Piccadilly Line
Line color: | Dark blue |
Opening year: | 1906 |
Line type: | Tubular track |
Stations: | 53 |
Length: | 73.4 km |
Depots: | Cockfosters Northfields |
Passengers: | 210,169,000 (annually) |
The Piccadilly Line is a metro -line of the London Underground . It is shown in dark blue on the route network map. It runs from west to north and has 53 stations (25 of which are underground).
history
The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP & BR) was one of several companies controlled by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London of financier Charles Tyson Yerkes . In 1902 Parliament dealt with no fewer than 26 concession applications for new underground lines in London. In the case of the Piccadilly Line, a parliamentary commission had to decide on the best possible route.
The selected variant had the consequence that several projects were merged, the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR), the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B & PCR) and a project of the District Railway for a tube railway between South Kensington and Earl's Court (1897 approved, but not built). When the GNP & BR finally opened on December 15, 1906, the route ran from Finsbury Park Station on the Northern City Line to Hammersmith .
The short branch line from Holborn to Aldwych was opened on November 30, 1907. This was originally the last leg of the GN&SR before it merged with B & PCR. In 1905 and again in 1965 there were plans to extend this branch line under the Thames to Waterloo station, but these had no consequences. Although two tubes had been built, the eastern tube was closed in 1918 and a shuttle train ran. In 1928, the completely rebuilt Piccadilly Circus station began operations; it comprised an underground counter hall and eleven escalators. This was the beginning of a comprehensive modernization and expansion program along the entire route. In order to alleviate the effects of the global economic crisis , the British government decided to expand the route at state expense.
Since the connecting lines, which mainly represented numerous tram lines, had been congested at the previous northern terminus of Finsbury Park for some time due to heavy commuter flows and were often stuck with individual traffic, an extension to the north was considered as part of this program. A stretch to Cockforsters was planned. The extension was originally planned to be completed in the 1920s, but was postponed due to projects with higher priority. In 1930, construction of the line could finally begin; between 1932 and 1933 the 12.3 kilometer extension from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters was opened in three stages . While the tunnel section to Arnos Grove leads through the densely built-up periphery of London, the construction of the northern section took place on largely undeveloped land, so that an above-ground route was still possible there.
The Piccadilly Line expanded westward in 1933 by taking over various routes of the District Line : From Hammersmith to Acton Town and from there on to Hounslow West or Uxbridge . What is remarkable about these routes are the station buildings designed by Charles Holden and built in the Art Deco style. The hope of the donors that the ticket sales would cover the construction and operating costs could, as with all other extensions in the network, not be fulfilled. New trains were also purchased for the extensions, which should reduce travel times due to their higher speed.
In 1977 the route to Hounslow West was extended to Heathrow Airport . After Terminal 4 opened, the trains ran in a loop. On January 7, 2005, the Heathrow Terminal 4 station was closed for about two years to facilitate the construction work for the route to the new Terminal 5 . This new station opened in March 2008.
In the terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005, a bomb exploded between King's Cross St. Pancras and Russell Square stations . In a coordinated action, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in his backpack. Other bombs exploded on the Circle Line at Aldgate and Edgware Road and on a bus in Tavistock Square . 28 people died on the Piccadilly train alone. The line partially reopened on July 8th, but the central section between Hyde Park Corner and Arnos Grove didn't open until August 4th.
outlook
There are no specific extension plans for the Picadilly Line. There is only the consideration of extending the line beyond Heathrow to Slough . Either a direct connection to Slough train station or a connection to existing rail lines to bypass the airport are under discussion.
