Euston | |
---|---|
Location | Euston Road |
Local authority | London Borough of Camden |
Managed by | London Underground |
Number of platforms | 6 |
Fare zone | 1 |
OSI | Euston Euston Square [1] |
London Underground annual entry and exit | |
2018 | 31.51 million [2] |
2019 | 41.09 million [3] |
2020 | 8.79 million [4] |
2021 | 15.88 million [5] |
2022 | 27.69 million [6] |
Key dates | |
12 May 1907 | Opened (C&SLR) |
22 June 1907 | Opened (CCE&HR) |
8 August 1922 | Closed for rebuilding (C&SLR) |
20 April 1924 | Reopened (C&SLR) |
1 December 1968 | Opened (Victoria line) |
Other information | |
External links | |
WGS84 | 51°31′42″N0°07′59″W / 51.5284°N 0.1331°W |
London transportportal |
Euston is a London Underground station. It directly connects with its National Rail railway station above it. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1.
Euston was constructed as two separate underground stations. Three of the four Northern line platforms date from the station's opening in 1907. The fourth Northern line platform and the two Victoria line platforms were constructed in the 1960s when the station was significantly altered to accommodate the Victoria line. Plans for High Speed 2 and Crossrail 2 both include proposals to modify the station to provide interchanges with the new services.
The station serves two branches of the Northern line and the Victoria line. On the Northern line's Bank branch, the station is between Camden Town and King's Cross St Pancras stations. On the line's Charing Cross branch, it is between Mornington Crescent and Warren Street stations. On the Victoria line, it is between Warren Street and King's Cross St. Pancras stations. The station is near Euston Square station allowing connections at street level to the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
An underground station to serve Euston station was first proposed by the Hampstead, St Pancras & Charing Cross Railway in 1891. [7] [n 1] The company planned a route to run from Heath Street in Hampstead to Strand in Charing Cross with a branch diverging from the main route to run under Drummond Street to serve Euston, St Pancras and King's Cross stations. [9] Following parliamentary review of the proposals and a change in name to the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), permission was granted for the route in 1893, although the branch line was only permitted as far as Euston. [10]
For the remainder of the 1890s, the CCE&HR struggled unsuccessfully to raise the necessary capital to fund construction of the new line. [11] Whilst doing so it continued to develop its route proposals. In 1899, parliamentary permission was obtained to modify the route so that the Euston branch was extended northwards to connect to the main route at the south end of Camden High Street. The section of the main route between the two ends of the loop was omitted. [12] [13] [n 2] In 1900, the CCE&HR was taken over by a consortium led by American financier Charles Yerkes which raised the necessary finance. [11]
The same year, a proposal was presented to Parliament by the Islington and Euston Railway (I&ER) for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) from Angel to Euston. [15] At the time, the C&SLR was in the process of constructing an extension to Angel from its recently opened terminus at Moorgate Street. [16] [n 3] The extension plan was initially permitted in 1901, but delays in the parliamentary process meant that it had to be re-submitted the following year. The second submission was opposed by the Metropolitan Railway, which saw the extension as competition to its service between King's Cross and Moorgate, and the plan was rejected. [17] A third attempt, presented to parliament in November 1902 by the C&SLR itself, was successful and approved in 1903. [18]
With funding obtained, tunnelling for the CCE&HR was carried out between September 1903 and December 1905, after which the station buildings and fitting-out of the tunnels commenced. [19] The C&SLR's Euston extension was constructed at the same time from the newly opened Angel station and opened on 12 May 1907, [8] with the station building designed by Sidney Smith located on the east side of Eversholt Street. [20] The CCE&HR opened on 22 June 1907; [8] its building, designed by Leslie Green, is located at the corner of Drummond Street and Melton Street. [20]
Although built and initially operated as two separate stations by the two companies, the C&SLR and the CCE&HR platforms were sufficiently close together that a deep level interchange was constructed between the passages of the two stations with a small ticket office for passengers changing between the lines. Another passage led to lifts that surfaced within the main line station itself. With the entrance within the main line station able to serve both sets of platforms satisfactorily, the separate station buildings were considered unnecessary, and they both closed on 30 September 1914. [20] The CCE&HR building remains (converted for use as an electrical substation), but the C&SLR's building was demolished in 1934 to enable the construction of Euston House for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. [20]
