Stations › Other London stations › Willesden Junction

Willesden Junction

A junction station in Harlesden, north-west London, opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1866, with high-level platforms for the Overground’s Mildmay line and low-level platforms shared by the Lioness line and the Bakerloo; the West Coast Main Line runs past with no platforms.

5Platforms
1866Opened
7.0 millionEntries and exits (2024-25)
67thBusiest station in Britain (2024-25)

Platforms 5

Platform plan, to scale from OpenStreetMap32145Platform 1. About 410 ft (124 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 2. About 280 ft (87 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 3. About 410 ft (125 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 4. About 200 ft (61 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 5. About 270 ft (83 m) long, off OpenStreetMapN100 ft (30 m)Platforms, tracks and outline © OpenStreetMap contributors

Seen from above, to scale: the platforms, tracks and the station building’s outline (the grey line) from OpenStreetMap, the lines running roughly east to west. North is marked top left, and the scale bottom left. Point at a platform for its number and length.

Facts

Opened
1 September 1866 by the London and North Western Railway; high-level platforms 1867, low-level platforms 1910 or 1912
Platforms
5: 1 to 3 low level (Bakerloo and Lioness line), 4 and 5 high level (Mildmay line); none on the West Coast Main Line
Routes
The Bakerloo and Lioness line on the Watford DC line, and the Mildmay line on the North London and West London lines
Underground
Bakerloo
Operators
London Overground, London Underground
Overground
Lioness line (Euston to Watford Junction) and Mildmay line (Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction)
Managed by
London Overground
Listed
No listing found (not confirmed)
Interchanges
2.42 million (2024-25)

unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓

Trains

The trains the operators run here, as the sources give them.

History 10

  1. The London and North Western Railway opens Willesden Junction on the West Coast Main Line, replacing the London and Birmingham Railway’s Willesden station of 1841.
  2. High-level platforms open, where the Hampstead Junction Railway crosses the main line (the date is from a search-result summary of the Disused Stations page; Grace’s Guide gives 1867 only).
  3. The high-level platforms are rebuilt as a single group, replacing a confusing layout; a surviving entrance building dates from this rebuilding.
  4. The low-level ‘New’ station opens for the electrified Watford DC line.
  5. Bakerloo trains begin running to Willesden Junction.
  6. The main-line platforms are removed during electrification of the West Coast Main Line, and the station is left with the high-level and low-level groups only.
  7. Transport for London takes over the former Silverlink Metro routes, including the Willesden Junction services, as London Overground.
  8. Platform 2 at the low-level station is extended, with track work, so that Overground trains can run with five cars.
  9. The Mayor launches the Overground’s new line names; Willesden Junction becomes a station on the Lioness and Mildmay lines.
  10. First Rail London takes over running the Overground from Arriva Rail London.

Sources 16

Show the 16 sources from Transport for London, Office of Rail and Road, Clive Feather and 6 more

Where the sources disagree:

  • Platform count (5) and numbering (1–3 low level, 4–5 high level, with the Bakerloo and Lioness on 1 and 3, platform 2 a bay, and the Mildmay line on 4 and 5) are from Wikipedia only. TfL’s 2014 releases confirm a low-level Platform 2 and National Rail refers to platforms 1, 2 and 3; no source opened gives platforms 4 and 5 or says which line uses which.
  • The opening dates (1 September 1866; 2 September 1867; 12 August 1894; 15 June 1912) rest on Wikipedia and on search-result summaries of the Disused Stations page, which would not load. Grace’s Guide confirms 1867 for the high-level station only.
  • The low-level station’s opening is given as 1910 by Wikipedia and 15 June 1912 by the Disused Stations summary; Railway Wonders of the World (1935) says 1915. They are not reconciled.
  • Wikipedia gives a North London Railway high-level station of 1869 for the Richmond tracks; this differs from the 1867 date and is left out of the history.
  • The 1894 entrance building surviving, and the 1956 rebuilding of the high-level island platform, are from Wikipedia only; no architect was found.
  • The removal of the main-line platforms in 1962 is from Wikipedia and a search-result summary of the Disused Stations page; no Network Rail or operator source was found.
  • Listing status: not found in British Listed Buildings; Historic England’s site returned an error and was not opened.
  • Fleet allocation: the Bakerloo’s 1972 Stock, and Class 710 and Class 378 on the Lioness and Mildmay lines, are from the project’s own line records (which cite TfL); no source opened for this record names the trains at Willesden Junction.
  • Wikipedia names Network Rail as the owner, a DfT category C2 and the code WIJ; ORR’s facility owner was not checked. National Rail and TfL’s API give London Overground as manager. TfL’s API gives fare zones 2 and 3.
  • Accidents (5 December 1910, June 1936, 6 October 1986), the freight terminal of 1967 and the Willesden depot are in Wikipedia but are left out as Wikipedia-only.
  • 12 August 1894: The high-level platforms are rebuilt as a single group, replacing a confusing layout; a surviving entrance building dates from this rebuilding: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 1910 or 1912: The low-level ‘New’ station opens for the electrified Watford DC line: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 1962: The main-line platforms are removed during electrification of the West Coast Main Line, and the station is left with the high-level and low-level groups only: the date is from Wikipedia only.
Top