Cricklewood railway station
Cricklewood railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving the town of Cricklewood in the London Borough of Barnet, north London. It is 5 miles 9 chains (8.2 km) down the line from St Pancras and is situated between West Hampstead Thameslink to the south and Hendon to the north. Its three-letter station code is CRI.
Cricklewood ![]() | |
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![]() Exterior of main station building at Cricklewood | |
![]() ![]() Cricklewood Location of Cricklewood in Greater London | |
Location | Cricklewood |
Local authority | London Borough of Barnet |
Managed by | Thameslink |
Station code | CRI |
DfT category | E |
Number of platforms | 4 |
Fare zone | 3 |
National Rail annual entry and exit | |
2015–16 | ![]() |
2016–17 | ![]() |
2017–18 | ![]() |
2018–19 | ![]() |
2019–20 | ![]() |
Key dates | |
1870 | Opened |
Other information | |
External links | |
WGS84 | 51.5586°N 0.2129°W |
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It is served by Thameslink services on the cross-London Thameslink route. It is in Travelcard Zone 3.
History
![](../I/Up_stopping_train_at_Cricklewood_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2124244.jpg.webp)
It was opened on 2 May 1870[2] as Childs Hill and Cricklewood nearly 2 years after the Midland Railway had built its extension (now called the Midland Main Line) to St. Pancras. The station acquired its present name in 1903.
To the north of the station, a motive power depot was built with a large roundhouse in 1882, with a second in 1893. With this was built a large marshalling yard and, in later years, LMS Garratts would be seen with their massive trains of coal from Toton in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coalfields.[3] A loop line, no longer in existence, was built heading north on the western side of the railway yard, then turning east underneath the main line at the viaduct over the River Brent (and also now the North Circular Road), then south on the eastern side. This obviously allowed trains to reverse direction, but also conveniently joined the railway yards on the two sides of the main lines.
Between 1899 and 1926, a number of proposals were put forward to build an underground railway along the Edgware Road from Central London to Cricklewood via Kilburn, and envisaged the construction of a Tube station at Cricklewood. None of the schemes succeeded and the line was never built.[4]
A mural bearing the inscription QUEEN OF THE AIR (which was a nickname the British press gave Amy Johnson) was painted in Cricklewood station to commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of women getting the right to vote in the United Kingdom.[5]
Services
Thameslink run 24-hour services on the Thameslink route. The typical off-peak service is four trains per hour southbound to London, Wimbledon and Sutton, and four trains per hour northbound, of which two terminate at St Albans and two at Luton. Thameslink services to and from Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges and Brighton stop here at night only, but pass through without stopping during the day. After midnight, an hourly service (not calling at Farringdon, City Thameslink or London Bridge) from Bedford to Three Bridges runs.[6]
East Midlands Railway InterCity services from Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester and Leeds run through at high speed on the Midland Main Line, but do not stop. Interchange with these services can be made at Luton and St Pancras International.
From March 2009, Southeastern and Thameslink began running some peak hour trains from Sevenoaks to Luton,[7] though in the off-peak these services turn back at Kentish Town. From 2015, following the expansion of the Thameslink network, other trains from south of the River Thames have been able to call at the station; however, it is not possible to accommodate longer 12-car trains at Cricklewood as the platforms are constrained by a road bridge and cannot be extended.[8]
Development
![](../I/Cricklewood_General_View.jpg.webp)
In 2014, the pedestrian subway of Cricklewood station was refurbished with renewed cladding, lighting and a repaired floor, and disabled access was improved at the ticket office window.[9]
Various schemes have been proposed for improved railway connections through Cricklewood. In early 2008, the London Group of the Campaign for Better Transport pressure group published a proposal for a light rail system in West London called the North and West London Light railway (NWLLR), which would make use of the Dudding Hill freight line freight corridor that runs through Cricklewood station. The NWLLR scheme did not progress beyond the proposal stage.[10]
Plans to build a new Brent Cross West station 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the north of Cricklewood are currently progressing, and the scheme was approved by national and London government in March 2014.[11][12] Unlike Cricklewood, the new station will be able to accommodate the new 12-carriage trains. Rumours that Cricklewood station would close when the new station opened have been refuted by the Brent Cross Cricklewood development company.[13] The developers announced funding for further upgrade work at Cricklewood station in 2010, including the installation of lifts to provide step-free access to all platforms.[14][15]
The proposal to re-open the Dudding Hill Line to passenger services was revived in 2017 when the London Assembly and Transport for London published a plan to extend the London Overground network through Cricklewood.[16] The scheme, known as the West London Orbital envisages running services from West Hampstead Thameslink and Hendon to Hounslow via Cricklewood and the planned Old Oak Common Lane station. The plans are currently at public consultation stage with TfL.[17]
Connections
London Buses routes 189, 226, 245, 260, 460 and C11 serve the station.
