Parsons Green tube station explained

Symbol:	underground
Parsons Green
Manager:	London Underground
Fare Zone:	2
Locale:	Parsons Green
Borough:	London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Years1:	1 March 1880
Events1:	Opened (DR)
Platforms:	2
Tubeexits06:	4.784
Tubeexits07:	5.075
Tubeexits08:	5.13
Tubeexits09:	5.45 -->
Coordinates:	51.4753°N -0.2011°W

Parsons Green is an above-ground London Underground station on the branch of the District line that opened in 1880. It is between and stations and is in Zone 2. There are entrances on Parsons Green Lane and in Beaconsfield Walk. The station is a short distance north of the green itself. It was previously a train-operator depot, until functions were transferred to .

History

Designed by a Mr Clemence under the supervision of John Wolfe-Barry, the station was opened on 1 March 1880 when the Metropolitan District Railway (now the District line) extended its line south from to .

Past plans

Parsons Green was a proposed stop on the Chelsea-Hackney Line, known now as Crossrail 2. It would have either supplemented or replaced the existing District line service on much of the Wimbledon Branch.

North of the station, the line would have branched off into a new tunnelled section that could carry it into station, via station, a new station on the Kings Road. Crossrail 2 was to have been built to National Rail standards and go to Wimbledon via Clapham Junction instead. The route was safeguarded in 1991 and again in 2007.

Bombing

See main article: Parsons Green bombing. On 15 September 2017, around 8:20 am BST, an explosion inspired by ISIL on a train carriage at the station injured 30 people. No fatalities were reported.^[1] The explosion was treated by the Metropolitan Police as a terrorist incident.^[2]

The attacker, Ahmed Hassan, was tried for attempted murder in March 2018.^[3] He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment and must serve a minimum of 34 years.^[4] On 6 April 2019 it was announced that Lt. Col. Craig Palmer, a passenger on the affected tube train, had been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for his part in helping to bring the bomber to trial and conviction.^[5]

Sidings

Parsons Green is an intermediate terminating point for both District line services. Below are the seven sidings explained:

• Two sidings east of the station:
  • One is only accessible from the eastbound running line, and can accommodate two D Stock or two S Stock trains
  • The second is only accessible from the westbound running line and can accommodate one D Stock or one S Stock train
• Five sidings west of the station:
  • Two sidings west of the eastbound platform. These are accessible from the westbound platform and accommodate one D Stock or S Stock train
  • Two sidings west of the westbound, also accessible from the westbound platform.
  • There is a siding just behind the westbound platform, which could only fit a C Stock train. As C Stock trains are no longer in use on the system, this siding is out of commission.

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive

Notes and References

1. News: Parsons Green: Explosion reported on London Tube train. BBC News. 15 September 2017. 15 September 2017.
2. News: Rawlinson. Kevin. Siddique. Haroon. Dodd. Vikram. London tube explosion: District line 'bucket bomb' was terrorism, say police . The Guardian. 15 September 2017. 15 September 2017.
3. News: Minelle. Bethany. Parsons Green accused Ahmed Hassan 'used school prize to buy bomb materials'. Sky News. 7 March 2018. 10 March 2018.
4. News: Cobain. Ian. Parsons Green tube bomber Ahmed Hassan jailed for life. The Guardian. 23 March 2018. 23 March 2018.
5. Web site: Soldier who rushed towards Parsons Green bomb given bravery award. 2019-04-06. Aamna Mohdin. The Guardian. 2019-04-06.