Piccadilly line

Piccadilly line
A westbound Piccadilly Line train, formed of 1973 stock, stands at Acton Town tube station with a service for Northfields.
Overview
Type Deep Tube, sub-surface
System London Underground
Stations 53
Ridership 210.169 million (2011/12) [1] passenger journeys
Colour on map Dark Blue
Website tfl.gov.uk
Operation
Opened 1906
Depot(s) Cockfosters
Northfields
Rolling stock 1973 Tube Stock
6 cars per trainset
Technical
Line length 71 km (44 mi)
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Transport for London rail lines
London Underground
Bakerloo
Central
Circle
District
Hammersmith & City
Jubilee
Metropolitan
Northern
Piccadilly
Victoria
Waterloo & City
Other lines
Docklands Light Railway
Tramlink
Overground
TfL Rail

The Piccadilly line /ˌpɪkəˈdɪli/ is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fourth busiest line on the Underground network on the basis of the number of passengers transported per year with 210,000,000. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with a number of surface sections, mostly in its westernmost parts. Of the 53 stations served, 25 are below ground. Some of its stations are shared with the District line and some are shared with the Metropolitan line. It is the second longest line on the system, after the Central line, and has the second most stations, after the District line. It serves many of London's top tourist attractions including Harrods (Knightsbridge), Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace (within walking distance from Green Park), Piccadilly Circus (after which the line is named), Leicester Square and Covent Garden, as well as London Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe (based on passenger numbers). The line shares tracks with the Metropolitan line between Uxbridge & Rayners Lane, then the line shares tracks with the District line between Hanger Lane Junction & Acton Town tube station, then the line runs parallel with the District line between Acton Town & Barons Court.

History

The beginnings

For detailed histories of the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), the Great Northern & Strand Railway (GN&SR), and the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR), see Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway.

The Piccadilly line began as the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), one of several railways controlled by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), whose chief director was Charles Tyson Yerkes, although he died before any of his schemes came to fruition.

The GNP&BR was formed from the merger of two earlier, but unbuilt, tube-railway companies taken over in 1901 by Yerkes' consortium: the Great Northern & Strand Railway (GN&SR) and the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR). The GN&SR's and B&PCR's separate routes were linked with an additional section between Piccadilly Circus and Holborn. A section of the District Railway's scheme for a deep-level tube line between South Kensington and Earl's Court was also added in order to complete the route.

When the GNP&BR was formally opened on 15 December 1906, the line ran from the Great Northern Railway's station at Finsbury Park to the District Railway's station at Hammersmith.

On 30 November 1907, the short branch from Holborn to the Strand (later renamed Aldwych) opened, which had been planned as the last section of the GN&SR before the amalgamation with the B&PCR was made. In 1905 (and again in 1965), plans were made to extend it the short distance south under the River Thames to Waterloo, but this never happened. Although built with twin tunnels, single track shuttle operation became the norm on the branch from 1918 on, with the eastern tunnel closed to traffic.

Later changes

On 1 July 1910 the GNP&BR and the other UERL-owned tube railways (the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway, the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway) were merged by private Act of Parliament[2][3] to become the London Electric Railway Company.

On 10 December 1928, a rebuilt Piccadilly Circus station was opened. This included a sub-surface booking hall and eleven escalators, replacing the original lifts, and was the start of a renovation of the whole railway, including a comprehensive programme of station enlargement.

Extension to Cockfosters

Piccadilly line train at Eastcote station

From the 1920s onwards there had been severe congestion at the line's northern terminus, Finsbury Park, where travellers had to change on to trams, buses and LNER main line trains for destinations in North London and North East London. There had been deputations made to Parliament asking for an early extension of the line either towards Tottenham and Edmonton or towards Wood Green and Palmers Green.