Most of the C&SLR's route had been constructed with tunnels 10 feet 2 inches (3.10 m) or 10 feet 6 inches (3.20 m) in diameter, smaller than the 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) diameter that had been adopted as the standard for the CCE&HR and other deep level tube lines. [21] [n 4] The smaller tunnel size restricted the capacity of the C&SLR's trains and, in 1912, the C&SLR published a bill for their enlargement. [23] A separate bill was published at the same time by the London Electric Railway (LER), [n 5] that included plans to construct tunnels to connect the C&SLR at Euston to the CCE&HR's station at Camden Town. [26] Together, the works proposed in these bills would enable trains of each company to run over the route of the other, effectively combining the two separate railways. The reconstruction and extension works were postponed during World War I and did not begin until 1922. The C&SLR platforms and the tunnels between Euston and Moorgate were closed for the reconstruction on 8 August 1922. [8] They reopened on 20 April 1924 along with the new link to Camden Town. [8]
In 1906, the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), operator of the main line station, announced proposals to construct an underground station of its own. The company planned to construct new tracks parallel with its line to Watford, the first section of which would have been constructed as a single-track loop 1,588 yards (1,452 m) long and 55 feet 6 inches (16.92 m) deep beneath the surface station. The single platform underground station would have been close to the CCE&HR's platforms. [27] The proposal was presented to Parliament in November 1906 and received royal assent on 26 July 1907. [28] [29] The LNWR did not proceed with the loop plan and the underground station, which were dropped in 1911. [30] [n 6]
Plans for the route that eventually became the Victoria line date from the 1940s. A proposal for a new underground railway line linking north-east London with the centre was included in the County of London Plan in 1943. [31] Between 1946 and 1954, a series of routes were proposed by different transport authorities to connect various places in south and north or north-east London. Each of these connected the three main line termini at King's Cross, Euston and Victoria. [n 7] A route was approved in 1955 with future extensions to be decided later, [35] though funding for the construction was not approved by the government until 1962. [36]
At Euston, major reconstruction works were undertaken to incorporate the new Victoria line platforms so that cross-platform interchanges could be provided with the Northern line's Bank branch—the former C&SLR route to King's Cross and Bank. Unlike the Charing Cross branch tracks, which were in separate tunnels with side platforms, the Bank branch tracks served an island platform in a single large tunnel. [37] These platforms suffered from dangerous overcrowding at peak times. To provide cross-platform interchange, a new section of tunnel was constructed for northbound Bank branch trains, which were diverted to a new platform south of the original alignment. [n 8] The redundant northbound track bed in the station tunnel was filled in to form a wider southbound platform. The new Victoria line platforms were excavated between and parallel to the original and the new Bank branch tunnels. [39] Each pair of platforms was linked via a concourse served by escalators. [n 9]
In conjunction with the reconstruction of the main line station above, a new ticket hall was excavated below the concourse with two sets of escalators replacing the lifts. The escalators provide access to and from an intermediate passenger circulation level, which, in turn, gives access to the Northern line Charing Cross branch platforms and two further sets of escalators; one set each serving the northbound and southbound Victoria and Northern line Bank branch platforms. [39] Interchanges between the northbound and southbound Victoria and Northern Bank Line platforms are made via a passageway at the lower level so as to avoid the need to use the escalators. An emergency stair to the intermediate interchange level is located midway along the passageway. The Victoria line platforms opened on 1 December 1968 when the second section of the line was opened between Highbury & Islington and Warren Street. [8] Disused passages remain with tiling and posters from the 1960s. [40]
Unlike the neighbouring main line termini, St Pancras and King's Cross, Euston is not served by the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. Euston Square station, which is served by these lines, [41] is approximately 250 metres (270 yd) to the south-west. [42] Plans for the redevelopment of the main line station for High Speed 2 (HS2) include the construction of a direct connection to Euston Square. [43] The CCE&HR station building on Melton Street sits within the HS2 development site area and will be demolished to make way for the station. [44]
Proposals for Crossrail 2 include an underground station serving Euston and St Pancras that will be integrated with the existing London Underground station. [45] [46]
A new underground line between Euston and Canary Wharf has been suggested and is being considered by the government. [47]
