Vauxhall station

Vauxhall (Template:IPAc-en, Template:Respell) is a National Rail, London Underground and London Buses interchange station in South London. It is at the Vauxhall Cross road junction opposite the southern approach to Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames in the district of Vauxhall. The mainline station is run by the South Western Railway and is the first stop on the South West Main Line from Template:Rws towards Template:Rws and the south-west. The Underground station is on the Victoria line and the station is close to St George Wharf Pier for river services.

The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1848 as Vauxhall Bridge station. It was rebuilt in 1856 after a large fire, and given its current name in 1863<ref>"The Forgotten Stations of Greater London" page 126 by J.E.Connor and B.Halford</ref>. In the early 20th century, Vauxhall saw significant use as a stop for trains delivering milk from across the country into London. The tube station opened in 1971 as part of the Victoria line extension towards Brixton, while the bus station opened in 2004. It remains an important local interchange on the London transport network.

Location

The station sits just to the east of Vauxhall Bridge, on a viaduct with eight platforms, straddling South Lambeth Road and South Lambeth Place, alongside Vauxhall Cross.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the National Rail network it is the next station on the South West Main Line along from Template:Stn, Template:Convert to the south-west. On the London Underground it is on the Victoria line between Stockwell and Pimlico stations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>. The station is on the boundary of London fare zone 1 and 2 and, although a through station, it is classed as a central London terminus for ticketing purposes.<ref name="cite map/Standard Tube Map"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Vauxhall bus station is at ground level, across the road from the railway station. It has a photovoltaic roof supplying much of its electricity, and caters for around 2,000 buses per day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Mainline station

A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Clapham Junction. Vauxhall station is at the extreme right of this map

The station is incorporated within the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as "Vauxhall Bridge Station" on 11 July 1848 when the main line was extended from Template:Rws to Waterloo, then known as "Waterloo Bridge Station". The viaduct was constructed to minimize property disturbances; nevertheless some 700 properties were demolished extending the line past Nine Elms and through Vauxhall.Template:Sfn

In the period when Vauxhall was opened, there was no way for an inspector to move through the length of a train to check tickets, so it was used as a ticket stop, like several other stations. Having arrived at Vauxhall, the train would stop for as long as necessary while all tickets could be examined and collected.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

On 13 April 1856, the station caught fire and was almost totally destroyed. The line was quickly repaired and services through to Waterloo resumed without much delay.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After being rebuilt, the station was renamed "Vauxhall" in 1863.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn In the same year, the LSWR widened the main line through the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vauxhall was remodelled in 1936, which included an overhaul of the signalling system up to Waterloo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Milk trains

In 1921, United Dairies opened a major creamery and milk bottling plant opposite Vauxhall station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Subsequently, milk trains regularly stopped at the station.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The regular daily milk train was from Torrington, but services from all over the West Country would stop at Clapham Junction in the evening,Template:Sfn and reduce their length by half so that they did not block Vauxhall station while unloading. They would then proceed to Vauxhall, and pull into the Up Windsor Local platform, where a discharge pipe was provided to the creamery on the other side of the road.Template:Sfn<ref name=torr/> There was also pedestrian access from below the station, under the road to the depot, in the tunnel where the pipeline ran. Unloaded trains would then proceed to Waterloo, where they would reverse and return to Clapham Junction to pick up the other half of the train. The procedure was then repeated, so that the entire milk train was unloaded between the end of evening peak traffic and the start of the following morning.<ref name=torr>Template:Cite web</ref>

Modern developments

In 2017, work began to modernise the station layout and reduce congestion as part of an £800 million works programme to improve access to Waterloo. The existing lift was replaced and a new staircase was added between platforms 7 and 8 and the concourse.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

London Underground

The subway entrance to Vauxhall tube station, July 2024

Vauxhall Underground station

The first proposed underground station at Vauxhall was as part of the West and South London Junction Railway. The line was intended to connect Template:Rws to Oval via Vauxhall, crossing the River Thames slightly downstream of Vauxhall Bridge. It was rejected in January 1901 for failing to comply with Standing Orders and giving correct notice of eviction, and the plans were quietly shelved.Template:Sfn Another abandoned scheme to connect Template:Rws with Template:Rws would have seen an interchange at Vauxhall; these plans were scrapped in 1902 owing to lack of funds.Template:Sfn