The early 1930s was a time of recession, and in order to relieve unemployment, government capital was made available. The chief features of the scheme were an extension northwards from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters. It was also planned to build a station between Manor House and Turnpike Lane at the junction of Green Lanes and St Ann's Road in Harringay, but this was stopped by Frank Pick, who felt that the bus and tram service at this point was adequate. However, a 'Ventilation station', in similar architectural style to tube stations of the time was provided at the site, and is visible today. There was also some opposition from the London and North Eastern Railway to the line. The extension began from Finsbury Park to a point a little south of Arnos Grove. The total length of the extension is 12 km (7.5 mi): it cost £4 million to build and was opened in sections as follows:

Westward extensions

Powers to link with existing tracks west of Hammersmith were obtained in 1913. A Parliamentary report of 1919 recommended through running to Richmond and Ealing. By the end of the 1920s the priority had shifted to serving the areas around Hounslow and north and west of Ealing. The outcome involved taking over the inner pair of tracks between Hammersmith and Acton Town as a non-stop service, while the Metropolitan District Railway would continue to provide the stopping service on the outer pair of tracks.[4] Construction of the linking sections started in 1930, and the services opened as follows.

These eastward and westward extensions are notable for the Modernist architecture of their new stations, many of them designed by Charles Holden, who was inspired by examples of Modernist architecture in mainland Europe. This influence can be seen in the bold vertical and horizontal forms, which were combined with the use of traditional materials like brick.[5] Many of these Holden-designed station are listed buildings.

Victoria line

During the planning stages of the Victoria line, a proposal was put forward to transfer Manor House station to the Victoria line, and also to build new "direct" tunnels from Finsbury Park to Turnpike Lane station, thereby cutting the journey time in and out of central London. This idea was eventually rejected due to the inconvenience to passengers that would have been caused during rebuilding, as well as the costs of the new tunnels. Even so, the Piccadilly line was affected at Finsbury Park by the construction of the Victoria line. The westbound service was redirected through new tunnels, to give cross-platform interchange with the Victoria line on the platforms previously used by the Northern City Line. This work was completed in 1965, and the diversion came into use on 3 October 1965, three years before the opening of the first stage of the Victoria line.

Extension to Heathrow

Inside a Piccadilly line carriage

In 1975, a new tunnel section was opened to Hatton Cross from Hounslow West. Hounslow West became a tunnel section station. In 1977, the branch was extended to Heathrow Central. This station was renamed Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 in 1984, with the opening of a one-way loop serving Heathrow Terminal 4, south of the central terminal area. To reflect the demolition of Terminal 1 in June 2015, it was renamed again as Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3.

From 7 January 2005 until 17 September 2006, the loop via Heathrow Terminal 4 was closed to allow the connection of a spur line to the now operational Heathrow Terminal 5 station. All underground services reverted to two-way working into Terminals 2 & 3, which again became the temporary terminus; shuttle buses served Terminal 4 from the Hatton Cross bus station. For a brief period in summer 2006, the line terminated at Hatton Cross and shuttle buses also ran to Terminals 2 & 3 while the track configuration and tunnels were altered for the Terminal 5 link from that station. The station at Terminal 5 opened on 27 March 2008 on the same day Terminal 5 opened.

2005 terrorist attack

On 7 July 2005, a Piccadilly line train was attacked by suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay. The blast occurred at 08:50 BST while the train was between King's Cross St. Pancras and Russell Square. It was part of a co-ordinated attack on London's transport network, and was synchronised with three other attacks – two on the Circle line and one on a bus at Tavistock Square. A small high-explosive device, concealed in a rucksack, was used.

The Piccadilly line bomb resulted in the largest number of fatalities, with 26 people reported killed. Access for the emergency services and evacuation of the public proved difficult as it is a deep-level line. Parts of the line re-opened on 8 July, and full service was restored on 4 August, four weeks after the bomb.

Infrastructure

Rolling stock

Piccadilly line trains of 1973 stock at Rayners Lane in 2005

Like most Underground lines, the Piccadilly line is operated by a single type of rolling stock, in this case the 1973 tube stock, in the standard London Underground livery of blue, white and red. Seventy-nine trains out of a fleet of 86 are needed to run the line's peak service. One unit (166-566-366) was severely damaged by the terrorist attack of 7 July 2005.

The stock was refurbished by Bombardier Transportation between 1995 and 2000.[6] Changes included the removal of transverse seating, strap hangers replaced with grab bars, new floor material and a full repaint into London Underground's corporate livery.[7]

The line was previously worked by 1959 stock, 1956 stock, 1938 stock, standard tube stock and 1906 gate stock.

The line has two depots, at Northfieldsmap 55 and Cockfosters.map 54 There are sidings at Oakwood, South Harrow, Arnos Grove, Rayners Lane, Down Street, Wood Green, Acton Town, Ruislip and Uxbridge.

