Wembley Stadium railway station

Wembley Stadium railway station is a Network Rail station in Wembley, Greater London on the Chiltern Main Line. At a quarter of a mile (400m) south west of the sports venue it is the nearest station to Wembley Stadium.

First Wembley Stadium station
The first station to bear the name Wembley Stadium, at (51.55864°N, -0.27301°W), about half a mile ENE of the present station, was opened by the LNER on 28 April 1923 as The Exhibition Station (Wembley). It had one platform, and was situated on a loop which forked off the Chiltern Main Line between Neasden Junction and Wembley Hill station (now Wembley Stadium station, see below); it then curved round in a clockwise direction to regain the Chiltern Main Line at a point slightly closer to Neasden Junction. The connections faced London to allow an intensive service with no reversing. It was renamed several times to become Wembley Stadium Station in 1928. The station closed on 18 May 1968. Traces of the line can be seen on maps and in aerial photographs. The line was normally used only for passenger services for events at the stadium or the Empire Pool within the estate built for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. Temporary sidings led into the "Palace of Engineering" exhibition hall where both the Great Western Railway's locomotive Caerphilly Castle and the London and North Eastern Railway's Flying Scotsman were displayed with each claimed by its owners as the most powerful passenger locomotive in Britain.

Present station
On 20 November 1905 the Great Central Railway opened a new route for freight trains between Neasden Junction and Northolt Junction. Passenger services from Marylebone began on 1 March 1906, when three new stations were opened: Wembley Hill, Sudbury & Harrow Road and South Harrow. On 2 April 1906 these services were extended to Northolt Junction.

Wembley Hill station was renamed Wembley Complex on 8 May 1978 in order to indicate its proximity to the nearby sports facilities, as well as to a recently-opened conference centre, before getting its present name Wembley Stadium on 11 May 1987. There were originally four tracks with the two platforms on passing loops outside the inner non-stop running lines; the current two-track layout dates from the 1960s.

Services
Train services are operated by Chiltern Railways and run from Marylebone towards High Wycombe and Birmingham Snow Hill. The service to central London is quicker than from other stations in the area. Trains can reach London Marylebone in ten minutes. During busier periods (usually due to an event at the stadium) a seven carriage shuttle operates between Marylebone and Wembley Stadium using the turnback siding just to the north of the station to return to London.

Future developments
The proposed West London Orbital would call at this station. The underground railway would run between Brent Cross and Surbiton. The railway is still at the proposal stage and is neither approved nor funded.

The proposed North and West London Light Railway (NWLLR),possibly a light rail service, would also call at this station.

Transport links
London bus route 83, 92, 182, 224 pass the station and route 18 and night route N18 8mins walk to the station.