing Broadway, Richmond or Wimbledon, trains can be diverted to Kensington Olympia and then return to the busiest part of the line between Earl's Court and Upminster to ensure the disruption does not spread. This is a luxury which doesn't exist on other busy Tube lines.

In a nutshell, Kensington Olympia can randomly receive dozens of 'extra' Tube trains per day which appear for various unplanned reasons in addition to the ones actually timetabled. Trains can turn up in the one platform they can use at the station totally unannounced with nobody expecting them.

As a result of all of the above, Kensington Olympia is technically the least used station on the London Underground. TfL estimates that just 35,234 people travelled there by Tube in the year 2020/2021. In contrast, the busiest Tube station, Stratford, saw the same amount of people use it in just half a day.

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Have you ever randomly ended up on a rare weekday planned or unplanned District line train to Olympia? Tell us in the comments below.

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