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Dark Blue
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White
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1906
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Deep Tube
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1973 Tube Stock
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52
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71
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443
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176,177,000
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Cockfosters<br />Northfields
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The is a line of the
London Underground , coloured dark blue on the
Tube Map . It is a deep-level line running from the north-east to the west of London, albeit with significant surface running sections in its outer parts.
The (GNP&BR) (its original title) was one of several controlled by the
Underground Electric Railways Co Of London Ltd , whose chief director was
Charles Tyson Yerkes , although he himself died before any of his schemes could come to fruition. There had been, in
1902 , 26 Bills before
Parliament to construct tube railways in London, and it required a
Parliamentary Committee to decide on the most worthy of them as far as the Piccadilly Line was concerned.
The scheme eventually agreed involved the amalgamation of two of the planned tube railways: the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) and the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) and the taking over of a
District Railway scheme for a deep-level tube line between
South Kensington and
Earl's Court (approved in
1897 but not built). When the GNP&BR was formally opened on
15 December 1906 , the line ran from
Great Northern & City Line terminus at
Finsbury Park to
Hammersmith .
On
30 November 1907 the short branch from
Holborn to the Strand (later renamed Aldwych) was opened. This had originally been the last section of the GN&SR before the amalgamation with the B&PR was made; in
1905 (and again in
1965 ) plans were made to extend it the short distance south under the
River Thames to
Waterloo , but this was never to come about. Although built with twin tunnels, single-line shuttle working became the norm from
1918 , and the eastern tunnel closed to traffic.
On
1 July 1910 the GNP&BR became part of the . The Act approving the change also applied to the
Baker Street And Waterloo Railway and the
Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway .
On
10 December 1928 a new
Piccadilly Circus Tube Station , which included a sub-surface booking hall and eleven escalators was opened. This was the start of a considerable development over the whole of the Railway, which included a comprehensive programme of station enlargement on the same design as at Piccadilly Circus. From the 1920s onwards there had been severe congestion at the line's northern terminus,
Finsbury Park , where travellers had to change on to trams and buses for destinations in outer
North and North East London. There had also been deputations made to Parliament, asking for an early extension of the line either towards
Tottenham and
Edmonton or towards
Wood Green and
Palmers Green . The early
1930s was a time of recession, and in order to relieve unemployment Government capital was made available. The chief features of the scheme were:
- An extension northwards from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters . It was also planned to build a station between Manor House and Turnpike Lane at the junction of Green Lanes and St Ann's Rd in Harringay , but this was stopped by Frank Pick who felt that the Bus & Tram service at this point was adequate. There was also some opposition from the London And North Eastern Railway to the line. The extension is in tube from Finsbury Park to a point a little south of Arnos Grove . The total length of the extension is 7.7 miles (12km): it cost £4 million to build and was opened in sections as follows:
- --- 19 September 1932 : to Arnos Grove
- ---
- --- 19 July 1933 : completion to Cockfosters
- Two extensions westwards:
- --- to Uxbridge: the District Railway had operated services to Uxbridge since 1910 . The District Line tracks were taken over by the Piccadilly Line:
-- to South Harrow
-- 23 October 1933 (after formation of the London Passenger Transport Board ) to Uxbridge
- --- to Hounslow: the District Line tracks from Acton Town were quadrupled to Northfields on 18 December 1932 and:
-- 9 January 1933 : Piccadilly line trains to Northfields
--
These extensions are notable for the
Art Deco architecture of many of their stations, often designed by
Charles Holden .
In
1975 a new tunnel section was opened to
Hatton Cross from Hounslow West.
Hounslow West became an tunnel section station. In
1977 , the branch to was extended to
Heathrow Central . This station was renamed Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 in
1984 , with the opening of a further extension via
Heathrow Terminal 4 . On the
7 January 2005 this further extension (via Heathrow Terminal 4) closed again, in preparation for works to extend the Piccadilly line to the future
Heathrow Terminal 5 Station .
On while the train was travelling between
King's Cross St. Pancras and
Russell Square . It was part of a co-ordinated attack on London's transport network, and was synchronised with three other attacks — two on the
Circle Line and one on a bus at
Tavistock Square . A relatively small high explosive device, concealed in a rucksack, was used; the bomber died in the explosion.
