Wembley Stadium railway station

Wembley Stadium railway station is a Network Rail station in Wembley Park, Wembley, Greater London on the Chiltern Main Line. It is the nearest station to Wembley Stadium, and is located a quarter of a mile (400m) south west of the sports venue.

Wembley Stadium
Station platform with White Horse Bridge above
Wembley Stadium
Location of Wembley Stadium in Greater London
LocationWembley
Local authorityLondon Borough of Brent
Managed byChiltern Railways
Station codeWCX
DfT categoryF1
Number of platforms2
Fare zone4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16 0.734 million[1]
2016–17 0.805 million[1]
2017–18 0.878 million[1]
2018–19 0.882 million[1]
2019–20 0.614 million[1]
Key dates
1 March 1906 (1906-03-01)opened as Wembley Hill
8 May 1978renamed Wembley Complex
11 May 1987renamed Wembley Stadium
Other information
External links
WGS8451.5543°N 0.2863°W / 51.5543; -0.2863
 London transport portal

History

First Wembley Stadium station

The first station to bear the name Wembley Stadium, at (51.558638°N 0.273010°W / 51.558638; -0.273010), about one-half mile (800 m) east-north-east of the present station, was opened by the LNER on 28 April 1923 as The Exhibition Station (Wembley). It had one platform, and was situated on a loop which forked off the Chiltern Main Line between Neasden Junction and Wembley Hill station (now Wembley Stadium station, see below). It then curved round in a clockwise direction to regain the Chiltern Main Line at a point slightly closer to Neasden Junction.[2] The connections faced London to allow an intensive service with no reversing. The station was renamed several times, becoming Wembley Stadium station in 1928.[3] The station was last used on 18 May 1968 for the 1968 FA Cup Final between Everton v West Bromwich Albion,[4] and was officially closed on 1 September 1969.[5][6]

Traces of the line can be seen on maps and in aerial photographs. It was normally used only for passenger services for events at the stadium or the Empire Pool within the estate, built for the 1924-25 British Empire Exhibition. Temporary sidings led into the "Palace of Engineering" exhibition hall where both the Great Western Railway's locomotive Caerphilly Castle and the London and North Eastern Railway's Flying Scotsman were displayed, with each claimed by its owners to be the most powerful passenger locomotive in Britain.[7][8]

Present station
A 1914 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Wembley Stadium (shown here as Wembley Hill)
A map of Wembley Stadium in relation to Olympic Way, Wembley Central, Wembley Stadium and Wembley Park stations, and the A406 North Circular road (bottom right)

On 20 November 1905 the Great Central Railway opened a new route for freight trains between Neasden Junction and Northolt Junction. Passenger services from Marylebone began on 1 March 1906, when three new stations were opened: Wembley Hill, Sudbury & Harrow Road and South Harrow. On 2 April 1906 these services were extended to Northolt Junction.[9]

Wembley Hill station was renamed Wembley Complex on 8 May 1978 in order to indicate its proximity to the nearby sports facilities, as well as to a recently opened conference centre,[10] before getting its present name Wembley Stadium on 11 May 1987.[11] There were originally four tracks with the two platforms on passing loops outside the inner non-stop running lines; the current two-track layout dates from the 1960s. The 4 tracks were closed for a week by a 200 yards (180 m) landslide in a cutting near the station from 18 February 1918.[12]

Services

Train services are operated by Chiltern Railways and run from Marylebone towards High Wycombe and Birmingham Snow Hill.

The typical off-peak service is:

  • 2 trains per hour to London Marylebone only
  • 1 train per hour to Gerrards Cross calling at Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park, West Ruislip and Denham
  • 1 train per hour to High Wycombe calling at South Ruislip, Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield.

The service to central London is quicker than from other stations in the area. Trains can reach London Marylebone non-stop in ten minutes.

During busier periods (usually due to an event at the stadium) a seven carriage shuttle operates between Marylebone and Wembley Stadium using the turnback siding just west of the station to enable trains to quickly turn around to go back to London. There will be an enhanced northbound service too, with trains travelling to Banbury, Birmingham and beyond making additional calls at the station.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Sudbury & Harrow Road
Northolt Park on
Saturdays and Sundays		   Chiltern Railways
London-Birmingham		   London Marylebone

Connections

London Buses routes 83, 92, 182, 224 and 483 serve the station.

Future developments

The proposed West London Orbital would call at this station. This addition to London Overground would run between Brent Cross and Surbiton. The railway is still at the proposal stage and is neither approved nor funded.

The proposed North and West London Light Railway (NWLLR), possibly a light rail service, would also call at this station.

  • Wembley stadium station in 2001, before it was modernised
  • The station with the 'White Horse Bridge' above it

Notes
  1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (February 2005). "Figure X". Marylebone to Rickmansworth. Midland Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-49-7.
  3. http://disused-rlys.fotopic.net/c1475068.html%5B%5D
  4. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (February 2005). "Figure 47". Marylebone to Rickmansworth. Midland Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-49-7.
  5. Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley
  6. Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford
  7. Welbourn, Nigel (1998). Lost Lines London. Shepperton, England: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2623-8.
  8. Nock, Oswald (1983). British Locomotives of the 20th Century. Cambridge, England: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 210. ISBN 0-85059-595-9.
  9. Dow, George (1965). "Chapter V: The Crowded Years". Great Central. Volume Three: Fay Sets the Pace 1900-1922. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 107. ISBN 0-7110-0263-0.
  10. Slater, J.N., ed. (June 1978). "Notes+News: Wembley Complex renaming". Railway Magazine. London: IPC Transport Press Ltd. 124 (926): 305. ISSN 0033-8923.
  11. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (February 2005). "Figure 51". Marylebone to Rickmansworth. Midland Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-49-7.
  12. Cooke, B.W.C., ed. (June 1954). "Landslide at Wembley Hill". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 100 no. 638. Westminster: Tothill Press. p. 440.
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