Wembley Stadium | |
|---|---|
 Station platform with White Horse Bridge above | |
  Wembley Stadium Location of Wembley Stadium in Greater London | |
| Location | Wembley |
| Local authority | London Borough of Brent |
| Managed by | Chiltern Railways |
| Station code | WCX |
| DfT category | F1 |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Fare zone | 4 |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2019–20 |  0.614 million[1] |
| 2020–21 | 72,036[1] |
| 2021–22 |  0.357 million[1] |
| 2022–23 | 0.657 million[1] |
| 2023–24 | 0.677 million[1] |
| Key dates | |
| 1 March 1906 (1906-03-01) | opened asWembley Hill |
| 8 May 1978 | renamedWembley Complex |
| 11 May 1987 | renamedWembley Stadium |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°33′15″N0°17′11″W / 51.5543°N 0.2863°W /51.5543; -0.2863 |
 London transport portal | |
Wembley Stadium railway station is aNetwork Rail station inWembley,Greater London, on theChiltern Main Line. It is the nearest station toWembley Stadium, and is located a quarter of a mile (400 m) south west of the sports venue. It is inLondon fare zone 4.
The first station to bear the nameWembley Stadium, at (51°33′31″N0°16′23″W / 51.558638°N 0.273010°W /51.558638; -0.273010), about one-half mile (800 m) east-north-east of the present station, was opened by theLNER on 28 April 1923 asThe Exhibition Station (Wembley). It had one platform, and was situated on aloop which forked off theChiltern Main Line between Neasden Junction and Wembley Hill station (now Wembley Stadium station, see below). It then curved round in a clockwise direction to regain the Chiltern Main Line at a point slightly closer to Neasden Junction.[2] The connections faced London to allow an intensive service with no reversing. The station was renamed several times, becoming Wembley Stadium station in 1928.[3] The station was last used on 18 May 1968 for the1968 FA Cup final betweenEverton vWest Bromwich Albion,[4] and was officially closed on 1 September 1969.[5][6]
Traces of the line can be seen on maps and in aerial photographs. It was normally used only for passenger services for events at the stadium or theEmpire Pool within the estate, built for the 1924-25British Empire Exhibition. Temporary sidings led into the "Palace of Engineering" exhibition hall where both theGreat Western Railway's locomotiveCaerphilly Castle and theLondon and North Eastern Railway'sFlying Scotsman were displayed, with each claimed by its owners to be the most powerful passenger locomotive in Britain.[7][8]
On 20 November 1905, theGreat Central Railway opened a new route for freight trains between Neasden Junction and Northolt Junction. Passenger services fromMarylebone began on 1 March 1906, when three new stations were opened:Wembley Hill,Sudbury & Harrow Road andSouth Harrow. On 2 April 1906 these services were extended toNortholt Junction.[9]
Wembley Hill station was renamedWembley Complex on 8 May 1978 in order to indicate its proximity to the nearby sports facilities, as well as to a recently opened conference centre,[10] before getting its present nameWembley Stadium on 11 May 1987.[11] There were originally four tracks with the two platforms on passing loops outside the inner non-stop running lines; the current two-track layout dates from the 1960s. The 4 tracks were closed for a week by a 200 yards (180 m) landslide in a cutting near the station from 18 February 1918.[12]
All services at Wembley Stadium are operated byChiltern Railways.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[13]
Additional services, including trains to and fromAylesbury andBanbury call at the station during the peak hours. In addition, during events atWembley Stadium, longer distance services make additional calls at the station.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiltern Railways | ||||
Limited Service | ||||
London Buses routes83,92,182,223,440,483 and night routeN83 serve the station.[14]
It is bounded to the south by theHarrow Road (A404 road).
