Marylebone Station
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Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
station in the
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
area of the
City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...
. On the
National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...
network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern terminus of the
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of t ...
to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. An accompanying Underground station is on the
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
between
Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
and in Transport for London's fare zone 1. The station opened on 15 March 1899 as the London terminus of the
Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...
(GCML), the last major railway to open in Britain for 100 years, linking the capital to the cities of
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
,
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Marylebone was the last of London's main line termini to be built and is one of the smallest, opening with half of the platforms originally planned. There has been an interchange with the Bakerloo line since 1907, but not with any other lines. Traffic declined at Marylebone station from the mid-20th century, particularly after the GCML closed. By the 1980s, it was threatened with closure, but was reprieved because of commuter traffic on the
London to Aylesbury Line London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
(a remaining part of the GCML) and from . In 1993 the station found a new role as the terminus of the Chiltern Main Line. Following the
privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industr ...
, the station was expanded with two additional platforms in 2006 and improved services to . In 2015 services began between Marylebone and via a new chord connecting the main line to the
Oxford to Bicester Line Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
and an extension to following in 2016. As of 2020, it is the only main London terminus to host only diesel trains, as none of the
National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...
lines into it are electrified. Marylebone is one of the squares on the British ''Monopoly'' board, and is popular for filming because of its relative quietness compared to other London termini.


Location

The station stands on Melcombe Place just north of Marylebone Road, a straight west-to-east thoroughfare through
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
in
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
;
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...
is close by to the east and south-east. It is in the northern, Lisson Grove, neighbourhood of the district, in a northern projection of the
Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an inde ...
and
Dorset Square Dorset Square is a garden square in Marylebone, London. All buildings fronting it are terraced houses and listed, in the mainstream (initial) category. It takes up the site of Lord's (MCC's) Old Cricket Ground, which lasted 23 years until the ...
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
immediately south of
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
. North-east is
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, north in a network of mostly residential streets is
Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
and south, south-west and south-east are a mixed-use network of streets. Other nearby London termini are and . A number of TfL bus routes serve the station.


National Rail

The main line station has six platforms; two built in 1899, two inserted into the former carriage road in the 1980s, and two built in September 2006. It is the only non-electrified terminal in London. Marylebone is operated by
Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...
(part of
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
), making it one of the few London terminal stations not to be managed by
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
. Chiltern Railways operates all services at the station, accessing the
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of t ...
and
London to Aylesbury Line London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
routes which serve , ,
Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...
, , , , , Birmingham Moor Street, Birmingham Snow Hill, and (at peak hours) and . There are services to via the
Oxford to Bicester Line Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
, and some services to via the Leamington to Stratford branch line.


