Watford Junction
Location
Place	Watford
Local authority	Watford
Coordinates	51°39′49″N 0°23′45″W / 51.6635, -0.3958Coordinates: 51°39′49″N 0°23′45″W / 51.6635, -0.3958
Operations
Station code	WFJ
Managed by	London Midland
Platforms in use	10 (4 DC Line (bays), 4 Main Line, 1 Southern (bay), 1 St. Albans Line)
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	4.066 million
2005/06 *	4.244 million
2006/07 *	4.458 million
History
May 1858	Opened
1909	Rebuilt
1980s	Refurbished throughout
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Watford Junction from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Watford Junction station is a railway station in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Located a short distance from the town centre, it is served by the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the local DC electric line to Euston, currently operated by London Overground services and a branch line to St Albans. Journeys to London take between sixteen and fifty-two minutes depending on the service used. Trains also run to Brighton and Gatwick Airport via the WCML and the West London Line through Kensington Olympia and Clapham Junction.

Major redevelopment work of the station and its surroundings is planned over the next 10 years.

History

The first station in Watford was north of Saint Albans Road, but Watford Junction opened with the line to St Albans on 5 May 1858. The station was rebuilt in 1909, and was extensively redeveloped in the 1980s.

Previous services also ran from the West side of the station to branches serving Croxley Green and Rickmansworth (Church Street), both eventually being electrified on the same system as the DC line to Euston, at one time using tube trains to mitigate the effect of the voltage-drop caused by the lack of a sub-station near Rickmansworth. The Rickmansworth branch pre-dated the DC line and was connected to the Main Line via two through platforms with a junction to the north; these platforms have since been partly obstructed by building over and the remaining Southern sections now form part of the DC line terminus.

The St Albans Branch Line originally terminated at a through platform adjacent to the Down Slow Main Line but was relocated further East to allow increased car parking; this was before the branch line was electrified.

The Bakerloo Line was extended to Watford Junction in 1917, providing shared services with mainline electric trains which served London Euston and Broad Street stations. However since 1982 ^[1] the line north of Harrow & Wealdstone station has only been served by what is now the London Overground service from Euston station; this service uses these DC lines for its "all stations" local service.

Oyster Card capability was extended to this station on 11 November 2007 on both the London Overground Services and Southern services. It was further extended to London Midland services on the 18th November 2007. However, the station remains outside of the Oyster Travelcard Zones.

Future developments

This article or section contains information about a proposed London Transport infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as more information becomes available.

Watford Junction Station Area Improvements

Plans are in place to overhaul and upgrade the station and its access points. The scheme includes a new multi storey car park to be built and the construction of a new access road to the station, connecting the A412 to Colonial Way and thus to the Stephenson Way M1 link road^[2]. The entrance, current access roads and near-by bus station will also be altered with the aim to improve public transport access^[3]. In 2005 Hertfordshire County Council were seeking £17.7 million to fund the scheme^[4].

Croxley Rail Link

The proposed Croxley Rail Link, a scheme to divert the Metropolitan Line's Watford branch to Watford Junction via the disused Croxley Green branch, might also see the first appearance at the station in revenue service of LU surface stock, operating from Baker Street.^[5] Transport for London had tentatively committed £18m towards the scheme's costs, but the agreement of the Department for Transport to provide the remaining funds is presently on hold.^[6] A completion date for this would be around 2013. The total cost is estimated to be £145 million and Hertfordshire County Council has revealed a support and funding plan while insisting that the long-delayed Croxley Rail Link will eventually be constructed. The proposed link has gained the support of the East of England Regional Planning Panel. This support could help the project receive £119.5 million from the Department for Transport. Watford Borough Council plans to contribute up to £26 million to the project which it hopes to get back through ticket sales and other London Underground revenue.^[7]

Gallery

View looking north showing trains in Silverlink Metro (now London Overground) platform 4 and Virgin Trains platform 6

Class 377 unit operated by Southern on Brighton services shown waiting in bay platform 10

Preceding station		London Overground		Following station
Terminus		Watford DC Line		Watford High Street towards Euston
National Rail
Crewe		First ScotRail Highland Caledonian Sleeper (northbound only)		London Euston
Carlisle		First ScotRail Lowland Caledonian Sleeper
Terminus		Southern to Brighton or Gatwick Airport		Harrow & Wealdstone
Watford North		London Midland St Albans Branch Line		Terminus
Kings Langley		London Midland West Coast Main Line		Bushey
Milton Keynes Central		Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line		London Euston
Disused railways
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Terminus		Bakerloo line		Watford High Street towards Elephant & Castle
Terminus		British Rail Rickmansworth Branch		Watford High Street
Terminus		British Rail Croxley Green Branch		Watford High Street
		Proposed
London Underground
Terminus		Metropolitan line		Watford High Street towards Baker Street or Aldgate

References

See also

• Watford Underground station (Metropolitan Line)
• Watford High Street station (DC line)
• St Albans Branch Line

External links

• Redevelopment plans
• Abbey Line Community Rail Partnership
• Public transport in Watford

v • d • e Metropolitan line Stations Central London section Aldgate • Barbican • Euston Square • Farringdon • Great Portland Street • King's Cross St. Pancras • Liverpool Street • Moorgate Core section Baker Street • Finchley Road • Harrow-on-the-Hill • Northwick Park • Preston Road • Wembley Park Uxbridge branch Eastcote • Hillingdon • West Harrow tube station • Ickenham • Rayners Lane • Ruislip • Ruislip Manor • Uxbridge Outer section & branches Amersham • Chalfont & Latimer • Chesham • Chorleywood • Croxley • Moor Park • North Harrow • Northwood • Northwood Hills • Pinner • Rickmansworth • Watford Rolling stock Present rolling stock A60 and A62 Stock History Former companies Brill Tramway • Metropolitan Railway • Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway Closed stations Brill  • Granborough Road • Lord's • Marlborough Road • Quainton Road • Swiss Cottage • Verney Junction • Waddesdon • Westcott • Winslow Road • Wotton Former stations Aylesbury • Great Missenden • Stoke Mandeville • Wendover Transferred lines East London line  • Hammersmith and City line  • Jubilee line  • Great Northern & City Railway Former rolling stock CP Stock  • CO Stock  • F Stock  • G Stock  • M Stock  • MV Stock  • MW Stock  • N Stock  • O Stock  • P Stock  • P1 Stock  • R Stock  • S Stock  • T Stock  • U Stock  • V Stock  • VT Stock  • W Stock  • Circle Stock  • GN&C Stock  • Main Line Stock  • Shuttle Stock Former locomotives A Class  • B Class  • C Class  • D Class  • E Class  • F Class  • G Class  • H Class  • K Class  • Metropolitan District  • Metropolitan departmental  • ex GWR  • Metropolitan Railway Peckett Saddle Tank  • Wotton Tramway Metro-Land Metro-land  • Metro-land (TV) Future proposals Croxley Rail link Croxley Rail Link • Ascot Road • Croxley • Croxley Green • Watford High Street • Watford Junction • Watford Stadium • Watford West Future rolling stock S Stock London Underground • Transport for London