Watford West railway station
Encyclopedia
Watford West is a disused railway station in Watford, near London, United Kingdom. It is on the branch line from to , last operated by North London Railways, later renamed Silverlink
.
, to the Chief Executive of Network Rail, John Armitt
.
During the station's period of temporary closure, the station retained a live departure board active on the National Rail website, showing the times of a replacement bus service, which ran once per month in one direction only, the minimum service required by law for a parliamentary train
. During that period, tickets could be purchased for travel to Watford West.
In 2004-05, ten passengers purchased tickets for travel to the station, placing it higher than Gainsborough Central (a station currently open and in use). The station name is still retained on some websites such as Direct Rail, but like the National Rail website, an error message appears if attempting to purchase a ticket from Watford Junction.
and Hertfordshire County Council
are planning to divert the Metropolitan Line
service from the current terminus at to a new one at via a proposed Croxley Rail Link
, bringing the disused railway back into use.
Under these proposals, this station would reopen as Watford General Hospital tube station, and the station would be completely rebuilt. The platforms will be below booking hall level in the cutting in which the line runs at this point, and accessed by stairs and lifts. The main entrance would remain to the east of Tolpits Lane. An additional exit from the east side of the station to facilitate football and rugby traffic to Vicarage Road
has been mooted, but the plans for the station show no indication of this.
Watford West station would be demolished and replaced by a station more towards Vicarage Road (possibly called Watford General Hospital).
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
.
History
The station opened in 1912 and was temporarily closed, along with the rest of the Croxley Green branch, in 1996. The station remained only temporarily closed, despite the demolition of at least one bridge on the route, until 6 November 2002, when it was permanently closed. The decision to accept the Closure Notice published by the Strategic Rail Authority (dated 23 March 2001) was given in a letter from the then Minister of State for Transport, John SpellarJohn Spellar
John Francis Spellar is a British Labour Party politician, and the Member of Parliament for Warley. He served as a Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, before returning to the backbenches in 2005...
, to the Chief Executive of Network Rail, John Armitt
John Armitt
John Alexander Armitt, CBE FREng , is the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body charged with building the venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2007.He is also Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences...
.
During the station's period of temporary closure, the station retained a live departure board active on the National Rail website, showing the times of a replacement bus service, which ran once per month in one direction only, the minimum service required by law for a parliamentary train
Parliamentary train
A Parliamentary train or Parly is, nowadays, a British English term for a train that operates a Parliamentary service - that is to say a token service to a given station, thus maintaining a legal fiction that either the station or, in some cases, the whole line is open, although in reality the...
. During that period, tickets could be purchased for travel to Watford West.
In 2004-05, ten passengers purchased tickets for travel to the station, placing it higher than Gainsborough Central (a station currently open and in use). The station name is still retained on some websites such as Direct Rail, but like the National Rail website, an error message appears if attempting to purchase a ticket from Watford Junction.
Future
Transport for LondonTransport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
and Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
are planning to divert the Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
service from the current terminus at to a new one at via a proposed Croxley Rail Link
Croxley Rail Link
The Croxley Rail Link is a railway engineering proposal to re-route part of a London Underground line in Hertfordshire, outside London, UK. The project would divert Metropolitan line Watford branch services after station away from station to via intermediate stations using a reopened section of...
, bringing the disused railway back into use.
Under these proposals, this station would reopen as Watford General Hospital tube station, and the station would be completely rebuilt. The platforms will be below booking hall level in the cutting in which the line runs at this point, and accessed by stairs and lifts. The main entrance would remain to the east of Tolpits Lane. An additional exit from the east side of the station to facilitate football and rugby traffic to Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road, a stadium in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, is the home of the football club Watford and their tenants, the Saracens rugby union club. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 17,477.-History:...
has been mooted, but the plans for the station show no indication of this.
Watford West station would be demolished and replaced by a station more towards Vicarage Road (possibly called Watford General Hospital).