Acton Main Line was opened by the Great Western Railway on 1 February 1868. Originally simply named Acton, it was operated by the Western Region of British Railways following nationalisation in 1948. On 1 November 1949 it was renamed Acton Main Line. When was introduced, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Railways in 1994. Together with the underground stations at West Acton and North Acton, Acton Main Line serves the GWR garden estate. This large area of family housing, bordered on three sides by the stations named and on the fourth side by the A40 road, was developed by GWR in the 1920s to accommodate its staff, particularly drivers from the Old Oak Common depot. By 1947 the station had four platforms, all partially covered along their length by wooden canopies, as well as a siding next to platform 1. Both platform 1 and its siding were demolished in the late 1960s, whilst the imposing Victorian station building was pulled down and replaced with a small booking office in 1974. As a result of this, the current three platforms no longer have canopies and are numbered 2, 3 and 4. The platform 1 permanent way is still intact, and is used as a fast through line for non-stopping trains; all trains on the Great Western Main Line pass through the station. The current station building was completed in early 1996; there was also extensive renovation of the adjacent bridge on Horn Lane throughout 1995 and 1996. In mid-2013 a gated barrier was built, dividing platforms 2 and 3 for their entire length. In May 2018, extensions to all three platforms were completed for the purpose of Crossrail.
As of May 2019, the station is now served on Sundays as the Paddington-Hayes & Harlington service now runs on Sundays.
Crossrail
trains call at Acton Main Line under the interim TfL Rail brand, with 2 services an hour in both the peak and off-peak. To accommodate Crossrail services, various alterations will be made by Network Rail:
New station building with a larger ticket hall with level access from Horn Lane
Step-free access between street level and all platforms via a new footbridge with stairs and two lifts
Platforms 2–4 extended to enable 10-car trains to stop
Improved passenger facilities including a new canopy on platform 4, along with information and security systems.