Wembley Central
Wembley Central Location of Wembley Central in Greater London
Location	Wembley
Local authority	London Borough of Brent
Managed by	London Underground[1]
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	WMB
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	6 (4 in regular use)
Accessible	Yes[2]
Fare zone	4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018	5.60 million[3]
2019	5.65 million[4]
2020	3.77 million[5]
2021	2.71 million[6]
2022	4.37 million[7]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19	3.351 million[8]
– interchange	89,217[8]
2019–20	3.521 million[8]
– interchange	0.145 million[8]
2020–21	1.345 million[8]
– interchange	46,777[8]
2021–22	2.732 million[8]
– interchange	92,052[8]
2022–23	3.340 million[8]
– interchange	50,670[8]
Key dates
1842	Station opened as "Sudbury"
1 May 1882	Renamed "Sudbury & Wembley"
1 November 1910	renamed "Wembley for Sudbury"
16 April 1917	Bakerloo line
1948	Street level buildings reconstructed within shopping arcade
5 July 1948	renamed "Wembley Central"
24 September 1982	Bakerloo line service withdrawn
4 June 1984	Bakerloo line service re-instated
June 2008	Station building demolished for re-development
2009-2015	Major re-development of the station and the area.
Other information
External links	TfL station info page Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°33′09″N 0°17′48″W / 51.5526°N 0.2966°W / 51.5526; -0.2966
London transport portal

Wembley Central is an interchange station on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), London Overground and London Underground on the Watford DC line in Wembley, in north-west London, served by suburban services operated by London Underground and London Overground and regional services operated Southern services. It is on the east-west High Road. The station serves Wembley Stadium and the nearby Wembley Arena.

History

Location of Wembley Central station

• 20 July 1837: London and Birmingham Railway line opened
• 1842: Station opened as "Sudbury"
• 1 May 1882: renamed "Sudbury & Wembley"
• 1 November 1910: renamed "Wembley for Sudbury", coincident with construction of the "LNWR New Line"
• 16 April 1917: Bakerloo line service commenced over New Line
• 1936 Street level building reconstructed with shopping arcade
• 1948 Further work in preparation for Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium
• 5 July 1948: renamed "Wembley Central"
• 1965 Station Square constructed on a 2+1⁄2 acres (1.0 ha) concrete raft over the station by Ravenseft Properties Limited (see also Stratford Centre), providing most of current layout^[9]
• 24 September 1982: Bakerloo line service withdrawn
• 4 June 1984: Bakerloo line service re-instated
• November 2007: Station management transferred from Silverlink to London Underground
• June 2008: 1936/1948 surface buildings in process of being demolished for redevelopment
• February 2009: Southern services between Milton Keynes and East Croydon stop here (each hour Mon-Sat daytime).
• December 2014: London Midland services between London Euston and Tring have been introduced (each hour Mon-Sat daytime).
• December 2022: London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Tring withdrawn

Accidents and incidents

• On 13 October 1940, an express passenger train was derailed after it collided with a platform barrow obstructing the line. Several people were killed and many more were injured.^[10]
• In 1984, a passenger train overran a signal and collided with a freight train, killing three people.^[11]

Services and operations

v t e London Overground
Cheshunt Theobalds Grove Enfield Town Turkey Street Romford Bush Hill Park Southbury Emerson Park Upminster Edmonton Green Silver Street Chingford White Hart Lane Highams Park Watford Junction Bruce Grove Wood Street Watford Seven Sisters Walthamstow Central High Street Harringay Blackhorse Road Walthamstow Queen's Road Bushey Green Lanes Carpenders Park Crouch Hill South Tottenham St. James Leyton Midland Road Hatch End Upper Holloway () Stamford Hill Street Leytonstone Headstone Lane Stoke Newington Clapton High Road Harrow & Kentish Town West Rectory Road Wanstead Park () Wealdstone Gospel Oak Camden Road () Hackney Woodgrange Park Kenton () Caledonian Road Canonbury Downs Barking South Kenton & Barnsbury Barking Riverside () North Highbury & Islington Dalston Kingsland Hackney Central Wembley Hampstead Heath Dalston Wembley Finchley Road & Frognal () Junction London Fields Central West Hampstead ( ) Haggerston Cambridge Heath Stonebridge Brondesbury Hoxton Homerton Park Brondesbury Park Shoreditch High Street Bethnal Green Hackney Wick Harlesden Kensal Rise Stratford Kensal Green Liverpool Whitechapel Willesden Queen's Park Street Shadwell () Junction Kilburn High Road Wapping South Hampstead Rotherhithe Shepherd's Bush () Euston () Canada Water Kensington (Olympia) Surrey Quays West Brompton Battersea Park Imperial Wharf () (limited service) New Cross Clapham Queens Road Peckham New Cross Gate Junction Peckham Rye Brockley Acton Central Wandsworth Road Denmark Hill Honor Oak Park South Acton () Clapham High Street Forest Hill Gunnersbury Sydenham Kew Gardens Richmond Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon ()
Legend
Station National Rail Accessible station Thameslink Interchange station Elizabeth line Accessible interchange Docklands Light Railway London Underground Internal interchange London Trams Out-of-station interchange London River Services

v t e West London Route
Legend
Watford Junction Greater London boundary Harrow & Wealdstone Wembley Central West Coast Main Line to Euston North London line to Stratford Grand Union Canal Shepherd's Bush Kensington (Olympia) West Brompton Imperial Wharf River Thames Brighton Main Line to Victoria Clapham Junction Wandsworth Common Balham Streatham Common Norbury Thornton Heath Selhurst East Croydon Brighton Main Line and Oxted line

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)

• 4 tph to Harrow & Wealdstone
• 4 tph to Elephant & Castle

London Overground

• 4 tph to London Euston
• 4 tph to Watford Junction

Southern

• 1 tph to East Croydon
• 1 tph to Watford Junction

Preceding station	London Overground			Following station
North Wembley towards Watford Junction		Watford DC line		Stonebridge Park towards Euston
Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
North Wembley towards Harrow & Wealdstone		Bakerloo line		Stonebridge Park towards Elephant & Castle
Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Harrow & Wealdstone		Southern Watford Junction – East Croydon		Shepherd's Bush
Historical railways
Harrow & Wealdstone		London and North Western Railway West Coast Main Line		Willesden Junction

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.^{[citation needed]}

As a result, the main line National Rail platforms (for Southern, London Northwestern Railway, and Wembley Stadium additional services) are locked out of use for most of the day and entrance is only allowed 5 minutes before the trains are due,^{[citation needed]} the Southern services, which use platforms 5 and 6 (on the slow main line). Passengers alighting from these services must make their way to the end of the platform and staff will lead them out of the station. Gates into these platforms open 5 minutes before the train is expected to arrive.

The station was modernised in 2006 by Silverlink with additional safety features.^[12]

When a major event occurs at Wembley Stadium, all London Northwestern Railway services to and from Euston call here always stopping at platforms 5 and 6. Avanti West Coast services are formed of trains which are too long for the platforms and take longer to set down and pick up. As a result, these services will make additional stops at Watford Junction or Milton Keynes, for customers to change onto London Northwestern Railway or Southern services.

Fast London Northwestern Railway services using platforms 5 and 6 are usually longer than the platforms. So, when trains are formed of more than six coaches, customers wishing to board and alight the train must do so from the front four coaches only. British Transport Police officers maintain a high presence on match days, particularly at this station and on all train services.

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

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.