History


GCR and LNER

The early history of Marylebone is tied into the
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
(GCR)'s
Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...
(GCML) extension into London. When
Sir Edward Watkin Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 – 13 April 1901) was a British Member of Parliament and railway entrepreneur. He was an ambitious visionary, and presided over large-scale railway engineering projects to fulfil his b ...
became chairman of the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...
(MS&LR) in 1864, the line was not particularly lucrative as it had no direct connection to London. Watkin was unhappy about transferring traffic to the Great Northern Railway, and when he became chairman of the Metropolitan Railway in 1872, he decided to build a dedicated line between the MS&LR and Central London. The approach to Marylebone was the last section of the Great Central Main Line to be built. Progress was delayed in the 1890s because of objections, particularly as the line would pass through
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
, the principal cricket ground in London and home of
Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
. Watkin promised that Lord's would not be disrupted by the railway construction, and an
act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
to complete the line was passed on 28 March 1893. The station was built on a site around Blandford and Harewood Squares, west of
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
. More than 4,000 working-class people were evicted from their homes to turn Harewood Avenue and Rossmore Road into approach roads; around 2,600 of them were rehomed in new apartments near St. John's Wood Road. Watkin resigned the chairmanship in 1894 following ill health, and was replaced by
Lord Wharncliffe Earl of Wharncliffe, in the West Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The earldom was created in 1876 for Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Baron Wharncliffe. He was a descendan ...
. The approach to the station through Lord's was achieved by a
cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
tunnel constructed between September 1896 and May 1897, avoiding the cancellation of any cricket. The station opened to coal traffic on 27 July 1898 and to passengers on 15 March 1899. It was the terminus of the GCR's London extension main line – the last major railway line to be built into London until
High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...
. The Great Central Railway linked London to stations in , ,
Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
,
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Local services from northwest
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, High Wycombe and Aylesbury also terminated at Marylebone. The GCR moved its headquarters to Marylebone from Manchester in 1905. The station was designed by Henry William Braddock, a civil engineer for the GCR. It has a modest design owing to the GCR's lack of money. The main booking hall is by . It is a domestic version of the "Wrenaissance" revival style that fits in with the residential surroundings with
Dutch gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a ...
s, employing warm brick and cream-coloured stone. The GCR crest was worked into the wrought iron railings in numerous places. The original plan was for eight platforms, but half were designated as a "possible future extension" and the cost of building the GCML was greater than expected. The line leading to the station cut through of middle-class housing, including the
Eyre Estate Eyre may refer to: Name * Eyre (given name) * Eyre (surname) Places Australia National *Eyre Highway, a highway connecting South Australia and Western Australia South Australia * Eyre Peninsula (disambiguation) *Eyre, South Australia, a suburb ...
in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
and the area around Lord's, drawing protests and requiring a relocation of the track and station facilities. There was never enough money for the extra platforms, and only four were built, three inside the
train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
and one to its west (platform 4). As a result, the concourse is unusually long and had three walls for most of the 20th century. The northern wall was missing, as the GCR anticipated that the other four platforms, under an extended train shed, would be built later on. An office block was later built on the vacant site. The cost of the London Extension meant that the adjoining Great Central Hotel, designed by Sir Robert William Ellis, was built by a different company. The hotel operated for a relatively short time and was converted to offices in 1945, becoming the headquarters of British Rail from 1948 to 1986. The offices were restored as a hotel in 1993. The GCR constructed an engine shed at the site in 1897, but it was short lived. A locomotive servicing area, consisting of a
turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
and
coaling stage A coaling tower, coal stage, coaling plant or coaling station is a facility used to load coal as fuel into railway steam locomotives. Coaling towers were often sited at motive power depots or locomotive maintenance shops. In the early years o ...
remained in use until the end of steam traction at the station in 1966. Passenger traffic on the GCR was never heavy because it was the last main line to be built and had difficulty competing against longer-established rivals (especially the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
from its terminal at St Pancras) for the lucrative intercity passenger business. Low passenger traffic meant Marylebone was the quietest and most pleasant of London's termini. The GCR was unhappy about having to use part of the Metropolitan Railway's route to reach Marylebone, and opened a new line to High Wycombe on 2 April 1906. The additional suburban services generated traffic for the station, which had previously been so empty on occasion that the staff outnumbered passengers. While passenger traffic remained relatively sparse, the line was heavily used for freight, especially coal; in 1914, 67% of traffic was goods-related. Trains ran from the north and East Midlands to the freight depot adjoining the station, which was marginally the largest in London. The heyday of the line was between 1923, when the GCR was absorbed into the
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
(LNER) and 1948, when the LNER was nationalised to form the British Rail Eastern Region. As a result, many prestigious locomotives, such as ''Flying Scotsman'', ''Sir Nigel Gresley'', and ''Mallard'' which ran on the
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
, were frequent visitors to the line. Special trains ran on the line to destinations such as Scotland. The station's busiest use came after the construction of
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in 1923, when it was used to contain large crowds wishing to see the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
. Special services ran from Marylebone to the
British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibi ...
at Wembley Park the following year. Unlike other London termini, Marylebone saw little direct damage during
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
. It was closed between 5 October and 26 November 1940 after the approach tunnels were breached, and the goods depot was bombed on 16 April 1941.


British Rail

After the
nationalisation of British Railways Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
in 1948, Marylebone was initially kept open as a long-distance station. New services were introduced, including the
Master Cutler The Master Cutler is the head of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in Sheffield, England. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of ...
service to Sheffield and the South Yorkshireman to Bradford, but they were not well-used. From 1949, all local services towards High Wycombe and Princes Risborough were routed into Marylebone, although the frequency of trains was reduced two years later. The Great Central Main Line duplicated the route of the
Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...
and long-distance trains from Marylebone were scaled back from 1958, leading to the closure of the Great Central Main Line north of Aylesbury on 4 September 1966 in the
Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
. The rundown of services began after the line was transferred from British Railways' Eastern Region to the
London Midland Region The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
, although the station and the first few miles of its route had been part of the Western Region from 1950. In 1958, the Master Cutler was diverted to and the East Coast Main Line. In 1960 all express services were discontinued, followed by freight in 1965. From then until closure, only a few daily long-distance "semi-fast" services to Nottingham remained. Marylebone's large goods yard was closed and sold to the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
for housing. The last long-distance service ran on 4 September 1966, except for a brief reprieve the following year when Paddington was undergoing signal works. Marylebone was then the terminus for local services to Aylesbury and High Wycombe only, with some services extended to . They were switched to
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
(DMU) operation following the phasing out of steam.
British Rail Class 115 The British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units were 41 high-density sets which operated the outer-suburban services from Marylebone usually to destinations such as High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Banbury which are on the Chiltern Main Line and G ...
DMUs were introduced to local services in 1962. The station was transferred from the Western Region to the London Midland Region in 1973. The Great Central Railway's long-distance connection from Marylebone via , was closed the same year.


