Wembley Central station explained

Wembley Central
Manager:London Underground[1]
Owner:Network Rail
Railcode:WMB
Dft Category:C2
Fare Zone:4
Symbol:underground
Symbol2:overground
Symbol3:rail
Locale:Wembley
Borough:London Borough of Brent
Coordinates:51.5526°N -0.2966°W
Platforms:6 (4 in regular use)
Tubeexits06:2.972
Tubeexits07: 3.168
Tubeexits08: 3.500
Tubeexits09: 4.228
Tubeexits10: 4.37
Tubeexits11: 4.56
Tubeexits12: 5.18
Tubeexits13: 4.59 -->
Railexits0405:0.984
Railexits0506:1.037
Railexits0607: 0.751
Railexits0708: 1.007
Railexits0809: 1.125
Railexits0910: 1.619
Railexits1011: 2.213
Railexits1112: 2.655
Railexits1213: 2.523
Railexits1314: 2.973
Railexits1415: 3.172
Railexits1516: 3.384
Railexits1617: 3.342
Raillowint1617: 75,185
Railexits1718: 3.344
Raillowint1718: 70,081 -->
Railexits1819: 3.351
Raillowint1819: 89,217
Railexits1920: 3.521
Raillowint1920: 0.145 million
Railexits2021: 1.345
Raillowint2021: 46,777
Railexits2122: 2.732
Raillowint2122: 92,052
Railexits2223: 3.340
Raillowint2223: 50,670
Years1:1842
Years2:1 May 1882
Years3:1 November 1910
Years4:16 April 1917
Years5:1948
Years6:5 July 1948
Years7:24 September 1982
Years8:4 June 1984
Years9:June 2008
Years10:2009-2015
Events1:Station opened as "Sudbury"
Events2:Renamed "Sudbury & Wembley"
Events3:renamed "Wembley for Sudbury"
Events4:Bakerloo line
Events5:Street level buildings reconstructed within shopping arcade
Events6:renamed "Wembley Central"
Events7:Bakerloo line service withdrawn
Events8:Bakerloo line service re-instated
Events9:Station building demolished for re-development
Events10:Major re-development of the station and the area.
Access:yes

Wembley Central is an interchange station in Wembley, North West London for London Underground and London Overground services on the Watford DC line; and National Rail services on the West London line.

The station is served by suburban services operated by the Underground's Bakerloo line, the Overground's Watford DC line, and regional services operated by Southern.

It is on the east-west High Road and serves Wembley Stadium and the nearby Wembley Arena.

History

Accidents and incidents

Services and operations

Services at Wembley Central are operated by London Underground on the Bakerloo line, London Overground and Southern. The off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:

London Underground (Bakerloo Line)

London Overground

Southern

Wembley Central has the appearance of an underground station due to the elevated position of the High Road (where the main entrance was until recently 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 by British Rail 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 3-6 (the main line platforms) create a wind tunnel effect which can be dangerous for passengers.

The station was modernised in 2006 by Silverlink with additional safety features.[5]

Station works

The passenger footbridge at the London end of the station, completed in late 2006 by civil engineers C Spencer Ltd, carries 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.[6]

Other recent works include the resurfacing of platforms 1 and 2 complete with the installation of curved steel cladding panels also completed by contractor, C Spencer Ltd. The station's staff received refurbished messing facilities and new public toilets have also been installed.

In 2011–12, the station was made step-free, in preparation for the Olympics. A step-free route was provided between the station entrance and platforms 1 and 2 for the first time, with the installation of two new lifts and a stair lift. The toilets were refurbished to make them fully accessible. Two platforms were extended as well. This improvement scheme cost £2.5m.[7]

Redevelopment

In June 2008, the London Borough of Brent (Local council) planned that the station was going to be demolished for redevelopment, as part of the Wembley Central Square plan, by St. Modwen construction company (although the plan also included new apartments, shops and open space surface).

Connections

London Buses routes 18, 79, 83, 92, 182, 204, 223, 297, 483 and H17 and night routes N18 and N83 serve the station.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Safety boost as London Underground to take control of 11 Silverlink stations . Transport for London. 5 December 2006. 5 February 2013.
  2. One of the largest private development schemes of BR air rights in the London area is progressing at Wembley Central. June 1965. Modern Railways. 351.
  3. Book: Earnshaw, Alan . Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6 . 1990 . Atlantic Books . Penryn . 0-906899-37-0 . 24–25 .
  4. Book: Hall, Stanley . The Railway Detectives . 1990 . Ian Allan . London . 0-7110-1929-0 . 132 .
  5. Web site: wembleyway newsletter. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20111001031728/http://www.brent.gov.uk/regeneration.nsf/Files/LBBA-70/$FILE/wembleywayissue8.pdf. dead. 2011-10-01. 5 February 2013. November 2005. London Borough of Brent. 3.
  6. Web site: Wembley Central Station Plan. 5 February 2013. Network Rail. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121021140324/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sjp/WMB/plan.html. 21 October 2012.
  7. Web site: Wembley Central station to be step-free in time for the Olympics. 5 February 2013. 1 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20151018160855/http://www.southernrailway.com/southern/news/news-archive/2011/09/wembley-central-station-to-be-step-free-in-time-for-the-olympics/. 18 October 2015. dead.