Signalling

The line is controlled from a control centre at Earl's Court, which it used to share with the District line. It is in need of resignalling, and this work was planned to be carried out by 2014, but this has been postponed for financial reasons.

Service pattern

The current off-peak service pattern is:

6 trains per hour CockfostersHeathrow Terminal 5 (via Terminals 2 & 3)
6 trains per hour Cockfosters – Heathrow Terminal 4 (returning around the loop and serving Terminals 2 & 3)
6 trains per hour Cockfosters – Rayners Lane, of which 3 continue to Uxbridge
3 trains per hour Arnos GroveNorthfields

This forms a service frequency of approximately every 3 minutes through central London, with 21 trains per hour.

Often late evening services terminate at Oakwood instead of Cockfosters.

Trains also make an additional stop at Turnham Green in the early morning and late evening but do not call there during the main part of the day.

Other services operate at times, especially at the start and towards the end of the traffic day.

From Summer 2016, there will be a 24-hour Night Tube service on Friday and Saturday nights from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Cockfosters, but not from Uxbridge to Acton Town or the Heathrow Terminal 4 loop.[8]

Map

List of stations

Piccadilly line

Legend
Cockfosters
Cockfosters depot
Oakwood
Southgate
Arnos Grove
Arnos Grove sidings
Bounds Green
Wood Green
Turnpike Lane
Manor House
Finsbury Park Victoria Line National Rail
to Victoria line
Arsenal
Holloway Road
Caledonian Road
York Road
King's Cross St. Pancras
Circle line (London Underground) Hammersmith & City Line Metropolitan Line Northern Line Victoria Line National Rail

to Northern line
Russell Square
Holborn Central line (London Underground)
Aldwych
Covent Garden
Leicester Square Northern Line
Piccadilly Circus Bakerloo Line
Green Park Jubilee Line Victoria Line
Down Street
Hyde Park Corner
Knightsbridge
Brompton Road
South Kensington Circle line (London Underground) District Line
Gloucester Road Circle line (London Underground) District Line
Earl's Court District Line

District line
to Edgware Road

Barons Court District Line
Hammersmith Circle line (London Underground) District Line Hammersmith & City Line
Non-stop section
Ravenscourt Park (District Line)
Stamford Brook (District Line)
Turnham Green District Line
limited services

District line
to Richmond

Chiswick Park (District Line)

Acton works
Acton Town District Line

Ealing Common depot
Ealing Common
Great Western Main Line
to Paddington to Bristol

Central line
via Bank to Ealing Broadway

District line
to Ealing Broadway

North Ealing
Park Royal
Central line
via Bank to West Ruislip

Acton-Northolt Line

Park Royal & Twyford Abbey
River Brent
Grand Union Canal (Paddington branch)
Alperton
Sudbury Town
Sudbury Hill

Chiltern Main Line
to Marylebone via South Ruislip

South Harrow

Metropolitan line
to Aldgate

Rayners Lane Metropolitan Line
joint with Metropolitan line
Eastcote
Ruislip Manor
Ruislip

Chiltern Main Line
via West Ruislip to Marylebone

Central line
to West Ruislip via Bank

to Ruislip Central line depot
Ickenham
Hillingdon
Uxbridge Depot
Uxbridge (previous site)
Uxbridge Metropolitan Line
South Ealing
Northfields
Northfields depot
Boston Manor
M4 motorway
Grand Junction Canal
Brentford Branch Line
Osterley & Spring Grove
Osterley

Hounslow East
Hounslow Town
Hounslow Central
Hounslow West
Hounslow West
River Crane
Hatton Cross
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 London Heathrow Airport Template:Heathrow rail services
Heathrow Terminal 4 London Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Terminal 5 London Heathrow Airport Template:Heathrow rail services
Notice explaining about step-free access. This can be found inside every Piccadilly line train.
Notice explaining alternative routes to Covent Garden. This can be found inside every Piccadilly line train.

