Shepherds Bush Station (Overground), Shepherds Bush, London

update:
The station has been operational for a couple of months now. Even though I still haven’t taken a train from here, I would now give the place a better rating.
Was very impressed with the service I received today from the ticket office. Thought I might as well ask if I could buy a ticket to take me from Waterloo to Bracknell tomorrow. The answer was YES and I got some good advice at the same time.

The new overland station in Shepherds Bush is the first building on this massive development to open its doors to the public. It looks rather impressive and promising from the outside, but I couldn’t even buy an Oyster card!
The ticket machines (which have a different system to those in tube stations) have shiny screens and are positioned in such a way that you can’t read the display on a sunny day.
The computers used by the counter staff don’t seem to be much better either. Even though three people were visible in their cubicle, one displayed a sign “information only” but avoided all eye contact. The second member of staff didn’t listen to my question about how to purchase a pay-as-you-go Oyster card and sent me back to the maching (which doesn’t discpense new cards, but may be used to top-up existing ones).
On my second visit to the window, staff were arguing over their new computers and were reluctant to help me. Luckily the new Central Line station is in view and only a short walk across the plaza.
They had better get their act together if they want to impress all those wealthy shoppers who are just waiting for the new Westfield shopping centre to open its doors later this month.
If you are lucky enough to purchase a ticket, you can use it to travel to Willesden, or to Clapham Junction.

This station seemed to be years in the making; I commute to it everyday, and watched it being built. Yes, it’s pretty good looking and has lots of glass, a bit like Westminster tube. But it does seem to be a bit of style over substance. As other reviewers have commented, there is no underground link to the tube or Westfield, which might have been a good idea, seeing as they were all designed at the same time. But the most annoying thing is that there is no roof over the platform. When it rains, you just have to stand there in the freezing cold rain or wait up on the steps down to the station. With 100 people doing this, it’s a bit of a fire hazard. I just cannot believe no one though to build a roof for the poor commuters who have to wait there. It just seems to be all about making it look nice, rather than considering the folks who have to use it.

From the point of view of someone who travels into this station rather than from it, aesthetically it’s very nice but other than that I don’t think it’s been that well thought out.

It’s rather odd that it’s been built without a direct link into the underground station or into Westfield shopping centre but maybe i’m just being lazy. While there are lifts for the disabled, this could have been thought out better.

So far I’ve travelled into this station about three times. My ticket’s just a single from Milton Keynes station so I don’t think it should cause a problem but so far it’s never been accepted through the barrier although there have always been plenty of staff there to let me through the gate.

Also, a ticket to Shepherds Bush overground costs more than to Kensington Olympia, the next stop down the line, but I guess they need to pay for the new station!

This is the new station on the West London Line, on London Transport’s 'Overground’ network - formerly part of the 'Silverlink’ service.

The station is part of the general upgrade of transport facilities in Shepherd’s Bush in preparation for the opening of the huge new 'Westfield’ shopping development in autumn 2008, and has been paid for by the Westfield developers as part of a Section 106 agreement with the local authority.

This is not the first station here, however: there was an earlier station slightly to the north of the present site called Uxbridge Road, which closed in 1940. The station should have opened earlier, but was delayed because the platforms were built too narrowly for the anticipated volume of passengers. They have been rebuilt at a cost of several million pounds - doubtless that will keep some lawyers busy for some time to come!

The building is in a similar style to the new Central Line station which it faces, with lots of granite, glass and brushed steel cladding. It is fully accessible with lifts to both platforms, although (alas) they do not seem to have incorporated a direct subway link between the two stations, so changing onto the Central Line will involve a short dash across the new bus station, as well as going through the ticket barriers.

The line carries both the Overground and Southern main line services. The Overground service is essentially a half-hourly shuttle between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction, augmented in frequency and extended along the North London Line towards Stratford at peak hours. All these trains will stop at the new station.

The Southern service, from Watford Junction to Gatwick and Brighton service via Clapham Junction, is only scheduled to stop at Shepherd’s Bush at peak hours until December. After that, they will also call at the station, although they will only go as far as East Croydon.

My experience of the new station was rather better than mieke_b’s - I suspect the staff have got to grips with the new equipment. It already seems to have a healthy flow of passengers. In due course, the local buses will be diverted to call at new us stands between the two stations, forming a proper transport interchange.