business
The Piccadilly Line trains run on the following sections:
- Cockfosters - Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 (via Terminals 1,2,3): 6 trains / hour
- Cockfosters - Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 and loop to Terminals 1,2,3: 6 trains / hour
- Cockfosters - Uxbridge: 3 trains / hour
- Cockfosters - Rayners Lane: 3 trains / hour
- Arnos Grove - Northfields: 6 trains / hour
Stations
from east to west
Main line
- Cockfosters - opened July 31, 1933
- Oakwood - opened March 13, 1933 as Enfield West ; renamed Enfield West (Oakwood) on May 3, 1934; renamed Oakwood on September 1, 1946
- Southgate - Opened - Opened March 13, 1933
- Arnos Grove - opened September 19, 1932
- Bounds Green - opened September 19, 1932
- 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 on December 15, 1906 as Gillespie Road, renamed Arsenal (Highbury Hill) on October 31, 1932, the addition of "Highbury Hill" was dropped in the 1960s
- Holloway Road - opened December 15, 1906
- Caledonian Road - opened December 15, 1906
- York Road - opened December 15, 1906; closed on September 17, 1932
- King's Cross St. Pancras - opened December 15, 1906 as King's Cross; renamed King's Cross (for St. Pancras) in 1927; renamed King's Cross St Pancras in 1933
- 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 as Dover Street ; renamed Green Park on September 18, 1933
- Down Street - opened March 15, 1907; closed on May 21, 1932
- Hyde Park Corner - opened December 15, 1906
- Knightsbridge - opened December 15, 1906
- Brompton Road - opened December 15, 1906; closed on July 29, 1934
- South Kensington - opened January 8, 1907
- Gloucester Road - opened December 15, 1906; closed on August 30, 1987, reopened on May 21, 1989
- Earl's Court - opened December 15, 1906; closed on November 21, 1997; reopened on April 6, 1998
- Barons Court - opened December 15, 1906
- Hammersmith - opened December 15, 1906
- Turnham Green - first operated on June 23, 1963
- Acton Town - opened July 4, 1932
Aldwych branch line
- Holborn
- Aldwych - opened November 30, 1907 as a beach ; renamed Aldwych on May 9, 1915; closed on September 21, 1940; reopened July 1, 1946; closed on September 30, 1994
Heathrow branch line
- Acton Town
- South Ealing - first operated on April 29, 1935
- Northfields - first operated on January 9, 1933
- Boston Manor - first operated on March 13, 1933
- Osterley - first operated on March 13, 1933 as Osterley & Spring Grove ; closed on March 24, 1934 andreopenedone day later as Osterley at the current location
- Hounslow East - first served on March 13, 1933
- Hounslow Central - first served on March 13, 1933
- Hounslow West - first served on March 13, 1933
- Hatton Cross - opened July 19, 1975
- Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 - opened December 16, 1977 as Heathrow Central ; renamed Heathrow Central Terminals 1,2,3 on September 3, 1983; renamed Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 on April 12, 1986, renamed Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 on January 2, 2016
- Heathrow Terminal 4 - opened April 12, 1986, closed January 7, 2005, reopened September 17, 2006
- Heathrow Terminal 5 - opened on March 27, 2008
Uxbridge branch line
- Acton Town
- Ealing Common - first served on July 4, 1932
- North Ealing - first operated on July 4, 1932
- Park Royal first operated on July 4, 1932
- Alperton - first served on July 4, 1932
- Sudbury Town - first served on July 4, 1932
- Sudbury Hill - first operated on July 4, 1932
- South Harrow - first operated July 4, 1932; closed on July 4, 1935 and reopened at the current location one day later
- Rayners Lane - first served on October 23, 1933
- Eastcote - first served on October 23, 1933
- Ruislip Manor - first served on October 23, 1933
- Ruislip - first served on October 23, 1933
- Ickenham - first served on October 23, 1933
- Hillingdon - first served October 23, 1933; closed on December 5th, 1992 and reopened at the current location one day later
- Uxbridge - first operated October 23, 1933; closed on December 3, 1938 and reopened at the current location one day later
literature
- Mike Horne: The Piccadilly Tube. A history of the first 100 years . 2007, ISBN 978-1-85414-305-1 .
- David Bownes: Underground - How the tube shaped London . 2012, ISBN 978-1-84614-462-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ London Underground - Performance Data . Transport for London website (Performance Data Almanac). Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- ↑ Extended Piccadilly Line. (No longer available online.) Thamesvalleychamber.co.uk, archived from the original on Aug. 9, 2013 ; accessed on July 16, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.