Watford High Street railway station

Watford High Street
Watford High Street Location of Watford High Street in Hertfordshire
Location	Watford
Local authority	Borough of Watford
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	WFH
DfT category	D
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	8
National Rail annual entry and exit
2011–12	0.922 million
2012–13	1.066 million
2013–14	1.152 million
2014–15	1.228 million
2015–16	1.442 million
Key dates
1862	Opened (W&RR)
1917	Started (Bakerloo line)
1982	Ended (Bakerloo line)
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°39′09″N 0°23′31″W / 51.652597°N 0.391812°W / 51.652597; -0.391812Coordinates: 51°39′09″N 0°23′31″W / 51.652597°N 0.391812°W / 51.652597; -0.391812

Watford High Street is a railway station in Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. It is served by the Watford DC Line on the London Overground network.

The station was opened by the Watford and Rickmansworth Railway (W&RR) on 1 October 1862, with services running from Watford Junction to Rickmansworth (Church Street). In 1912 a branch was opened to Croxley Green. The line came under the ownership of London and North Western Railway (LNWR), which was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, following the grouping of Britain's railway companies.

Additional rail services were introduced to Watford High Street; in 1917 the Underground Electric Railways Company of London extended its Bakerloo line through this station to Watford Junction, and in 1922 the LNWR completed the suburban Camden to Watford Junction New Line, linking Watford High Street to London Euston via the Watford DC Line (shared with the Bakerloo line).

After nationalisation in 1948, the Watford DC Line was run by British Rail (from 1986 under its Network Southeast brand). At the height of operation around the 1950s, Watford High Street was served by the Bakerloo line, and by British Rail trains on both the Croxley Green and Rickmansworth branches, a local all-stations service to Euston and another local service to Broad Street via Primrose Hill. Over the years, most of these services were gradually withdrawn. The Rickmansworth branch was a poorly used service and passenger services were terminated by BR in 1952. Croxley Green services continued as Parliamentary trains until the line closed fully in 1996. In 1982 London Regional Transport cut back the Bakerloo line to run only as far north as Stonebridge Park (reinstating the service as far as Harrow & Wealdstone in 1984). London Broad Street station was closed in 1986 and trains on the Primrose Hill route were diverted to Liverpool Street until 1992, when passenger services on the Primrose Hill line were withdrawn completely. After the withdrawal of the Croxley, Bakerloo and Broad Street routes, the only remaining service running from Watford High Street was British Rail's Watford DC Line to Euston.