Wembley Park tube station
Wembley Park | |
---|---|
Location | Wembley Park |
Local authority | London Borough of Brent |
Managed by | London Underground |
Number of platforms | 6 |
Accessible | Yes[1] |
Fare zone | 4 |
London Underground annual entry and exit | |
2018 | 18.29 million[2] |
2019 | 15.42 million[3] |
2020 | 8.29 million[4] |
2021 | 7.89 million[5] |
2022 | 15.00 million[6] |
Key dates | |
1880 | Tracks laid (MR) |
14 October 1893 | Limited opening |
12 May 1894 | Full opening |
10 December 1932 | Branch to Stanmore opened |
20 November 1939 | Started (Bakerloo) |
1 May 1979 | Ended (Bakerloo) |
1 May 1979 | Started (Jubilee) |
Other information | |
External links | |
WGS84 | 51°33′49″N 0°16′46″W / 51.5636°N 0.2794°W |
London transport portal |
Wembley Park is a
History
Before the station
Until 1880 the
Beyond Neasden there was an unimportant hamlet where for years the Metropolitan didn't bother to stop. Wembley. Slushy fields and grass farms.
— John Betjeman, Metro-land (1973)
Opening of the station
In 1881 Watkin purchased large tracts of land close to the MR line and began a grand scheme to build an
Watkin confidently anticipated that large crowds would flock to the park and the railway station design incorporated additional platforms to handle large passenger numbers.[12] Watkin's Tower ran into structural and financial difficulty; it was never completed and the partially built structure was demolished in 1904. Despite this, Wembley Park itself remained a popular attraction and flourished.
Later in the 1890s, the Great Central Railway's (GCR's) London extension was constructed adjacent to the MR's tracks. The tracks pass under the entrance building but the station has never been served by main line operators. In 1905 the tracks were electrified and the first electric trains became operational. Between 1913 and 1915, the MR added additional tracks to double the line's capacity.[13]
From 1915 the MR began a programme of selling off its surplus land holdings in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex for suburban housing development. Its Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Limited marketed areas such as Wembley Park under the "Metro-land" brand, promoting modern homes in beautiful countryside with a fast railway service to central London.[14] The MR sold the park land at Wembley when the site was selected to host the 1924 British Empire Exhibition and the grand British Empire Exhibition Stadium constructed for this event was later to become Wembley Stadium, the home ground of the England national football team.[15]
Stanmore branch and Bakerloo line
On 10 December 1932, the MR opened a branch line north from Wembley Park to Stanmore.[11] Originally, the MR served all stations south from Wembley Park to Baker Street station but the line suffered from congestion due to limited capacity on the tracks heading into Baker Street. Following the combination of the MR and London's other underground railways to form the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in 1933, the LPTB took steps to alleviate the congestion by constructing new Bakerloo line tunnels from Baker Street to connect to the Metropolitan's tracks south of Finchley Road station. From 20 November 1939,[16] the Bakerloo line then took over the Metropolitan stopping services between Wembley Park and Finchley Road and the Stanmore branch.
1948 Olympic Games
Following World War II, London was chosen to host the 1948 Olympic Games. To handle the exceptional number of spectators visiting Wembley Stadium, the original station building was extended, with a new ticket hall, additional circulation routes and platform stairs. This was built in a red-brick modernist style. At the opening of the Jubilee line on 1 May 1979, the Bakerloo service from Baker Street to Stanmore was transferred to the new line.
UEFA Euro 1996
When the UEFA European Football Championship was held at Wembley in 1996, a large temporary staircase was constructed leading down from the 1948 extension and under the newly built Bobby Moore Bridge, which had opened in 1993. Intended as a temporary structure, the staircase remained in its unfinished state until 2004 when station upgrade works commenced.[17]
Upgrade and expansion
As part of the Wembley Stadium redevelopment in the early 2000s, the station was comprehensively rebuilt and expanded, increasing capacity by 70%. Costing £80m,[18] the work included a significantly larger ticket hall, additional footbridges, widened stairs to Olympic Way and 5 lifts to provide step-free access. To cater for event crowds, event day entrances/exits were also constructed.[19] Undertaken by Tube Lines, the expansion was completed in 2006, prior to the completion of the delayed Stadium project.[20][21] The provision of additional platforms for Chiltern Railways services was considered, but was not proceeded with.[22]
In the early 2020s,
Layout
The station currently has six London Underground tracks, with the two Jubilee line tracks in the centre flanked in turn by the Slow and Fast (outermost) Metropolitan line tracks. There are fast and semi-fast trains during peak hours (Southbound during the morning peak and Northbound during the evening peak). Fast and semi fast trains pass through this station in the southbound direction and can sometimes passes in the northbound direction. In practice, platform 6 is rarely used, as fast and semi-fast trains pass in the southbound direction. Both Metropolitan and Jubilee line trains may start or end their service at the station. Jubilee line trains that terminate at Wembley Park reverse via sidings between the running lines to the north of the station. Meanwhile, Metropolitan line trains that terminate at Wembley Park use the fly-under and Neasden depot to reverse.
Connections
Future developments
There was a proposal in the early 2000s for an underground railway running between Brent Cross and Surbiton which would call at this station. This was superseded by the proposed West London Orbital overground route using existing tracks, not running via Wembley Park, which is still at the proposal stage and is not approved or funded at present.
The Fastbus is also a proposed limited-bus service running from Wembley Park to North Acton.[citation needed]
Gallery
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Jubilee line train at Platform 3 heading northbound
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Station platform from a northbound Jubilee line train
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Roundel on northbound Metropolitan
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Jubilee line train arriving
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Old station building
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Wembley Park Station, viewed from across the street at night
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A Jubilee line train arriving on platform 4, taken from Metropolitan line platform 1
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Wembley Park station before England vs Montenegro (11 October 2013)
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The Man Catching Star statue, designed by Danny Lane
References
- ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ISBN 1854142755.
- ISBN 9781848543805.
- ISBN 9781845191283.
- ^ "A History of the County of Middlesex". English History Online. 1971. pp. 198–203. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ a b "Metropolitan Line". Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides. Archived from the original on 11 May 2000.
- ISBN 1854142755.
- ISBN 1-85414-219-4.
- ISBN 0715388398.
- ^ De Lisle, Tim (14 March 2006). "The Height of Ambition". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009.
- ^ "Bakerloo Line". Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides. Archived from the original on 3 March 2000.
- ^ "2. The steps at Wembley Park". 150 great things about the Underground. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Sparks, Alan (25 October 2001). "Station will not be ready for new Wembley stadium". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Work to enlarge Wembley Park starts in March". Transport for London. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Mayor and David Seaman open Wembley Park Tube station on time and on budget". Transport for London. 27 March 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Tube Lines - Wembley Park expanded to deliver 70% increase in station capacity". Tube Lines. 27 March 2006. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "alwaystouchout.com - Wembley stations' modernisation". alwaystouchout.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Shaw, Adam (1 December 2020). "Council approves plans for 21-storey housing block at London Underground station car park". Harrow Times. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
External links
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
- "Regeneration of Wembley Park tube station". London Borough of Brent. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006.
- "Wembley Park". Tube Photos. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
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Kingsbury towards Stanmore
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Jubilee line | Neasden towards Stratford
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Preston Road | Metropolitan line | Finchley Road towards Baker Street or Aldgate
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Harrow-on-the-Hill | ||||
Former services | ||||
Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
Kingsbury towards Stanmore
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Metropolitan line Stanmore branch (1932–1939)
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Neasden towards Baker Street or Aldgate
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Bakerloo line Stanmore branch (1939–1979)
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Neasden towards Elephant & Castle
|