The station was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) as Harrow on 20 July 1837 in what was then rural Middlesex. At the time the station was built, the area was fields and the nearest large settlement was at Harrow on the Hill about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south. Wealdstone was a collection of houses at the north end of what is now Wealdstone High Street, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the station. The station buildings on the south west (Harrow) side of the station are the older part of the station. By the end of the 19th century Wealdstone had developed in size and the station was given its current name on 1 May 1897 to reflect more accurately its location. On 16 April 1917, Bakerloo line services were extended from Willesden Junction to Watford Junction running on the newly electrified local tracks (the "New Lines", which were originally steam-worked) and calling at Harrow & Wealdstone from that date.
The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash of 1952, killing 112 people, remains Britain's worst peacetime rail disaster. The station has undergone several improvements in recent years, with the footbridge (which links both entrances and all platforms) improved by removal of the central barrier to allow use of the full width, new lifts for the use of disabled persons, and newly painted and brightly illuminated waiting rooms. The station has toilets, a car park, payphones, lifts, a bridge, ASDA click and collect, cash machines and a waiting room. The TfL Getting Around map shows this station as having disabled access (platform 1 does not involve the use of a lift when entering/leaving the Harrow entrance). The Harrow entrance is possibly more convenient for access by private vehicle as the Wealdstone entrance leads to the main road and its slip road is often full of booked taxis
Connections: London Overground. London Buses routes 140, 182, 186, 258, 340, H9 and H10 and night route N18 serve the station.
