Brent Cross West railway station

Brent Cross West is a railway station on the Thameslink route and on the Midland Main Line. The station serves Brent Cross and the northern parts of Cricklewood and Dollis Hill areas of north London. The station is part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood development, which also sees an investment to Cricklewood station further down the line. The station was opened on 10 December 2023.

History

Brent Cross Cricklewood development

Construction is underway for Brent Cross Cricklewood, a 14,000,000 square feet (1.3 km²) development of a new town centre in Brent Cross. The plan includes the new station, expanding jobs by around 27,000, building 7,500 homes, expanding Brent Cross Shopping Centre, a new hotel, cinema, a new bus station, and new roads.

Cricklewood station

The developers of the Brent Cross Cricklewood development have included in their project a plan to upgrade facilities at Cricklewood railway station which lies 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south of the Brent Cross station site. The platforms at Cricklewood cannot accommodate longer 12-car trains, but the new Brent Cross platforms can accommodate the longer trains. Rumours that Cricklewood station would close when the new station opened were refuted by the development company.

Construction

On 23 December 2019, VolkerFitzpatrick signed a contract with Barnet Council to design and build the station. Planning permission was granted by Barnet London Borough Council in May 2020. Work to clear the site began in June 2020 and construction of the foundations began in November 2020.

On 22 June 2023, it was announced that the station had passed essential platform tests and that an opening date was being planned for the following Autumn.

On 10 November 2023, it was announced that the station would be opening to passenger service on 10 December 2023.

Location

The station is on the former site of the Cricklewood TMD (traction maintenance depot) which is used by East Midlands Railway and Thameslink, between existing Cricklewood and Hendon stations. The depot was moved slightly south onto a bigger site.

Following the expansion of the Thameslink network under the Thameslink Programme, longer 12-carriage trains from south of the River Thames are now able to operate on the northern section and Brent Cross station was constructed with longer platforms that can accommodate the longer train formations.

Further plans

In 2017 a proposal to extend the London Overground network to Hendon via Brent Cross West was announced by the London Assembly and Transport for London. The scheme, known as the West London Orbital envisages re-opening the Dudding Hill Line to passenger services and running trains from West Hampstead Thameslink and Hendon to Hounslow via the planned Old Oak Common Lane station. The plans are currently at public consultation stage with TfL, although enabling works to make the station compatible with a future upgrade have been delayed.

An earlier proposal to construct a light rail system serving Brent Cross, Harlesden and Brent Cross tube station was put forward in 2010, but the scheme, known as the North and West London Light Railway, did not go ahead.

Services

All services at Brent Cross West are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

• 4 tph to St Albans City (all stations)
• 2 tph to Luton (all stations except Hendon)
• 2 tph to Rainham via Dartford
• 4 tph to Sutton (2 of these run via Mitcham Junction and 2 run via Wimbledon)

During the peak hours, the station is served by additional services between Luton and Orpington via Catford, as well as some late evening services to and from Bedford.

The station is also served by a night service between Bedford and Three Bridges on Sunday to Friday nights.

Connections

London Buses routes 189 and 316 serve the station.

Gallery

References

External links

• Train times and station information for Brent Cross West railway station from National Rail
• "Brent Cross London: The Wider Masterplan". brentcrosslondon.co.uk. Hammerson plc/Aberdeen Standard Investments. Retrieved 31 July 2019.