The current deep tube London Underground station is on the Victoria line, which was the first major post-war underground project in Central London. The line was given approval to be extended from Template:Rws underneath the Thames to Vauxhall (and onwards to Brixton) in March 1966. To construct the escalator shaft, the ground beneath it was frozen with brine.Template:Sfn The station platforms were designed by Design Research Unit and decorated with a motif from the 19th-century Vauxhall Gardens, designed by George Smith.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn At the same time, Vauxhall Cross road junction was rebuilt in order to accommodate the new Underground station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Underground station was opened on 23 July 1971 by Princess Alexandra, as part of the extension of the Victoria line to Brixton.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In October 1982, the first automated ticketing system on the Underground was installed at Vauxhall on an experimental basis. The two machines were a "Tenfare" which sold the ten most popular single tickets, and "Allfare" which supplied single and return tickets to any tube station. The experiment ran until July 1983, and was subsequently used in the design of the rollout of the Underground ticketing system across the network.Template:Sfn

In 2005, the existing fixed staircase between the two escalators down to platform level was replaced by a new escalator. Installed by Metronet as part of the Tube Private Public Partnership, the escalator was installed due to the high numbers of passengers using the station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the late 2000s, one potential option for extending the Northern line to Battersea was a route via Vauxhall station. Despite the benefit of connecting to the Victoria line and National Rail services, the option had a significantly higher cost than others, and increased the potential for increased overcrowding at the station.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> A route via Nine Elms was chosen instead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the mid 2010s, the Underground station was upgraded and refurbished at a cost of £36m, as part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea regeneration project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lifts were installed to provide step-free access to the Victoria line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bus

Template:Main articles The bus station opened on 4 December 2004. It was designed by Arup Associates and features a distinctive metallic design constructed out of stainless steel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station has been criticised for its proximity to the heavy traffic around Vauxhall Cross. In 2011, Transport for London announced they would demolish the bus station and construct a "linear walkway" instead. This was scrapped, but in 2017, they revived the demolition plans as part of general improvements in the area following support from Lambeth Council. The rebuilding is expected to take place between 2019 and 2021.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Kate Hoey, member of parliament for Vauxhall has criticised the proposals, calling them a "stitch up".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Services

National Rail

Vauxhall railway station platforms from the western end.

Vauxhall railway station is served by the South Western Railway to and from London Waterloo. Approximately 460 trains travel between the stations each day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are 8 platforms at the station, arranged into 4 islands, which, from north to south:

• Platforms 1 and 2 on Waterloo–Reading line towards Template:Stn
• Platforms 3 and 4 on Waterloo–Reading line towards Template:Stn
• Platform 5 on South West Main Line fast line towards Template:Stn
• Platform 6 on South West Main Line fast line towards Template:Stn
• Platform 7 on South West Main Line slow line towards Template:Stn
• Platform 8 on South West Main Line slow line towards Template:Stn

In practice, platforms 5 and 6 are not used for passenger calls as fast trains do not call at this station.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:<ref>Template:NRtimes</ref>

• 20 tph to Template:Stn
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk
• 1 tph to Template:Stnlnk via Template:Stnlnk
• 3 tph to Template:Stnlnk (1 of these runs via Epsom and 2 run via Cobham)
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk via Template:Stnlnk
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk via Template:Stnlnk
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk via Kingston, returning to London Waterloo via Template:Stn
• 2 tph to Teddington via Richmond, returning to London Waterloo via Kingston
• 2 tph to Weybridge via Template:Stnlnk
• 2 tph to Template:Stnlnk

London Underground

Vauxhall tube station is served by the Victoria line between Stockwell and Pimlico with a peak time service frequency of 36 trains per hour, or around one every 100 seconds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Connections

London Buses routes 2, 36, 77, 87, 88, 156, 185, 196, 344, 360, 436, 452 and night routes N2, N87 and N136 serve the adjacent bus station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

London River Services are available from nearby St George Wharf Pier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The service was opened in September 2011 by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, with the aim of expanding boat transport along the Thames by 20%. A service runs approximately every 40 minutes to the City of London and Canary Wharf.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Incidents

• On 11 September 1880, a light engine collided with a service from Waterloo to Hampton. Five passengers were killed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• On 29 August 1912, a light engine collided with a rake of nine carriages. One passenger was killed and 43 were injured.<ref name=SR375>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• On 20 September 1934, two electric suburban trains collided at Vauxhall. The driver of one train and a passenger were taken to St Thomas' Hospital for treatment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• On 9 October 2000, an untrained student worker was hit by a train near Vauxhall station while unsupervised. An inquest in May 2002 returned a verdict of unlawful killing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• On 5 May 2016, a fire broke out in one of the signal cables at Vauxhall station. Services from Waterloo through the station were cancelled and the next major down station, Template:Rws was closed as an overcrowding measure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Name

The name Vauxhall is phonetically similar to the Russian word for a railway station, Template:Lang (vokzal). One theory for this similarity is that Tsar Nicholas I visited Britain in the mid-19th century to study the railway network. At the time, every train on the South Western Railway called at Vauxhall as a ticket stop. From this, the Tsar concluded that Vauxhall was a major transport interchange, and the word was introduced as the generic term in Russian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

Sources

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