Closure proposals

After the 1960s, lack of investment led to local services and the station becoming increasingly run down. By the early 1980s, Marylebone was under serious threat of closure. In 1983, British Rail chairman
Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
commissioned a report into the possibility of converting Marylebone into a 'high-speed bus way', whereby Marylebone would be converted into a
coach station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city bus, city or intercity bus, intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus ga ...
. The tracks between Marylebone,
Harrow-on-the-Hill Harrow on the Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) and is located some half a mile south of the mod ...
and
South Ruislip South Ruislip is an area of west London in the London Borough of Hillingdon, south-east of Ruislip, south of Eastcote, north-west of Northolt, and west of South Harrow. A 2017 estimation put the population of South Ruislip ward as 13,150 resident ...
would have closed, and been converted into a road for the exclusive use of buses and coaches. British Rail services via High Wycombe would have been diverted into Paddington, and the Aylesbury services would have been taken over by
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
on an extended
Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...
, and then routed to
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...
. British Rail formally announced plans to close Marylebone on 15 March 1984, pending a statutory consultation process, and closure notices were posted at the station. The proposals proved controversial and faced strong opposition from local authorities and the public, leading to a legal battle which lasted for two years. Despite the pending closure, passenger numbers only dropped by about 400 per day from 1968 levels. The conversion project proved impractical due to the headroom limitations on the line and the closure was quietly dropped.


1986 onwards – revival

The station was revived under the control of the
Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the net ...
sector of British Rail. The introduction of the inter-modal and unlimited use Capitalcard (now known as the
Travelcard The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Tr ...
) led to a sharp rise in commuters into London, absorbing the spare capacity at Paddington and Baker Street and eliminating the possibility of Marylebone's services being diverted. Marylebone was reprieved from the threat of closure on 30 April 1986, and an £85 million modernisation and refurbishment programme of the station and its services was granted. This was funded by selling part of the station to developers, including two of the original four platforms at the west of the station and the third span of the train shed. In order to replace these, the central cab road was removed, and two new platforms numbered 2 and 3 were created in its place. The run-down lines into Marylebone were
modernised Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
with new signalling and higher line speeds. In 1991, the fleet of Class 115 trains on local services was replaced by Class 165 Turbo trains, and service frequencies were increased. Services to Banbury were extended to the reopened Birmingham Snow Hill station in 1993, creating the first long-distance service into Marylebone since 1966. Initially this service ran at two-hourly intervals, but it proved popular and was increased to an hourly frequency in 1994.


Privatisation

After rail privatisation,
Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...
took over the rail services in 1996 and developed the interurban service to Birmingham Snow Hill. In 2002, a service to was opened. The line was restored to double track the same year, and Marylebone was expanded in 2006 with two extra platforms in Chiltern's Evergreen 2 project. A new platform (platform 6) was inaugurated in May 2006, while Platform 5 and the shortened platform 4 opened in September. Platforms 5 and 6 were built on the site of the goods sidings and a depot was opened near
Wembley Stadium railway station Wembley Stadium railway station is a Network Rail station in Wembley, Greater London, on the Chiltern Main Line. It is the nearest station to Wembley Stadium, and is located a quarter of a mile (400 m) south west of the sports venue. History ...
. In September 2007, the
Office of Rail Regulation The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting it ...
granted the Wrexham Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR) Company permission to operate services from
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
in North Wales via ,
Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
and the
West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
to Marylebone; they started in early 2008, restoring direct London services to
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
(Wrexham already being served by a Virgin Trains service to Euston), with five return trips per day on weekdays. This was reduced to four trains a day in March 2009. These services ceased in January 2011 after passenger numbers reduced; the closure was blamed on the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
. In December 2008, it was proposed to restart direct services between
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
in mid-Wales and London, which last ran in 1991, with Marylebone as the London terminus. Arriva Trains Wales announced a consultation for two services a day, following the route of the WSMR connecting with the Cambrian line at Shrewsbury. This idea was abandoned following objections by Wrexham & Shropshire. In 2011, Chiltern Railways took over the to route from
First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
, in preparation for the opening of a link from the
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of t ...
to the
Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line was ...
(on which Bicester Town station is located), which would see twice-hourly services from Marylebone to Oxford. Construction was expected to start in 2011 but was delayed until the following year after bats were found roosting in one of the tunnels on the Varsity line. Services to
Oxford Parkway Oxford Parkway railway station is a railway station at Water Eaton, Oxfordshire, on the Oxford–Bicester line. Full regular weekday service began on Monday 26 October 2015, although the first passengers travelled the previous day on a Sunday t ...
started in October 2015 and services to Oxford began in December 2016. In 2018, a survey found that commuters from Oxford preferred the Chiltern route to Marylebone over the Great Western route to Paddington via . In 2017, Network Rail proposed an upgrade of Marylebone with 1,000 extra seats on trains approaching the station. These improvements are planned to be complete by 2024. Beyond this, improvements to Old Oak Common station are planned to relieve congestion at Marylebone. In a study by Network Rail it was said that any expansion of the station could cost up to £700 million with Old Oak Common a more feasible alternative for capacity increase.


