The is a line of the
London Underground , coloured light blue on the
Tube Map . It is a deep-level line running from the south-west to the north-east of London. It is the only line on London's Underground System, except for the two-stop Waterloo & City line, where the entire line is operated underground, with the only section of track to emerge above ground being a very short section on the connection from
Seven Sisters to the line's depot at
Northumberland Park .
Construction began in
1962 and continued until
1970 . A test tunnel from
Tottenham to
Manor House under
Seven Sisters Road had been constructed from
1959 onwards and this was later integrated into the running tunnels.
The name "Victoria Line" dates back to 1955, other suggestions were "Walvic Line" (
Walthamstow -
Victoria ) and "Viking Line" (
Victoria -
King's Cross ). Legend has it that a person in the planning department remarked that "Victoria Line" sounded "just right" at which point it was adopted as the working title of new line.
The Victoria Line was designed to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the
Piccadilly Line , as well as to maximise possible interchanges. It had been intended to build the line past Walthamstow Central to
Wood Street (Walthamstow) , where it would surface to terminate next to the British Railways station. However, a last minute decision in
1961 , shortly before construction work began, saw the line cut back to Walthamstow (Hoe Street) station which was re-named Walthamstow Central in 1968.
Each Victoria Line station apart from
Pimlico was built as an interchange station and several existing stations were rearranged to allow for
Cross-platform Interchange with it. In some cases this was achieved by placing the Victoria Line platforms on either side of the existing station, while in others the Victoria Line uses one of the older platforms and the existing line was diverted into a new platform.
At
Euston , northbound Victoria and
Northern Line (Bank branch) trains run along adjacent platforms, although they are in fact, travelling in opposite directions. "Same-direction" cross-platform interchanges are available at
Stockwell (with the Northern Line),
Oxford Circus (with the
Bakerloo Line ),
Highbury & Islington (with
First Capital Connect , originally the
Northern City Line ) and at
Finsbury Park (with the Piccadilly Line).
All Victoria Line stations were originally tiled in a non-descript cool blue/grey colour fashionable at the time. Each station was decorated with tiled motifs on seating recesses to distinguish them from each other. During the construction of the
Jubilee Line in the late 1970s, the original motifs on
Green Park Station were replaced by motifs matching the new design for the Jubilee Line platforms.
,
1968 ]]
The first section to be opened was between
Walthamstow Central and
Highbury & Islington . There was no initial opening ceremony, instead the normal timetable started on Sunday
September 1 ,
1968 . The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at about 6.30am. Later that year, the section between Highbury and Warren Street was opened.
The official opening ceremony took place at
Victoria station on
7 March 1969 ,
The Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse. After a short ceremony, she purchased a 5d (five old pence) ticket and travelled to Green Park.
Princess Alexandra opened the Brixton extension on
23 July 1971 , also making a journey from Brixton to Vauxhall.
Trains run every 2 - 2.5 minutes during the peak periods. In normal service, all trains run from
Brixton to
Seven Sisters , with approximately 2 out of 3 trains running to
Walthamstow Central http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/4867.aspx.
The Victoria Line is served by a fleet of 43
1967 Tube Stock Trains . Each train is made up of two four-car units. The line is equipped with an
Automatic Train Operation system (ATO); the train operator (driver) closes the train doors and presses a pair of "start" buttons, and if the way ahead is clear, the ATO will drive the train at a safe speed to the next station and stop there. This system has been in place since the line opened in 1968. The Victoria Line was the world's first automatic railway.
The 1967 stock is due for replacement over the next decade as part of
Transport For London 's 5-year £10 billion redevelopment project. The replacement for the line's 1967 Tube Stock will be the
2009 Tube Stock built by
Bombardier Transportation . The first prototypes were built in
2006 and will be tested in service from
2008 , with the main fleet entering service between
2009 and
2012 . The signalling will also be replaced with a more modern ATO system from Westinghouse Rail Systems during the Victoria Line upgrade.
When the Victoria Line was constructed, severe budget restrictions were imposed and as a result the station infrastructure standards were lower than on older lines and on later extension projects. Examples of these lower standards include narrower than usual platforms and undecorated ceilings at
Walthamstow Central ,
Blackhorse Road and
Tottenham Hale , adversely affecting lighting levels. At most stations between the up and down escalators there is a concrete staircase where an additional escalator should have been provided, causing severe congestion at peak times, as well as weeks-long station closures for safety reasons, when both escalators have been unserviceable. Over many years, heavy equipment has been installed in unsightly fenced-off sections at the ends of platforms owing to the lack of anywhere else to install them. It is not clear from
Transport For London 's Five-Year Investment Programme whether these shortcomings are likely to be remedied.
Supporters of
Tottenham Hotspur (and the club itself) are campaigning for a surface station to be opened next to
Northumberland Park Station , adjacent to line's depot. This would provide an improvement in transport links, seen as essential if the club's wish to redevelop their ground and increase crowd capacity is to become a reality. The
Mayor Of London ,
Ken Livingstone , did float this idea at the beginning of the Century, but nothing has been heard about since that time.
''
- pattern by Julia Black.''
- Blackhorse Road , opened September 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: A Black Horse.''
- Tottenham Hale opened September 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Ferry across the River Lea.''
- Seven Sisters , opened September 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Seven Trees on green background by Hans Unger.''
- Finsbury Park , opened September 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Duelling in Finsbury Park by Tom Eckersley.''
- Highbury & Islington , opened September 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Manor House on Highbury Hill by Edward Bawden.''
- King's Cross St. Pancras , opened December 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Five crowns in a cross on a blue background by Tom Eckersley.''
- Euston , opened December 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: Doric Arch at Euston station by Tom Eckersley.''
- Warren Street , opened December 1 , 1968 . ''Motif: A maze or "Warren" by Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes.''
- Oxford Circus , opened March 7 , 1969 . ''Motif: Abstract pattern in a circle with Line colours of Bakerloo, Central and Victoria Lines.''
- Green Park , opened March 7 , 1969 . ''Motif: Leaves.''
- Victoria , opened March 7 , 1969 ''Motif: Blue cameo of Queen Victoria on pink background by Edward Bawden.''
- Pimlico , opened September 14 , 1972 . ''Motif: Tate Gallery.''
- Vauxhall , opened July 23 , 1971 . ''Motif: Old Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens by Design Research Unit.''
- Stockwell , opened July 23 , 1971 . ''Motif: The Swan by Abram Games.''
- Brixton opened July 23 , 1971 . ''Motif: A ton of Bricks.''
