Tottenham Court Road station explained

Symbol:underground
Tottenham Court Road
Manager:London Underground
Owner:Transport for London
Locale:St Giles
Borough:London Borough of Camden
Platforms:6
Fare Zone:1
Railcode:TCR
Coordinates:51.5162°N -0.1309°W
Map Type:Central London
Years1:30 July 1900
Years2:22 June 1907
Years3:24 May 2022
Events1:Opened (CLR)
Events2:Opened (CCE&HR)
Events3:Opened (Elizabeth line)
Tubeexits05: 30.799
Tubeexits06: 32.843
Tubeexits07: 37.289
Tubeexits08: 36.574
Tubeexits09: 34.86 -->
Railexits2223: 34.878
Symbol2:crossrail

Tottenham Court Road is an interchange station in the West End of London for London Underground and Elizabeth line services.

The London Underground station is served by the Central and Northern lines.[1] On the Central line it is between Oxford Circus and Holborn stations, and on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line it is between Goodge Street and Leicester Square stations. The Elizabeth line station is between Bond Street and Farringdon stations.

The station is located at St Giles Circus, the junction of Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, New Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road and is in Travelcard Zone 1, with a second entrance at Dean Street.[2]

History

Central London Railway

The station opened as part of the Central London Railway (CLR) on 30 July 1900.[3] From that date until 24 September 1933, the next station eastbound on the Central line was the now-defunct ; the next stop in that direction is now . The platforms are under Oxford Street west of St Giles' Circus and were originally connected to the ticket hall via lifts at the east end of the platforms. The original station building was on the south side of Oxford Street and was designed in common with other CLR stations by Harry Bell Measures. The building and its neighbours were demolished in 2009.

Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway

The Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR, now part of the Northern line) arrived here on 22 June 1907[4] but used the name Oxford Street until an interchange (linking the eastbound Central line with the southbound Northern line via the ends of the platform) was opened on 3 September 1908[5] from when the present name was used for both lines. The next station north on the Northern line was originally called Tottenham Court Road, but was renamed to at this time.

The original ticket office was directly beneath St Giles circus and was accessed from stairs on three street corners around the Circus. Its original lift shafts and emergency stairs are still extant. A set of emergency stairs can be used as access down to the ends of the Northern line platform. The lift shafts are used for offices and station facilities.

Early improvements

Like a number of other central area stations, Tottenham Court Road underwent improvements during the 1920s to replace the original sets of lifts with escalators. Works commenced in 1923; a new subsurface ticket hall, under St Giles Circus, was constructed and the escalators came into service on 28 September 1926 (upper set) and 1 February 1926 (lower set).[6] A shaft for three escalators was driven from the ticket hall under the junction down to the east end of the Central line platforms ending at an intermediate circulation space. A further pair of escalators descend from this level to the north end of the Northern line platforms. The lifts were removed and the redundant shafts were used as ventilation ducts. In 1938 a chiller plant began operating at the station. This was decommissioned in 1949.

Passenger congestion entering and leaving the Northern line platforms was partially eased by the addition of a short single escalator at the centre of the platform leading up to a passageway linking to the intermediate circulation area. However, this was in itself a cause of congestion, as traffic trying to leave the station from the Northern line found itself in the path of traffic entering and travelling to the Central line.

In the early 1980s, the entire station was redecorated, losing the distinctive Leslie Green-designed platform tiling pattern of the Yerkes tube lines (which included the CCE&HR), and the plain white platform tiles of the CLR. It was replaced by distinctive mosaics by Eduardo Paolozzi, located on platforms, passages and escalator entrances.

Initial plans for station expansion

The station had four entrances to the sub-surface ticket hall from the north-east, south-west and north-west corners of the junction and from a subway beneath the Centre Point building which starts on Andrew Borde Street. The entrances were frequently congested leading to occasions during peak periods of the day when they were briefly closed to prevent overcrowding in the station.

In the aftermath of the King's Cross fire in 1987, London Underground was recommended to investigate "passenger flow and congestion in stations and take remedial action".[7] A Parliamentary bill was tabled in 1991 to permit London Underground to improve and expand the frequently congested station, however this was not proceeded with.[8] In 2000, London Underground consulted on a station upgrade including a new larger ticket hall, new escalators and step free access, which would have taken 4 years to construct.[9]

Expansion as part of Crossrail

The station was eventually reconstructed and upgraded in the mid 2010s as part of the Crossrail project to construct the Elizabeth line, with the £500million station upgrade taking eight years.[10] To enable the station expansion work to occur, both the Astoria theatres and the original Central line entrance were demolished.[11] During construction, the Central and Northern lines were alternately closed for several months to allow for upgrade works to take place.[12]

Upon completion in 2017, the project delivered:

