Willesden Green tube station

History

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 From 20 November 1939, it also served the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line, with Met services being withdrawn in the following year.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.

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. This was done by installing a processing device that had access to the CCTV cameras present in the station.

Services

Willesden Green station is on the Jubilee line between Dollis Hill to the north and Kilburn to the south. There is a frequent Jubilee line service at Willesden Green. 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 who bypass the station without stopping at it, 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.

Connections

London Buses routes 260, 266 and 460 serve the station.

Gallery

Image:Willesden Green stn westbound look east.JPG|Northbound platform looking south Image:Willesden Green stn eastbound look west.JPG|Southbound platform looking north Image:Willesden Green stn eastbound look east.JPG|Southbound platform looking south Image:Willesden Green stn roundel.JPG|Station roundel Image:Willesden Green stn building north.JPG|Station building viewed from the north File:Platform, Willesden Green Underground Station NW2 - geograph.org.uk - 1323926.jpg|The southern side platform File:Willesden Green (100572668) (2).jpg|Willesden Green tube station File:Willesden Green. Metropolitan Railway Clock.jpg|The Metropolitan Railway clock at Willesden Green File:Willesden Green tube station 1.jpg|Southbound platform looking south File:Railway and underground lines east of Willesden Green station - geograph.org.uk - 2595498.jpg|The station seen from the south with a non-stopping Metropolitan line train passing by File:Willesden Green Original Station.jpg|The original station which opened in 1879 Willesden Green tube station - geograph.org.uk - 2405841.jpg|alt=Willesden Green Tube Station | Island platform

References

References

1. {{National Heritage List for England
2. Butt, R. V. J.. (1995). "The Directory of Railway Stations". Patrick Stephens Ltd.
3. Rose, Douglas. (December 2007). "The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History". Capital Transport.
4. Spencer, Adam. (1996). "Willesden – Britain in Old Photographs". Sutton Pub..
5. (March 2011). "How it used to be – freight on The Underground 50 years ago". London Underground Railway Society.
6. (1 October 2015). "Bonus Secrets of the Underground". Londonist Ltd.
7. (2024-02-09). "London Underground Is Testing Real-Time AI Surveillance Tools to Spot Crime {{!}} WIRED".
8. (2024-02-13). "TfL's AI Tube Station experiment is amazing and slightly terrifying".
9. (14 September 2011). "Mayor answers to London: Willesden Green". The London Assembly.