It is 7 miles 28 chains (11.8 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between West Ealing and Southall.

All trains serving Hanwell are operated by the Elizabeth line, having taken over the Heathrow Connect stopping services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport, and Great Western Railway local services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington from the 20 May 2018 timetable change.

[8] Re-built circa 1875–77 some 250m east of its original location at the time the main line was quadrupled, it has been declared a grade II listed building by English Heritage.

[11] The south entrance was closed in the 1970s, but reopened in December 2014 with funding from Ealing Council and Transport for London.

[12] As part of the Crossrail project, Hanwell station gained step-free access via lifts from platform to ticket office level in early 2020.