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Willesden Junction station
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Willesden Junction station is a Network Rail station in Harlesden, north-west London; it is served by both London Overground and London Underground Bakerloo line trains. It is about one mile south of the original area from which it took its name, on the southern edge of the now-defunct Municipal Borough of Willesden.
History
The station has had three main stages of development:
- The London and Birmingham Railway (now the West Coast Main Line) has run through the area since 1837. A main line station was opened by the London & North Western Railway on 1 September 1866. This station was demolished after passenger services were withdrawn in 1962 in preparation for the electrification of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). Various intentions have since been announced (but so far not carried out) to restore platforms to permit outer-suburban services to call at Willesden Junction and suitable gaps for platforms between lines still remain.
- The North London Line (NLL) station, built across the WCML at a right angle. This underwent radical alteration and repositioning during the WCML electrification.
- The station serving the "DC line". This "Willesden New Station" was built to the north of the main line and originally had two (outer) through platforms and two (inner) bay platforms at the London end. Bakerloo line services on the New Line began on 10 May 1915.[3]
The original platform numbering started on the main line platforms with the higher numbers continuing onto the NLL and DC line, remaining unchanged on those lines for some years after the main line platforms were removed.
The station today
The two-level arrangement (now without the main line platforms) remains.
At high level (street level relative to most of the surrounding area) are platforms 4 and 5, serving the NLL and the West London Line; trains on the latter service reverse in a siding to the east of the station on the NLL.
At low level, are platforms 1 to 3. These consist of an island platform, the outer faces of which are platforms 1 & 3, containing two east-opening bay platforms. One of these bay platforms is platform 2; the other is disused, without track. It has no platform number, a railing along the platform edge, and a signal for platform 2 occupies the trackbed. Platforms 1 & 3 are served by the main Bakerloo line and London Overground services; platform 2 is too short for Bakerloo Line trains and is used only occasionally by London Overground services at the start and end of the day. Bakerloo line trains that terminate at Willesden Junction continue to Stonebridge Park depot (2 stations further north of the station), where they reverse. The southbound service resumes from Stonebridge Park. this arrangement is due to London Underground staff being stationed at Willesden Junction to oversee the detrainment prior to the train departing empty.
The bay is more commonly used for empty stock transfers between the depot and the North London Line and the Gospel Oak to Barking line, which use the link from the low level station to Kensal Rise. The northern part of the island narrows considerably, with the platform faces curving inwards.
There are currently no platforms on the WCML, which is separated from the low level station by the approach road to Willesden Depot which is to the immediate south-east of the station.
Services
The typical off-peak passenger train services per hour (tph) in each direction on the routes serving this station are:
DC Line/Bakerloo Line on low level platforms
North London Line on high level platforms
West London Line on high level platforms
Gallery
Willesden Junction looking north. The fast lines of the West Coast Main Line are on the right, the slow lines on the far right. On the left are the Willesden Relief Line (connection to the West London Line) and the Willesden Euro Terminal.
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References
External links
When Shepherd's Bush opens
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