On Dean Street, a dedicated western entrance and ticket hall was built to access the new Elizabeth line platforms. These platforms stretch for between the two ticket halls, underneath Soho Square.[13] The completed western entrance and Crossrail platforms were handed over to TfL in early 2021. Crossrail links Tottenham Court Road to Canary Wharf, Abbey Wood, Stratford, and Shenfield in the east with Paddington, Heathrow and Reading in the west.[1] The central section of the Elizabeth line opened on 24 May 2022 between Paddington and Abbey Wood.[14] Direct service to Reading, Heathrow, Stratford and Shenfield commenced on 6 November 2022.[15]

As part of a plan to raise £500million from development above new Crossrail stations,[16] a residential development of 92 homes as well as retail units will be built above the western ticket hall by developer Galliard Homes[17] and a new West End theatre as well as retail and office space will be built above the eastern ticket hall by developer Derwent London.[18] The new theatre will be the first West End theatre to open in over 50 years.[19]

Artworks

In the mid 1980s, Eduardo Paolozzi was commissioned to create an artwork for the station. The design includes panels of tessellated and hand-cut smalti mural mosaic, and is a distinct and noticeable feature of the station. The frenetic design was intended to reflect the station's position adjacent to Tottenham Court Road's large concentration of hi-fi and electronics shops. During the expansion of the station for Crossrail,[20] sections of the mosaic were restored, moved or replaced[21] while other section were destroyed, some sections of which have been removed to be conserved at the University of Edinburgh.[22]

As part of the expansion of the Eastern ticket hall, Art on the Underground commissioned an artwork by Daniel Buren, a French conceptual artist. This work, Diamonds and Circles', works 'in situ, was Buren's first permanent public commission in the UK.[23] It comprises colourful diamond and circle shapes, which contrast with Buren's trademark stripes in black and white, fixed to internal glass walls throughout the ticket hall. The artwork was completed in 2017.[24]

As part of the Crossrail project, two artworks were commissioned by Turner Prize–winning artists, one for each ticket hall.[25] At the eastern ticket hall, Richard Wright created a mural of geometric patterns in gold leaf on the concrete ceiling above the Crossrail escalators. At the western ticket hall, Douglas Gordon installed a video artwork above the escalators, involving Gordon's giant blinking eye with names of Soho establishments that no longer exist reflected in it.

Services

Services at Tottenham Court Road are operated by the Elizabeth line, and London Underground's Central and Northern lines.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

Operator/line Frequency to destination
London Underground
Central line[26]
Westbound
3 tph to
9 tph to
3 tph to
9 tph to
Eastbound
3 tph to
9 tph to
3 tph to
9 tph to
London Underground
Northern line[27]
Northbound
10 tph to
8 tph to
2 tph to
Southbound
10 tph to
10 tph to
Elizabeth line[28] Westbound
6 tph to
4 tph to
2 tph to
2 tph to
2 tph to
Eastbound
8 tph to
8 tph to

The station also served by a night service on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Night Tube. The station is served by Central line trains every 10 minutes in each direction and Northern line trains every 7-8 minutes in each direction.

Future developments

Crossrail 2

The Crossrail 2 project proposed a station at Tottenham Court Road, the only planned interchange between the Elizabeth line and Crossrail 2.[29] The expanded station built as part of the Crossrail project took the future demands of Crossrail 2 into account, which will allow for less construction disruption if the line is built. The proposals involve a new Crossrail 2 ticket hall on the site of Curzon Soho on Shaftesbury Avenue. This has been criticised by campaigners.[30] [31] The station and ticket hall site were first safeguarded as part of the route during the development of the Chelsea-Hackney line in 1991.[32] In November 2020, plans for Crossrail 2 were shelved.[33]

