Watford Vicarage Road London Underground
Vicarage Road railway bridge
Looking northeast towards the hospital
The site of the proposed station was to be on the left of the bridge
Watford Vicarage Road is located in Hertfordshire
Watford Vicarage Road
Watford Vicarage Road
Location of Watford Vicarage Road in Hertfordshire
LocationWatford
Local authorityWatford
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018Not opened[1]
2019Not opened[2]
2020Not opened[3]
2021Not opened[4]
2022Not opened[5]
Other information
WGS8451°38′48″N 0°24′33″W / 51.646626°N 0.409284°W / 51.646626; -0.409284
 London transport portal

Watford Vicarage Road was a proposed London Underground station in Watford, Hertfordshire. The station was proposed to be part of the suspended Croxley Rail Link project, a scheme to extend the Metropolitan line to Watford Junction railway station, which would've been served by Metropolitan line trains between Watford Junction and Central London via Baker Street. Originally the station was to be named either Watford Hospital or Watford General Hospital.[6] On 25 January 2017, the Watford Observer newspaper published an update on the Croxley Rail Link confirming work had stopped as there was an ongoing funding issue.[7]

Site

Watford Vicarage Road was to have been a newly constructed station on a re-opened section of the former LNWR Watford and Rickmansworth Railway line which was closed by British Rail in 1996.[8] The station was to have been located to the west of Vicarage Road, adjacent to Holywell allotments, with the platforms in the railway cutting below the road. The single-storey glass and metal-clad station building was to be at street level, with staircases and lifts providing platform access.[9] Designs for the new station, and others on the link, were prepared by Acanthus LW Architects.[10][11]

The new station was to have been between the sites of two former railway stations on the old LNWR line; to the west of the former Watford Stadium Halt and to the east of the former Watford West railway station on Tolpits Lane.[6][12][13][14][15] It was not planned to re-open these disused stations and the platforms at both former stations would have been removed or modified to accommodate the two new tracks.[16]

Name

The name originally proposed for the station was Watford Hospital, to reflect its proximity to Watford General Hospital. Local campaigners petitioned Transport for London (TfL) to name the station after Vicarage Road Stadium, home of Watford F.C., as they felt that it was a more easily recognised local landmark. TfL stated that their policy is not to name new stations after individual roads in order to ensure geographical understanding across the whole Tube network. However, in recognition of local opinion and the wider recognition of the Vicarage Road name in association with the football club, they agreed to waive this rule. On 8 August 2013 TfL announced that they would name the station Watford Vicarage Road.[17][18]

Vicarage Road and the Croxley Rail Link
Railway line going west to east showing stations Croxley Green (terminus, closed), Cassiobridge (new), Watford West (closed), Watford Vicarage Road (new) and Watford Stadium Halt (closed)
The former LNWR stations (closed 1996) and the proposed stations (not opened in 2018)
Map of the whole Croxley Rail Link project

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "TWAO Submission January 2012". Croxley Rail Link. 6 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  7. ^ "UPDATE: Met Line extension: Mayor confirms work has stopped". Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Watford to Croxley Green". West Watford History Group. 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Croxley Rail Link Watford Vicarage Road Station - Report to Development Management Section Head" (PDF). Hertfordshire County Council. 21 January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Croxley Rail Link Watford for Mouchel/Hertfordshire County Completion 2003". Retrieved 20 March 2012.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Acanthus LW Architects - Infrastructure (Croxley Rail Link)(Page 10-11)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Major Scheme Business Case - Main Report" (PDF). Croxley Rail Link. 30 October 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Croxley Rail Link". Croxley Rail Link. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Major rail schemes included in £854m DfT investment". Railnews. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Croxley Rail Link - Proposed Scheme Sheet 3 Proposed Watford Hospital Station" (PDF). Croxley Rail Link. November 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Croxley Rail Link Project: Design & Access Statement" (PDF). Hertfordshire County Council. December 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2013.
  17. ^ "Vicarage Road approved by Transport for London for Croxley Rail Link's West Watford station name". Watford Observer. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013.
  18. ^ "New Watford tube station to be called Vicarage Road". BBC News. BBC. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013.

External links

Abandoned Croxley Rail Link plan
Preceding station London Underground Following station
Watford High Street
towards Watford Junction
 Metropolitan line
Croxley Rail link
 Cassiobridge
towards Baker Street or Aldgate
Metropolitan line
Rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom
Watford
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