Cricklewood TMD and sidings
![](../I/London_MMB_%C2%BB172_Cricklewood_Depot_319XXX_319XXX.jpg.webp)
The original Cricklewood railway engine servicing depot was built by the Midland Railway just to the north west of curve of the junction with the Dudding Hill Line. It was built as and remains as the first major servicing depot for trains terminating in London, and for servicing the local regional commuter trains on the Midland Main Line. Part rebuilt by British Railways, it was closed to steam in December 1964.[18]
To the eastern side of the mainline, the Midland Railway had originally built a goods yard, which developed into a sizeable freight facility under British Railways, for collating and distributing goods around London. Resultantly, as the confines of the original depot with the introduction of electrification meant it could no longer be used, a new depot was built to the north east of the mainline, located directly north of the sidings and above the northern junction with the Dudding Hill Line.
Today, the depot serves as the London base for East Midlands Railway, providing stabling and operational servicing for both its InterCity 125 8-coach sets and 5-coach Class 222. It also formerly served as a regional depot for First Capital Connect, until it was superseded by Govia Thameslink Railway in September 2014, who use other newly built facilities in other locations. The sidings located to its south still provide freight services, including being the starting point for one of the daily BinLiner domestic waste trains that terminate at the Calvert Landfill site, operated by the Waste Recycling Group for the Department of the Environment.
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Proposed route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Service pattern
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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Hendon | Thameslink Thameslink |
West Hampstead Thameslink | ||
Disused railways | ||||
Welsh Harp Line open, station closed |
Midland Railway Midland Main Line |
West Hampstead Line and station open | ||
Dudding Hill Line open (freight only), station closed |
Midland Railway Dudding Hill Line |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to |
- "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley page 50
- Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
- Badsey-Ellis, Antony (2005). London's Lost Tube Schemes. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-293-3.
- Nathalie Raffray (29 November 2018). "Cricklewood Station graced with mural of UKs first female pilot Amy Johnson from Roe Green Village | Latest Kilburn and Brent News - Brent & Kilburn Times". Kilburntimes.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- First Capital Connect: Thameslink Route Timetable B Archived 26 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 August 2013
- Train Times - Thameslink Route (PDF). First Capital Connect. March–May 2009. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- "Thameslink Programme - FAQ". Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Cricklewood Station Improvements
- London Campaign for Better Transport Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine North and West London light railway (NWLLR) / Brent Cross Railway (BCR) plan
- "Budget 2014: London regeneration and housing plans". BBC. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- "Mayor welcomes Budget that sparks thousands of new jobs and homes in London". London.gov.uk. Greater London Authority. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- Brent Cross Cricklewood: Myths about the project Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 20 December 2010
- Brent Cross Cricklewood: The benefits Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 20 December 2010
- Brent Cross Cricklewood: Transport Plan (Phase 2) Archived 29 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 26 July 2013
- "Mayor's Transport Strategy 2018". London City Hall. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "West London Orbital". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- http://www.railuk.info/steam/getshed.php?id=80
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.