The station is in Travelcard Zone 1 and has six platforms. On the Northern line's Bank branch the station is between Camden Town and King's Cross St Pancras. On the line's Charing Cross branch it is between Mornington Crescent and Warren Street. On the Victoria line it is between Warren Street and King's Cross St. Pancras. [41] Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally, Northern line trains operate every 2–6 minutes from approximately 05:49 to 00:45 northbound and 05:49 to 00:28 southbound. Victoria line trains operate every 1–6 minutes from approximately 05:41 to 00:42 northbound and 05:31 to 00:26 southbound. [48] [49]
Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Camden Town | Northern line Bank Branch | King's Cross St Pancras towards Morden | ||
Mornington Crescent | Northern line Charing Cross Branch | Warren Street | ||
Warren Street towards Brixton | Victoria line | King's Cross St Pancras towards Walthamstow Central |
London Bus routes are served by Euston bus station outside the main line station. [50] [51]
The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two southern branches and two northern branches. Despite its name, it does not serve the northernmost stations on the Underground, though it does serve the southernmost station at Morden, the terminus of one of the two southern branches.
Charing Cross is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster. The station is served by the Bakerloo and Northern lines and provides an interchange with Charing Cross mainline station. On the Bakerloo line, it is between Piccadilly Circus and Embankment stations and on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, it is between Leicester Square and Embankment stations. The station is in fare zone 1.
Embankment is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, known by various names during its history. It is served by the Bakerloo, Circle, District and Northern lines. On the Bakerloo line and the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, the station is between Waterloo and Charing Cross stations; on the Circle and District lines, it is between Westminster and Temple and is in Travelcard Zone 1. The station has two entrances, one on Victoria Embankment and the other on Villiers Street. The station is adjacent to Victoria Embankment Gardens and is close to Charing Cross station, Embankment Pier, Hungerford Bridge, Cleopatra's Needle, the Royal Air Force Memorial, the Savoy Chapel and Savoy Hotel and the Playhouse and New Players Theatres.
Aldwych is a closed station on the London Underground, located in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located. It was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The station building is close to the Strand's junction with Surrey Street, near Aldwych. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo.
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The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for more than a decade while funding was sought. In 1900 it became a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), controlled by American financier Charles Yerkes. The UERL quickly raised the funds, mainly from foreign investors. Various routes were planned, but a number of these were rejected by Parliament. Plans for tunnels under Hampstead Heath were authorised, despite opposition by many local residents who believed they would damage the ecology of the Heath.
The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London, England. The GNP&BR was formed through a merger of two older companies, the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) and the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR). It also incorporated part of a tube route planned by a third company, the District Railway (DR). The combined company was a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL).
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 did not begin until 1898. In 1900, work was hit by the financial collapse of its parent company, the London & Globe Finance Corporation, through the fraud of Whitaker Wright, its main shareholder. In 1902, the BS&WR became a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) controlled by American financier Charles Yerkes. The UERL quickly raised the funds, mainly from foreign investors.
The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. At the turn of the nineteenth century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield—enabled new companies to construct a series of "tube" lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding, eventually consolidating under the single ownership of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), with lines stretching across London.
The North Western and Charing Cross Railway (NW&CCR) was a railway company established in 1864 to construct an underground railway in London. The NW&CCR was one of many underground railway schemes proposed for London following the opening in 1863 of the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway, but was one of only a few to be authorised by Parliament. The company struggled to raise funding for the construction of its line and was twice renamed, to the Euston, St Pancras and Charing Cross Railway and the London Central Railway, before the proposals were abandoned in 1874.