The Piccadilly Line bomb resulted in the largest number of fatalities, with twenty one people reported killed. Evacuation of the Piccadilly Line proved to be more difficult as it is a deep level line, and it was more difficult for the emergency services to reach. The entire line remained closed for the rest of the day. Parts of the line re-opened on
July 8 , with no service between
Hyde Park Corner and
Arnos Grove , and full through running was restored on
August 4 , exactly four weeks after the initial bomb.
Like virtually all Underground lines, the Piccadilly Line is operated by a single type of rolling stock, in this case the
1973 Tube Stock , in the standard London Underground livery of blue, white and red. seventy six trains out of a fleet of eighty eight are needed to run the line's peak time service, although one unit is now severely damaged as a result of the terrorist attacks of
7 July 2005 . While the stock was recently refurbished, it is due for replacement within the next decade.
In the past, the line has been worked by the
1959 Stock ,
1956 Stock ,
1938 Stock ,
Standard Tube Stock and
1906 Gate Stock .
The line is controlled from the control centre at Earl's Court, which it shares with the
District Line . The line is in need of resignalling, and this work is planned to be carried out by 2014.
The current service pattern is:
: 12tph Cockfosters - Heathrow Airport
: 3tph Cockfosters - Uxbridge
: 3tph Cockfosters - Rayners Lane
: 6tph Arnos Grove - Northfields
(''tph'' = trains per hour e.g. 3tph is a train every 20 minutes)
Half of the Uxbridge trains turn back at Rayners Lane - a 10 minute service runs between Acton and Rayners Lane, with a 20 minute service to Uxbridge (this section is supplemented by the
Metropolitan Line , however).
Other services operate at times, especially at the start and towards the end of the traffic day.
''(In order from east to west.)''
- Bounds Green opened October 13 , 1940
- Wood Green opened September 19 , 1932
- Turnpike Lane opened September 19 , 1932
- Manor House opened September 19 , 1932
- Finsbury Park opened December 15 , 1906
- Arsenal opened December 15 , 1906
- Holloway Road opened December 15 , 1906
- Caledonian Road opened December 15 , 1906
- King's Cross opened December 15 , 1906
- Russell Square opened December 15 , 1906
- Holborn opened December 15 , 1906
- Covent Garden opened April 11 , 1907
- Leicester Square opened December 15 , 1906
- Piccadilly Circus opened December 15 , 1906
- Green Park opened December 15 , 1906
- Hyde Park Corner opened December 15 , 1906
- Knightsbridge opened December 15 , 1906
- South Kensington opened December 15 , 1906
- Gloucester Road opened December 15 , 1906
- Earl's Court opened December 15 , 1906
''Tunnel section ends''
The line splits here into two branches — the
Heathrow branch and the Uxbridge branch.
(Continuing from Acton Town.)
(Continuing from Acton Town.)
Leslie Green - architect of the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway's early stations
opened on the
30 November 1904 as Strand station. It was at the end of a branch line from the main line at
Holborn . From
1917 onwards it was only served by a shuttle from Holborn. In
1917 it also changed its name to 'Aldwych'. It was temporarily closed in
1940 during
World War II to be used as an air-raid shelter. It re-opened again in
1946 . The service continued until
30 November 1994 when it was discontinued: the level of use was too low to justify the costs of replacing lift machinery.
opened
15 December 1906 - closed
30 July 1934 . It is located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington.
opened
15 December 1906 - closed
21 May 1932 . It is located between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner.
opened
23 June 1903 - closed
5 July 1931 . Although on the route of the current Piccadilly Line a short distance north of the present Park Royal station, this station was never served by Piccadilly Line trains. Park Royal & Twyford Abbey station was opened by the
District Line , the original operator of the line between Ealing Common and South Harrow, but was closed and replaced by the present Park Royal station before the Piccadilly Line started running trains to South Harrow in
1932 .
''' railway lands, although the number of passengers expected to use the station may not be high enough to justify the cost of refitting it to modern standards.