Services

The typical off-peak weekday service pattern from Marylebone is: *Intercity services **1 per hour to **1 per hour to **2 per hour to *Local **1 per hour to **1 per hour to **1 per hour to via **2 per hour to via , one of which continues to **1 per hour to , with some services continuing to Additional services run in the peak hours, and some Birmingham trains extend to or .


Station facilities

The station opened with a dining restaurant and a buffet. The restaurant was changed to a self-service operation when British Rail took over in 1948. The Victoria and Albert bar opened on 14 December 1971. In the 21st century, the concourse contains a small selection of shops. Unlike every other major rail terminus in London there are monetary charges for the use of the public toilets within Marylebone Station. This is because the station building is owned by a private company, separate from Chiltern Railways, so not subject to national rail policies.


Accidents

On 28 March 1913, a train leaving for High Wycombe collided with another arriving from Leicester, killing one passenger and injuring 23 people on the incoming train. The cause was blamed on the intermediate starter signal being lowered before the main starter was ready; the view of the latter was obscured by the smoke. On 11 December 2015, a train pulling into the station caught fire, causing it to be evacuated. The cause was believed to be a fault in its air conditioning unit.


London Underground

The
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
station is on the
Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
between
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...
and
Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...
stations and is, along with the main line station, in Transport for London fare zone 1. Access is via
escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...
s from the main line station concourse which houses the Underground station's ticket office. Until 2004, a wooden escalator led into the station, one of the last on the London Underground system that had not been replaced as a consequence of the
King's Cross fire The King's Cross fire was a 1987 fire in a London Underground station with 31 fatalities, after a fire under a wooden escalator suddenly spread into the underground ticket hall in a flashover. The fire began at approximately 19:30 on 18 Novembe ...
in 1987. Marylebone has direct connections with just a single Tube line, unlike many other London termini such as and . There is no direct interchange with the Circle line, which predates the station by more than 30 years and bypasses it to the south. The nearest stations on the Circle line are Edgware Road and Baker Street away.


History

The underground station was opened on 27 March 1907 by the
Baker Street and Waterloo Railway The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR), also known as the Bakerloo tube, was a railway company established in 1893 that built a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. The company struggled to fund the work, and construction di ...
under the name "Great Central" (following a change from its intended name Lisson Grove). The railway terminated here until the extension to Edgware Road opened on 15 June. The station was renamed Marylebone on 15 April 1917. The original name still appears in places on the platform wall tiling, although the tiling scheme is a replacement designed to reflect the original scheme. The present entrance opened on 1 February 1943 following wartime damage to the original station building that stood to the west at the junction of Harewood Avenue and Harewood Row and the introduction of the escalators. The old building, designed by the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...
's architect,
Leslie Green Leslie William Green (6 February 1875 – 31 August 1908) was an English architect. He is best known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20t ...
, used lifts to access the platforms. It was demolished in 1971 and the site is occupied by a budget hotel. In August 2020, work began to install a third escalator in place of the present staircase, followed by replacement of the 1943 built escalators. The work is expected to be completed in 2023.


Services

The current Bakerloo Line service consists of: * 20 tph southbound to
Elephant & Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
* 11 tph northbound to Queen's Park * 3 tph northbound to Stonebridge Park * 6 tph northbound to


Cultural references

As one of the quietest London termini, Marylebone has been popular as a filming location. In particular, several scenes in
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' film '' A Hard Day's Night'' were filmed there in April 1964, as was the opening scene of the 1965 film of ''
The IPCRESS File ''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...
'' and the 1978 film of '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'' (standing in for ). The station continues to be so used according to
Film London Film London is London's film and media agency – sustaining, promoting and developing London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital. This includes all the screen industries based in London – film, television, video, ...
. Marylebone is one of four London termini depicted on the British version of the ''Monopoly'' board game, along with King's Cross,
Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...
and Liverpool Street. During the time the board was designed in the mid-1930s, all the stations were being operated by the LNER.


See also

*
The Landmark London The Landmark London is a five-star hotel on Marylebone Road on the northern side of central London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally opened by the Great Central Railway, as the Hotel Great Central. As one of London's rai ...
 – the present name of the former Great Central Hotel


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Marylebone Station at Chiltern Railways
{{Major railway stations in Britain Buildings and structures in Marylebone Railway stations in the City of Westminster Railway termini in London Former Great Central Railway stations London Underground stations located underground Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1899 Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways Tube stations in the City of Westminster Former Baker Street and Waterloo Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907 Bakerloo line stations London station group