In popular culture

Connections

London Buses day and night routes serve the station.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tottenham Court Road Station . https://web.archive.org/web/20101028022414/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/stations/tottenham-court-road/ . dead . 28 October 2010 . 11 March 2022 . Crossrail . en.
  2. Web site: Tottenham Court Road . Crossrail . 24 May 2022.
  3. http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/central.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides – Central Line, Dates
  4. http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/northern.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides – Northern Line, Dates
  5. Book: Rose, Douglas . The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History . 1999 . Douglas Rose . 1-85414-219-4.
  6. Railways Through The Clay; Croome & Jackson; London; 1993; p169
  7. Book: Investigation into the King's Cross underground fire.. Fennell, Desmond. 1988. [For] Department of Transport [by] H.M.S.O. Great Britain. Department of Transport.. 0101049927. London. 19271585.
  8. Web site: London Underground (Safety Measures) Act 1991. www.legislation.gov.uk. en. 19 September 2017.
  9. Web site: Improvements to Tottenham Court Road station. 28 February 2000. London Transport. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20000620024919/http://www.londontransport.co.uk/underground/pn1458.htm. 20 June 2000. 10 March 2020.
  10. Web site: Tottenham Court Road station's £500 million revamp completed as entrances open. Dick Murray. 10 February 2017. London Evening Standard. 21 August 2017.
  11. http://www.crossrail.co.uk/80256B090053AF4C/Files/informationround2006/$FILE/tottenham+court+road_panel_01.pdf Crossrail – Proposal for eastern ticket hall
  12. Web site: Al-Othman . Hannah . 9 December 2015 . The Central line has returned to Tottenham Court Road . 11 March 2022 . Evening Standard . en.
  13. Web site: Pritchard . James . 12 February 2021 . Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station enters final commissioning phase . https://web.archive.org/web/20210212104810/https://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/tottenham-court-road-elizabeth-line-station-enters-final-commissioning-phase . dead . 12 February 2021 . 11 March 2022 . Crossrail . en.
  14. News: Elizabeth line: Delayed £18bn Crossrail finally opens . en-gb . BBC News . 24 May 2022.
  15. Web site: Aplin . Lucy . 24 May 2022 . Why you need to switch Crossrail trains and when Elizabeth line opens in full . 26 May 2022 . inews.co.uk.
  16. Web site: 26 March 2018 . Property development above Elizabeth line stations to create jobs, growth and revenue . 11 March 2022 . Transport for London . en-GB.
  17. Web site: Morby . Aaron . March 2021 . Galliard to start £55m London Soho resi job . 11 March 2022 . Construction Enquirer . en-GB.
  18. Web site: London . Derwent . Soho Place . 11 March 2022 . Derwent London . en.
  19. Web site: Wood . Alex . 24 August 2020 . New and refurbished theatre venues set to open soon WhatsOnStage . 11 March 2022 . www.whatsonstage.com . en-GB.
  20. Web site: Aicha Zaa, Will Hurst . 2 February 2015 . Campaigners 'disgusted' as builders dismantle Paolozzi murals at Tottenham Court Road . 21 August 2017 . London Evening Standard.
  21. Web site: 2 December 2016 . Recreating Paolozzi's great Tottenham Court Road Mosaics . 8 May 2020 . Gary Drostle . en-GB.
  22. Web site: Tube station mosaics to be seen in new light in artist's home city . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150915042153/http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/school-of-art/news-events/tube-station-mosaics-to-be-seen-in-new-light-in-artist%E2%80%99s-home-city . 15 September 2015 . 26 August 2015 . Edinburgh College of Art . University of Edinburgh .
  23. Web site: Daniel Buren . Diamonds and Circles, works in situ . Art on the Underground . 3 July 2017 . 21 August 2017.
  24. Web site: Alice Morby . Daniel Buren completes installation at Tottenham Court Road tube station . Dezeen.com . 12 July 2017 . 21 August 2017.
  25. Web site: Artwork at Tottenham Court Road . https://web.archive.org/web/20201025090215/https://www.crossrail.co.uk/benefits/art-on-crossrail/artwork-at-tottenham-court-road . dead . 25 October 2020 . 11 March 2022 . Crossrail . en.
  26. Web site: Central Line Timetable. Transport for London. 9 January 2024.
  27. Web site: Northern Line Timetable. Transport for London. 9 January 2023.
  28. Web site: Elizabeth Line Timetable: December 2023. Transport for London. 9 January 2024.
  29. Web site: Tottenham Court Road . 11 March 2022 . Crossrail 2.
  30. Web site: 22 September 2015 . Celebrities join fight to save Soho's Curzon cinema from Crossrail 2 . 11 March 2022 . The Guardian . en.
  31. Web site: Aron . Isabelle . Everyone's angry about... Crossrail 2 . 11 March 2022 . Time Out London . 26 November 2015 . en-GB.
  32. http://www.crossrail.co.uk/80256B090053AF4C/Files/chelsea-hackneyline/$FILE/chelsea+hackney+line+safeguarding+leaflet+february+2008.pdf
  33. News: Crossrail 2 plans shelved as part of £1.8bn TfL funding deal . 5 June 2022 . The Guardian . 2 November 2020 . en.
  34. Web site: An American Werewolf in London [1981 feature film]]. www.nickcooper.org.uk. 21 August 2017. 14 April 2004.
  35. Web site: The London Underground in Films & TV . www.nickcooper.org.uk . 14 January 2019.
  36. Web site: Martland . John . 16 January 2004 . We Will Rock You . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153627/http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/155/we-will-rock-you . 30 September 2007 . 1 April 2011 . The Stage Newspaper Limited .
  37. http://www.bestoftheatre.co.uk/blog/post/wwry-close We Will Rock You to close after an astonishing 12 years