Open stations

Cockfosters branch

Cockfosters branch
Station Image Opened Additional information
Cockfosters 31 July 1933 One of the two depots is located heremap 1
Oakwood 13 March 1933 Opened as Enfield West; renamed Enfield West Oakwood 3 May 1934; renamed 1 September 1946map 2
Southgate 13 March 1933 in deep-level tunnelmap 3
Arnos Grove 19 September 1932 Trains may terminate here: there are several sidings for stabling trainsmap 4
Tunnel section commences
Bounds Green 19 September 1932 map 5
Wood Green 19 September 1932 map 6
Turnpike Lane 19 September 1932 map 7
Manor House 19 September 1932 map 8
Original Section
Finsbury Park National Rail 15 December 1906 map 9
Arsenal 15 December 1906 Opened as Gillespie Road; renamed Arsenal (Highbury Hill) 31 October 1932; the suffix was later dropped in 1960map 10
Holloway Road 15 December 1906 map 11
Caledonian Road 15 December 1906 map 12
King's Cross St. Pancras National Rail 15 December 1906 Opened as King's Cross; renamed King's Cross for St. Pancras 1927; renamed 1933map 13
Russell Square 15 December 1906 map 14
Holborn 15 December 1906 Renamed Holborn (Kingsway) 22 May 1933; the suffix was later dropped.map 15
Covent Garden 11 April 1907 map 16
Leicester Square 15 December 1906 map 17
Piccadilly Circus 15 December 1906 map 18
Green Park 15 December 1906 Opened as Dover Street; renamed 18 September 1933map 19
Hyde Park Corner 15 December 1906 In the event of disruption, trains may terminate here via a crossovermap 20
Knightsbridge 15 December 1906 map 21
South Kensington 8 January 1907 map 22
Gloucester Road 15 December 1906 map 23
Earl's Court 15 December 1906 map 24
Tunnel section ends
Barons Court 15 December 1906 map 25
Hammersmith 15 December 1906 map 26

Extension to Hounslow and Uxbridge

Extension to Hounslow and Uxbridge
Station Image Opened Additional information
Turnham Green 1 January 1869 Originally the London and South Western Railway; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 June 1963map 27
Acton Town 1 July 1879 Originally the District Railway, later District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 28
The line splits here into two branches – the Heathrow branch and the Uxbridge branch.

Heathrow branch

Continuing from Acton Town
Station Image Opened Additional information
South Ealing 1 May 1883 Originally the District Railway, later District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 29 April 1935map 29
Northfields 16 April 1908 Originally the District line (one of the two depots is here and some trains terminate here); first served by the Piccadilly line 9 January 1933map 30
Boston Manor 1 May 1883 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 13 March 1933map 31
Osterley 23 March 1934 map 32
Hounslow East 2 May 1909 Opened as Hounslow Town by the District line renamed 1 December 1925; first served by the Piccadilly line 13 March 1933map 33
Hounslow Central 1 April 1886 Opened as Heston-Hounslow by the District line, renamed 1 December 1925; first served by the Piccadilly line 13 March 1933map 34
Tunnel section recommences
Hounslow West 21 July 1884 Opened as Hounslow Barracks) by the District line, renamed 1 December 1925; first served by the Piccadilly line 13 March 1933, resited 19 July 1975map 35
Hatton Cross 19 July 1975 map 36
Heathrow Terminal 4 12 April 1986 map 37
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 16 December 1977 Opened as Heathrow Central; renamed Heathrow Central Terminals 1,2,3 on 3 September 1983; renamed 12 April 1986map 38
Heathrow Terminal 5 27 March 2008 map 39

Just beyond Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station, the line goes into a new section to serve Heathrow Terminal 5 tube station, which opened in March 2008. Half of all Heathrow trains use the loop and serve Terminal 4 and the other half omit Terminal 4 and serve Terminal 5.[9]

Uxbridge branch

Continuing from Acton Town
Station Image Opened Additional information
Ealing Common 1 July 1879 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 40
North Ealing 23 June 1903 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 41
Park Royal 6 July 1931 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932; renamed Park Royal (Hanger Hill) 1 March 1936; renamed 1947map 42
Alperton 28 June 1903 Opened as Perivale-Alperton by the District line; renamed 7 October 1910; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 43
Sudbury Town 28 June 1903 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 44
Sudbury Hill (National Rail Sudbury Hill Harrow) 28 June 1903 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932map 45
South Harrow 28 June 1903 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 4 July 1932; closed when re-located 4 July 1935; re-opened 5 July 1935map 46
Rayners Lane 1 March 1910 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933 (from here to Uxbridge trains share track with Metropolitan line, and some trains terminate here)map 47
Eastcote 1 March 1910 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933map 48
Ruislip Manor 5 August 1912 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933map 49
Ruislip 1 March 1910 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933 (some trains terminate here in Monday-Friday peak hours)map 50
Ickenham 1 March 1910 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933map 51
Hillingdon 10 December 1923 Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933; renamed Hillingdon (Swakeleys) April 1934; the suffix was later dropped; closed when re-located 5 December 1992; re-opened 6 December 1992map 52
Uxbridge 1 March 1910 Terminus. Originally the District line; first served by the Piccadilly line 23 October 1933; closed when re-located 3 December 1938; re-opened 4 December 1938map 53

