Willesden Green is a London Underground station on Walm Lane in Willesden. It is served by the Jubilee line and is between Dollis Hill and Kilburn stations. Metropolitan line trains also pass through the station, but do not stop. The station is in both Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3.
Willesden Green  | |
|---|---|
 Main building viewed from the south-east | |
  Willesden Green Location of Willesden Green in Greater London | |
| Location | Willesden |
| Local authority | London Borough of Brent |
| Grid reference | TQ233849 |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Fare zone | 2 and 3 |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2019 |  7.97 million[1] |
| 2020 | 4.29 million[2] |
| 2021 | 3.38 million[3] |
| 2022 |  5.35 million[4] |
| 2023 | 5.43 million[5] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | Metropolitan Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 24 November 1879 | Opened as Willesden Green[6][7] |
| 1 June 1894 | Renamed Willesden Green and Cricklewood[6][8] |
| 1938 | Renamed Willesden Green[6][7] |
| 20 November 1939 | Bakerloo line service introduced[7] |
| 7 December 1940 | Metropolitan line service withdrawn[7] |
| 3 January 1966 | Goods yard closed[9] |
| 1 May 1979 | Bakerloo line service replaced by Jubilee line[7] |
| Listed status | |
| Listing grade | II |
| Entry number | 1391808[10] |
| Added to list | 7 November 2006 |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°32′57″N 0°13′18″W / 51.54917°N 0.22167°W |
 London transport portal | |
History
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The original station opened on 24 November 1879 on the Metropolitan Railway (later the Metropolitan line). From 1894 to 1938, the station was known as Willesden Green and Cricklewood. From 20 November 1939, it also served the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line, with Met services being withdrawn in the following year. It transferred to the Jubilee line in 1979. A connecting tunnel at Embankment station mistakenly shows Willesden Green as part of the Bakerloo line, as a result of a typo which should say Willesden Junction instead; this can be found on a printed map on the wall of Embankment station.[11]
The new main station buildings, which date from the reconstruction of 1925, are fine examples of the work of Charles Walter Clark, the Metropolitan Railway's architect, who used this style of marble white faience for several 'central' area stations. The diamond-shaped clock is also a trademark of his style. The ticket hall interior retains much of the rare original green tesserae mosaic tiling and was one of the reasons that led to the station being made a Grade II Listed Building in December 2006.
Willesden Green is one of the few stations on the southern section of the former Metropolitan main line still to have its original platform buildings intact and its architecture is typical for a station serving a medium-sized town; Baker Street and Neasden are the other stations to have their platform buildings intact. The line between Finchley Road and Harrow-on-the-Hill was quadrupled between 1914 and 1916, and many intermediate stations had to be rebuilt to enable the fast lines to be built.
A goods yard, which was in use until 1966, was located to the north of the station. From 1933, when the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) took over service, trains from the north would be run by the LNER to Neasden Depot where they would be then hauled by LPTB steam locos to Willesden.
From the beginning of October 2022 to September 2023, this station was used to trial an artificial intelligence that would detect events such as fare evasion, anti-social behaviour and injured persons.[12] This was done by installing a processing device that had access to the CCTV cameras present in the station.[13]
Services
editThere are frequent Jubilee line trains at Willesden Green. Jubilee line trains heading southbound terminate at North Greenwich or Stratford. It previously served Charing Cross until 1999, when the Jubilee line extension isolated the station from the rest of the line. Those heading northbound either terminate here, at Wembley Park or Stanmore. Willesden Green is also served as part of the Night Tube, which is run overnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The station still has side platforms for the Metropolitan line, but these are not in regular use and are only used when the Jubilee line is not serving the station due to planned engineering works or severe service disruption.[14]
Connections
editLondon Buses routes 260, 266 and 460 serve the station.
Gallery
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Northbound Jubilee line platform looking south
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Southbound Jubilee line platform looking north
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Eastbound Jubilee line platform looking east
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Roundel on platform
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Main building viewed from the north
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The southern side platform
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Willesden Green tube station
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Willesden Green. Metropolitan Railway Clock.
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Platform
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The station seen from the east
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Original Willesden Green Station which opened in 1879
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References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ a b c d e Rose, Douglas (December 2007) [1980]. The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History (8th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-315-0.
- ^ Spencer, Adam (1996). Willesden – Britain in Old Photographs. Sutton Pub. p. 88. ISBN 0750911719.
- ^ Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be – freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News (591). London Underground Railway Society: 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
- ^ Historic England. "Willesden Green Underground Station (1391808)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ Marshall, Geoff (presenter) (1 October 2015). Bonus Secrets of the Underground. Londonist Ltd. Event occurs at 4:44. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ Burgess, Matt (9 February 2024). "London Underground Is Testing Real-Time AI Surveillance Tools to Spot Crime | WIRED". Wired. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "TfL's AI Tube Station experiment is amazing and slightly terrifying". 13 February 2024. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "Mayor answers to London: Willesden Green". The London Assembly. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
During Jubilee line closures, starting in 2009, the Metropolitan line stopped at Willesden Green for a total of 37 days. Over this two-year period 323,088 passengers used the station an average of 8,732 on each day, compared with a typical Saturday and Sunday usage by Jubilee line customers at the station of 14,131 and 10,804 respectively.
| Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollis Hill towards Stanmore
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Jubilee line | Kilburn towards Stratford
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| Former services | ||||
| Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
| Dollis Hill towards Stanmore
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Bakerloo line Stanmore branch (1939–1979)
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Kilburn towards Elephant & Castle
| ||
| Metropolitan line Stanmore branch (1932–1939)
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Kilburn towards Baker Street or Aldgate
| |||