Wembley Central Station (WMB)

Address: High Road, Wembley, London, HA9 7AJ
Opened: 1842
Station Code: NWB
Fare Zone: 4

London Overground Line(s) Served:

Watford DC Lines

Service Pattern(s):

4 trains per hour to London Euston
4 trains per hour to Watford Junction

London Underground Line(s) Served:

Bakerloo Line

Service Pattern:

4 trains per hour to Elephant & Castle
4 trains per hour to Harrow & Wealdstone

Interchange(s)

National Rail: Southern

Station History

Although the London & Birmingham Railway opened a line through the area on 20 July 1837, it was not until 1842 that a station named Sudbury was provided here, being renamed to Sudbury & Wembley on 1 May 1882.

With the construction of the London & North Western Railway‘s ‘New Line’ from London Euston to Watford Junction beginning construction, the track layout through the station was remodelled, and the station renamed Wembley for Sudbury on 1 November 1910 in preparation for the new service.

With the commencement of the ‘New Line’ services in 1912, services through the station were further enhanced on 16 April 1917 when London Underground’s Bakerloo Line started serving the station on its new extension to Watford Junction.

With grouping of the Railways in 1923, The London & North Western Railway was amalgamated with other companies to form the London, Midland & Scottish Railway.

Redevelopment of the local area saw the original station buildings being demolished and replaced by a new structure incorporated into a shopping precinct in 1936.

Nationalisation of the ‘Big Four’ railways came into effect on 1st January 1948, with the London, Midland & Scottish becoming part of British Railways (Midland Region). This change of management was followed by further work to increase capacity through the station in preparation for the 1948 Olympic Games including renaming the station to Wembley Central on 5th July.

Further redevelopment of the station and its surroundings began in 1963 when a new concrete deck was constructed at street level and the station building was again rebuilt, with the new shopping area opening as Station Square in 1965.

London Underground withdrew their Bakerloo Line services between Stonebridge Park and Watford Junction on 24 September 1982, although they were reinstated as far as Harrow & Wealdstone on 4 June 1984.

A further change of management occurred in 1982 when British Rail underwent sectorisation and the line was included in the London & Southeast business unit, later rebranding as Network Southeast in 1986.

With the UK Government passing the Railways Act 1993, the business units were progressively sold off to private companies. This process led to the Watford DC Lines being taken over by National Express under their Silverlink Trains subsidiary on 3 March 1997.

The new franchise was scheduled to last until 15 October 2006, however, in August of that year, the Department of Transport extended the franchise until 10 November 2007.

On this date, the final (so far) change of management occurred when Transport for London assumed control with train services operating under their London Overground business, while management of the station was assumed by London Underground.

Redevelopment of the surrounding area saw the station buildings demolished again in June 2008, with a temporary building being opened during the works, and a new station entrance and ticket hall being officially opened on 25 March 2015.