Closed stations

The Aldwych branch

Future upgrades

The Piccadilly line is to be upgraded under the New Tube for London scheme, involving new trains as well as new signalling, increasing the line's capacity by some 24% and reducing journey times by one fifth.[12] Bids for new rolling stock were originally submitted in 2008. However, after the acquisition of Tube Lines by Transport for London in June 2010, this order was cancelled and the upgrade postponed.[13]

Meanwhile, LUL has invited Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens to develop a new concept of lightweight, low-energy, semi-articulated train for the deep-level lines, provisionally called "Evo" (for 'evolution'). So far only Siemens has publicised an outline design, which would feature air-conditioning and would also have battery power enabling the train to run on to the next station if third and fourth rail power were lost. It would have a lower floor and 11% higher passenger capacity than the present tube stock.[14] There would be a weight saving of 30 tonnes, and the trains would be 17% more energy-efficient with air-conditioning included, or 30% more energy-efficient without it.[15]

The intention is for the new trains to eventually operate on the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines.[16] On current plans, resignalling work on the Piccadilly line will begin in 2019 and new trains should be in service by 2022.[17]

There are also some proposals, predominantly by Slough Borough Council, to extend the line towards Slough railway station from Heathrow Terminal 5 station.[18] A number of routes have been proposed, and the main ones pass very close to but do not call at Windsor.[18]

See also

Maps

References

Notes
  1. "LU Performance Data Almanac". Transport for London. 2011/12. Retrieved 1 August 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. The London Gazette: no. 28311. pp. 8816–8818. 23 November 1909. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  3. The merger was carried out by transferring the assets of the CCE&HR and the BS&WR to the GNP&BR and renaming the GNP&BR as the London Electric Railway.
  4. Barker & Robbins 1974, p. 252.
  5. "Underground Journeys: Changing the face of London Underground". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  6. "1973". Transport for London. n.d. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  7. "1973 tube stock". Squarewheels.org.uk. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  8. TfL Night Tube Map. 2013.
  9. "Piccadilly line's new timetable". Transport for London. 8 January 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008.
  10. "More tube lines discussed: Easing travel load". The Times (London). 27 April 1965. p. 7.
  11. "York Way Station". Alwaystouchout.com. 11 January 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  12. "Tube improvement plan: Piccadilly line". Transport for London. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  13. Ford, Roger (October 2010). "Rolling stock famine deepens as Bombardier feasts on past orders". Modern Railways 67 (745) (London). p. 22.
  14. Waboso, David (December 2010). "Transforming the tube". Modern Railways (London). p. 44.
  15. "Siemens unveils London Underground concept train". Railway Gazette International (London). 20 June 2011.
  16. "Siemens reveals innovative air-con for deep Tube trains". Rail (673) (Peterborough). 29 June 2011. p. 12.
  17. "Business Plan 2013" (PDF). Transport for London. December 2013. p. 35.
  18. 1 2 "Slough Borough Council presentation" (PDF). Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
Bibliography
  • Barker, T.C.; Robbins, Michael (1974). A History of London Transport: Volume two – the Twentieth Century to 1970. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0-04-385067-7. 
  • Croome, Desmond F. (1998). The Piccadilly Line – An Illustrated History. London: Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1-85414-192-9. 
  • Horne, Mike (2007). The Piccadilly Tube – A History of the First Hundred Years. London: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-305-1. 
  • Lee, Charles E. (1966). Sixty Years of the Piccadilly. London: London Transport. 
  • Lee, Charles E. (1973). The Piccadilly Line: a brief history. London: London Transport. ISBN 0-85329-042-3. 

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