Watford tube station

Watford
Watford Location of Watford in Hertfordshire
Location	Watford
Local authority	Watford
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	7
London Underground annual entry and exit
2007	1.642 million[1]
2008	1.620 million[1]
2009	1.504 million[1]
2010	1.480 million[1]
2011	1.570 million[1]
2012	1.600 million[1]
2013	1.660 million[1]
Key dates
1925	Opened
14 November 1966	Goods yard closed[2]
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
London Transport portalCoordinates: 51°39′27″N 0°25′03″W / 51.6575°N 0.4175°W / 51.6575; -0.4175

Watford is the terminus of the Watford branch of London Underground's Metropolitan line in the north-western part of the network in Zone 7, previously Zone A. The station opened in 1925. It is scheduled to close to passengers in 2018.^[3]

Location and description

A platform at Watford tube station

Map of railways around Watford showing the Met station in relation to other stations

The station is on Cassiobury Park Avenue at the junction with Metropolitan Station Approach, in the Cassiobury area, close to two of the entrances to Cassiobury Park. It is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the town centre, which is more immediately served by Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations. It is known locally as "Watford Met" to distinguish it from the other Watford stations.

The station building was designed by the Metropolitan Railway's architect Charles Walter Clark in an Arts and Crafts vernacular style. It is in red brick with a clay-tiled hipped roof, tall brick chimney stacks, and timber sash and casement windows. The main entrance is covered by a polygonal metal canopy supported by twin Doric columns, and the interior, mostly unaltered from the original, is decorated with period tiling and hardwood panelling.^[4]

On 2010 data it is the 25th most lightly-used station on the London Underground.^[5]

History

Map of "Metro-Land" showing the planned Watford extension (Metropolitan Railway, 1924)

In the early 20th century, the Metropolitan Railway (MR) penetrated Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire with its suburban railway, enticing Londoners with its "Metro-Land" advertising campaign promoting the new railway as an opportunity to live in a rural location with easy transport to central London.^[6] The MR was also intent on providing a connection from Watford and planned a branch line from Moor Park via Croxley. The MR purchased a swathe of land from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge along the planned route and Parliamentary approval for the branch was granted in 1912. The project was hampered by disagreements with the Watford Borough Council and by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and construction of the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) branch did not begin until 1922. The MR experienced difficulties running the line across the River Gade and the Grand Junction Canal, and this pushed costs up to £300,000.^[7]

Watford Met station opened on 4 November 1925, with MR electric trains to Baker Street and LNER steam trains to Marylebone for the first few months.^[8][9] The Watford Observer commented on the opening that the new station was "likely to have a much greater effect on the town than is at present realised. Just as trade follows the flag, so population follows the railway". Posters published by the MR in 1925 promoting the new route "by Metro to Watford" depicted Watford High Street on market day, belying the remote location of the station.^[10]

The station suffered from its distance from the town centre. For many years, the MR operated a bus service from the High Street in an effort to gain more passengers,^[11] but contrary to the Watford Observer's predictions patronage remained low. MR passenger numbers compared unfavourably with services into central London offered by the LMS and the UERL Bakerloo line from Watford Junction and Watford High Street,^[7] and after the General Strike of 1926 the LNER pulled out of the venture with the MR.^[7]

Watford tube station in Cassiobury Park Avenue was not originally planned to be the terminus of the Watford branch. The Metropolitan Railway Company's original plans drawn up in 1912 intended the line to continue through Cassiobury Park and beyond to Hempstead Road on an area known locally as 'The Wilderness', where West Herts College would later be built (opened in 1938).^[12]

Watford Council had recently bought part of the Cassiobury Estate and objected to the proposed railway through the town park and recreation gardens, and so the last section of the route was removed and the line would end abruptly in Cassiobury Park Avenue instead. Work began in 1922 with the Watford branch opening in 1925.

An opportunity arose in 1927 for another route to extend the line into the centre of Watford. Through a third party, the Metropolitan was able to purchase an existing building at 44 Watford High Street together with two-and-a-half acres of backlands. The possibility of a single track extension in tunnel either from the existing station or following a diversionary route around the station was explored. Costs were extremely high and no Parliamentary powers were sought. The building was eventually leased out and was disposed of by London Transport in 1936,^[13] and today Watford Met station remains the terminus of the line, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the town centre.^[7]

When Travelcard zones were introduced in 1984 by London Regional Transport, the station was in Zone B; in 2004 it moved to Zone A, in 2008 to Zone 7.

Future

Croxley rail link map

The ambition to extend the Metropolitan line into Watford town centre was revived around 1994 by London Regional Transport (LRT) when proposals were put forward to run the line to Watford Junction. The projected route is shown on an adapted version of the Tube map for internal planning purposes printed in that year.^[14] The Croxley Rail Link involves connecting the Metropolitan line to the disused Watford and Rickmansworth Railway line and reinstating the Croxley Green branch to Watford High Street.^[15] The line, opened in 1912, had been closed by British Rail in 1996 due to low passenger numbers.^[16] Although it ran very close to the Metropolitan line (at its closest point about 200 metres away), the two lines were never linked. The Croxley Rail Link includes a short viaduct linking the two lines.

On 14 December 2011 the project was given approval by the Department for Transport at an expected cost of £115.9m and with a completion date of January 2016.^[17] On 24 July 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport issued a Transport and Works Act Order granting the necessary planning permissions, access rights and land transfers.

As a result of the Croxley Rail Link project, Watford Met station will close to passengers but may remain operational as a siding.^[18][19] The plan to close the station has been the subject of some local opposition, and campaigners have argued for the station to remain open with a reduced shuttle service operating on the branch.^[20] In 2012 the transport watchdog London TravelWatch compiled a report on the closure plans which concluded that inconvenience to passengers would be alleviated by the new stations being opened in the area, and that a small number of existing passengers would experience an increase in journey times of more than 15 minutes. It recommended that a shuttle train service should be trialled, and that in the event of closure a bus service should be provided from Cassiobury to one of the new stations to mitigate any inconvenience.^[21]

Services

As of December 2011 the typical off-peak service is four trains per hour to Baker Street off-peak, with a limited service to Aldgate^[22] at peak times.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Watford tube station.

• Croxley Rail Link
• Croxley tube station
• Watford Junction
• Watford High Street railway station

References

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Terminus		Metropolitan line		Croxley towards Baker Street or Aldgate
Watford Central		Metropolitan Railway Watford extension (Never completed)		Croxley