Euston tube station
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox London station
Euston (Template:IPAc-en) is a London Underground station. It directly connects with its National Rail railway station above it. The station is located in London fare 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.
History
Northern line
Planning
An underground station to serve Euston station was first proposed by the Hampstead, St Pancras & Charing Cross Railway in 1891.<ref name=LG_01>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref group="n">The Metropolitan Railway's original underground line, opened in 1863, had a station at the junction of Euston Road and Gower Street, but this is approximately Template:Convert south-west of the main line station. Originally, named "Gower Street", the station was renamed "Euston Square" in 1909.Template:Sfn</ref> 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.Template:Sfn 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.<ref name=LG_02>Template:London Gazette</ref>
For the remainder of the 1890s, the CCE&HR struggled unsuccessfully to raise the necessary capital to fund construction of the new line.Template:Sfn 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.<ref name=1898Bill>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref name=1899Act>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref group="n">A separate proposal in 1899 by the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway for a branch from its planned line near Regent's Park to Euston was rejected by Parliament. The station building would have been located in Cardington Street.Template:Sfn</ref> In 1900, the CCE&HR was taken over by a consortium led by American financier Charles Yerkes which raised the necessary finance.Template:Sfn
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.<ref name=Gazette_19>Template:London Gazette</ref> At the time, the C&SLR was in the process of constructing an extension to Angel from its recently opened terminus at Moorgate Street.Template:Sfn<ref group="n">The C&SLR was suffering from a poor financial reputation at the time due to what was seen as the wasteful abandonment of its original terminal at King William Street when the extension to Moorgate was built. The I&ER was constituted as a nominally separate company to avoid this poor reputation, though it shared a chairman with the C&SLR.Template:Sfn</ref> 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.Template:Sfn A third attempt, presented to parliament in November 1902 by the C&SLR itself, was successful and approved in 1903.Template:Sfn
Construction and opening
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.Template:Sfn The C&SLR's Euston extension was constructed at the same time from the newly opened Angel station and opened on 12 May 1907,Template:Sfn with the station building designed by Sidney Smith located on the east side of Eversholt Street.Template:Sfn The CCE&HR opened on 22 June 1907;Template:Sfn its building, designed by Leslie Green, is located at the corner of Drummond Street and Melton Street.Template:Sfn
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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Template:Clear left
Reconstruction and extension
Most of the C&SLR's route had been constructed with tunnels Template:Convert or Template:Convert in diameter, smaller than the Template:Convert diameter that had been adopted as the standard for the CCE&HR and other deep level tube lines.Template:Sfn<ref group="n">The only section of the C&SLR's tunnels constructed with 11 ft 6 in diameter tunnels was the section between Bank and Moorgate.Template:Sfn</ref> 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.<ref>Template:London Gazette </ref> A separate bill was published at the same time by the London Electric Railway (LER),<ref group="n">The LER was formed by the Underground Group in 1910 through a merger of the CCE&HR with its two other deep level railways, the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref></ref> that included plans to construct tunnels to connect the C&SLR at Euston to the CCE&HR's station at Camden Town.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> 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.Template:Sfn They reopened on 20 April 1924 along with the new link to Camden Town.Template:Sfn
London & North Western Railway
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 Template:Convert long and Template:Convert deep beneath the surface station. The single platform underground station would have been close to the CCE&HR's platforms.Template:Sfn The proposal was presented to Parliament in November 1906 and received royal assent on 26 July 1907.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>Template:Sfn The LNWR did not proceed with the loop plan and the underground station, which were dropped in 1911.Template:Sfn<ref group="n">Instead, the LNWR's trains for the new line operated from the surface station and the company collaborated with the Underground Electric Railways Company of London to extend Bakerloo tube services from Paddington to Queen's Park in tunnel, where they met the LNWR's new line.Template:Sfn Bakerloo services started to Queen's Park in February 1915, before extension to Willesden Junction in May 1915 and on to Watford Junction in April 1917.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn</ref>
Victoria line
Planning
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.Template:Sfn 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.<ref group="n">In 1946, the Railway (London Plan) Committee published a report including "Route 8 – South to North link from East Croydon to Finsbury Park", a main line service running between Norbury and Hornsey in tunnel via Streatham Hill, Brixton, Vauxhall, Victoria, Bond Street, Euston, King's Cross and Finsbury Park.<ref name="Route_8">Template:Harvnb</ref> In 1947, the London Passenger Transport Board produced a plan for a similar route for a tube line running into north-east London. This ran between Coulsdon North or Sanderstead and Walthamstow (Hoe Street) or Waltham Cross.<ref name=culg>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These plans were reviewed by the British Transport Commission in 1949 and a feasibility study was recommended. This became a combined route, "Route C" running between Walthamstow and Victoria.<ref name=culg/>Template:Sfn</ref> A route was approved in 1955 with future extensions to be decided later,Template:Sfn though funding for the construction was not approved by the government until 1962.Template:Sfn
Construction and opening
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.Template:Sfn 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.<ref group="n">The diversion took place on Sunday 15 October 1967.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref> 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.Template:Sfn Each pair of platforms was linked via a concourse served by escalators.<ref group="n">This arrangement results in an unusual feature of the station: a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound (see diagram).</ref>
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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Disused passages remain with tiling and posters from the 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
Future proposals
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,<ref name=tubemap>Template:Cite map/Standard Tube Map</ref> is approximately Template:Convert to the south-west.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Plans for the redevelopment of the main line station for High Speed 2 (HS2) include the construction of a direct connection to Euston Square.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Proposals for Crossrail 2 include an underground station serving Euston and St Pancras that will be integrated with the existing London Underground station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Crossrail 2 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A new underground line between Euston and Canary Wharf has been suggested and is being considered by the government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Services
Euston station is on the Northern and Victoria lines in London fare zone 1. 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.<ref name=tubemap/> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Connections
London Bus routes are served by Euston bus station outside the main line station.<ref name=daybus>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=nightbus>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
- Clive's Underground Lines Guide – Northern Line, section on King's cross Loop
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
Template:Northern line navbox Template:Victoria line navbox Template:Chelsea–Hackney line navbox
- Pages with broken file links
- Northern line stations
- Victoria line stations
- London Underground Night Tube stations
- Tube stations in the London Borough of Camden
- Former City and South London Railway stations
- Former Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1968