Wembley Central station

Wembley Central
Location
Place	Wembley
Local authority	London Borough of Brent
Operations
Managed by	London Underground[1]
Platforms in use	4 (of 6)
National Rail
Station code	WMB
Annual entry/exit	0.984 million **
Annual entry/exit	1.037 million ***
Transport for London
Zone	4
Annual entry/exit	2.614 million †
History
1842 1 May 1882 1 November 1910 16 April 1917 1948 5 July 1948 September 24 1982 4 June 1984	Station opened as "Sudbury" Re-named "Sudbury & Wembley" re-named "Wembley for Sudbury" Bakerloo Line Street level buildings reconstructed within shopping arcade re-named "Wembley Central" Bakerloo Line service withdrawn Bakerloo Line service re-instated
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [1]
** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at this station. Disclaimer (PDF)
*** based on sales of tickets in 2005/06 financial year which end or originate at this station from Office of Rail Regulation station usage statistics
London Transport Portal
UK Railways Portal

Wembley Central is a Network Rail station served by London Underground and National Rail services. It is located in High Road, Wembley in Greater London.

History

Brief Details

• 20 July 1837: London and Birmingham Railway line opened
• 1842: Station opened as "Sudbury"
• 1 May 1882: re-named "Sudbury & Wembley"
• 1 November 1910: re-named "Wembley for Sudbury", co-incident with construction of the "LNWR New Line"
• 16 April 1917: Bakerloo Line service commenced over New Line
• 1948 Street level buildings reconstructed within shopping arcade in preparation for Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium
• 5 July 1948: re-named "Wembley Central"
• 1960s Station Square constructed on raft over station, providing most of current layout.
• September 24 1982: Bakerloo Line service withdrawn
• 4 June 1984: Bakerloo Line service re-instated

Services

Wembley Central has the appearance of an underground station due to the elevated position of the High Road (where the main entrance is located behind a 1940s shopping arcade) and the enclosed nature of the platforms below the raft upon which Station Square is built; it is actually generally at or above the local ground level, having been reconstructed in its current form during the 1960s electrification of the West Coast Main Line. It is the first station out of Euston to have platforms on all three pairs of tracks and the combination of the confined space and through trains passing at speed on platforms 3 through 6 (the main line platforms) create a wind tunnel effect which can be dangerous for passengers. As a result, the 4 mainline platforms (which do not see regular service) are locked out for most of the day and entrance is only allowed when trains are due, generally the few Southern services mentioned above, which use platforms 5 and 6 (on the slow main line). The station was modernised in 2006 with additional safety features.

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
North Wembley toward Harrow & Wealdstone		Bakerloo line		Stonebridge Park toward Elephant & Castle
London Overground
North Wembley toward Watford Junction		Watford DC Line		Stonebridge Park toward London Euston
National Rail
Harrow & Wealdstone		Southern (Mon-Fri peak hours)		Kensington Olympia
Harrow & Wealdstone		London Midland West Coast Main Line		London Euston

Future

The station has now undergone some improvements, most notably the new passenger footbridge at the London end of the station. Completed in late 2006 by civil engineers C Spencer Ltd., its purpose is to carry extra foot traffic to and from the platforms during event days at the nearby Wembley Stadium; the everyday access is at the "country" end of the platforms. In practice, this means the bridge is usually locked and out of use, only being opened when the stadium itself is in use. Other recent works include the resurfacing of platforms 1 and 2 complete with the installation of curved steel cladding panels. The station's staff received refurbished messing facilities and new public toilets have also been installed. The Central Square area is still to be fully regenerated.

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Wembley Central station from National Rail
• 7AJ Street map and 7AJ aerial photo of Wembley Central station from Multimap.com
• Wembley Central station is at coordinates 51°33′10″N 0°17′48″W / 51.552633, -0.296630Coordinates: 51°33′10″N 0°17′48″W / 51.552633, -0.296630