Elephant & Castle tube station
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox London station
Elephant & Castle is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Southwark in Central London. It is on the Bank branch of the Northern line, between Borough and Kennington stations. It is also the southern terminus of the Bakerloo line and the next station towards north is Lambeth North. The station is located in both Travelcard Zones 1 and 2.<ref name=tubemap>Template:Cite map/Standard Tube Map</ref> The Northern line station was opened in 1890 by the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) while the Bakerloo line station was opened sixteen years later by the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR). There is an out-of-station interchange with the nearby Elephant & Castle National Rail station.<ref name=OSI/>
A girl born at the station in 1924 was the first baby to be born on the Underground network.<ref name=babynews>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The Bakerloo line building remains much as originally constructed and is a typical Leslie Green structure.Template:Sfn The Northern line building was designed by Thomas Phillips Figgis,<ref name=heriinfo/> and was rebuilt several times until the current structure opened in 2003. Transport for London (TfL) is currently planning a major upgrade to the station. A Bakerloo line extension south to Camberwell was planned and approved in 1931 but construction never started. Similar proposals have been revived on several occasions; in 2014 TfL ran a consultation on an extension to Hayes and Beckenham Junction, which is still under consideration.
The station todayEdit
GeographyEdit
Elephant & Castle is located in the Elephant and Castle area of Newington in the London Borough of Southwark in central London.<ref name=maps>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The station is in both Travelcard Zones 1 and 2<ref name=tubemap/> and is on the Bank branch of the Northern line between Kennington and Borough stations, and is the southern terminus of the Bakerloo line, the next station being Lambeth North.<ref name=tubemap/> The station has two surface buildings, separated by a large traffic intersection.<ref name=maps/>Template:Refn The northern building provides the most direct access to the Bakerloo line, while the southern one is linked more directly to the Northern line.<ref name=movelu>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Station buildingsEdit
Access to the more northerly (Bakerloo) part of the station is via the original building, while the exit is via a new extension next to Skipton House. Between the entrance and two shops is the entrance to South London House, an office block above the station.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The BS&WR station building remains much as originally constructed and is a typical Leslie Green structure.Template:Sfn The main alteration is a modern glass-sided and glass-topped flat-roofed extension abutting the original western elevation, giving access to three of the six arches. These arches, in a classic deep-red faience style,Template:Sfn formed the original perimeter: two are infilled with street-facing shops. As the station also functions as a drivers' depot, London Underground uses the offices above the station for administration and drivers' accommodation.Template:Sfn
The C&SLR station was designed by Thomas Phillips Figgis<ref name=heriinfo/> in a similar style to Kennington station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was partially rebuilt in the 1920s<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> when the C&SLR tunnels were modernised, and was rebuilt during the construction of the Elephant & Castle shopping centre and roundabout in the 1960s.<ref name=heriinfo/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This Northern line ticket hall was rebuilt at the start of the 21st century, reopening on 12 December 2003 following 2 years of upgrade work.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
Neither the Northern line nor Bakerloo line ticket halls have escalators.<ref name="liftsonly">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To get from either ticket hall to the platforms it is necessary to use the lifts or spiral stairs.<ref name="steps">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Refn The southern (Northern line) building has lifts from street level down to the level of the southbound Northern line platform, the only step-free platform at the station.<ref name="sftg" /><ref name="astg" /> From inside the station, the northern exit is labelled "London South Bank University"<ref name="exitsigns">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and emerges at the southern tip of the triangular campus.<ref name="maps" />Template:Refn The southern exit is labelled "Shopping Centre" and also leads to the National Rail station<ref name="exitsigns" /> where there is an out-of-station interchange, allowing Oyster card and contactless payment card users to interchange while paying a single fare for their journey.<ref name="OSI" />
Heritage feature and refurbishmentEdit
The multi-coloured platform tiles on the Northern line were reconstructed in the 1920s in conjunction with an extension to Morden station.<ref name=heriinfo/> The tiles were carefully replicated in 2006 to replace the originals, which were in poor condition.<ref name=heriinfo/> The original C&SLR tiles dating from 1890 remain on the tunnel roofs of the Northern line platforms, albeit now covered over by the new cable-management system.<ref name=heriinfo/>Template:Refn The station was refurbished in 2007.<ref name=stnrefurb>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original maroon and cream tiling on the Bakerloo line platforms has been covered over.<ref name=stnrefurb/> Because of the arrangement of the lighting, cabling and public address loudspeakers, it was not possible to arrange the new roundels at alternate 'low' and 'high' positions, all being at the lower level.<ref name=heriinfo/><ref name=stnrefurb/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Refn
ServicesEdit
Bakerloo lineEdit
Elephant & Castle station is the southern terminus of the Bakerloo line and the next station is Lambeth North to the north. Trains heading northbound terminate at either Queen's Park, Stonebridge Park or Harrow & Wealdstone.<ref name=bservices>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The typical service pattern in trains per hour (tph) is:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- 6tph to Harrow & Wealdstone<ref name=bservices />
- 3tph to Stonebridge Park<ref name=bservices />
- 5tph to Queen's Park
Northern lineEdit
.jpg){kind=link}
On the Bank or City branch of the Northern line, Elephant & Castle station is between Borough to the north and Kennington to the south.<ref name=tubemap/> The typical off-peak service (as of January 2015) in trains per hour (tph) is 10tph northbound to each of High Barnet<ref name=culgnorthern/><ref name=nntimetable>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Edgware<ref name=culgnorthern/><ref name=nntimetable/> and 20tph southbound to Morden.<ref name=culgnorthern/><ref name=sntimetable>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ConnectionsEdit
A large number of London Buses routes serve the station day and night, stopping outside the station at either Newington Butts (Northern line entrance) or London Road (Bakerloo line entrance).<ref name=daybus>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nightbus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
Northern lineEdit
Between 1883 and 1886, a route was planned by the City and South London Railway (C&SLR), then known as the City of London & Southwark Subway (CL&SS), from King William Street via Elephant & Castle<ref name="Gazette_01">Template:London Gazette</ref> to Stockwell<ref name="Gazette_03">Template:London Gazette</ref><ref name=Gazette_04>Template:London Gazette</ref> and Clapham Common.<ref name="Gazette_05">Template:London Gazette</ref> The entire route was approved on 25 July 1890<ref name=Gazette_06>Template:London Gazette</ref>Template:Refn and the station opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the first successful deep-level tube railway. It ran between King William Street and Stockwell.<ref name=culgnorthern>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In November 1891, the C&SLR recognised the deficiencies of the section between Borough station and King William Street. A new route was chosen with a different pair of tunnels, avoiding this section.<ref name="Gazette_08">Template:London Gazette</ref> Near Borough, the new tunnels would branch off to London Bridge to form an interchange with the mainline station and then north through the City of London to Angel.<ref name=Gazette_08/> The plan was approved on 24 August 1893<ref name=Gazette_09>Template:London Gazette</ref> following a delay.Template:Sfn The Act also incorporated another bill of 1893<ref name=Gazette_10>Template:London Gazette</ref> to grant more time to build the southern extension to Clapham.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn The new route and the first section of the northern extension from Borough to Moorgate opened on 25 February 1900, and the King William Street diversion was closed.Template:Sfn The southern extension to Clapham Common opened on 3 June 1900.Template:Sfn Work continued on the rest of the northern extension and it opened on 17 November 1901.Template:Sfn
In 1912, the C&SLR submitted another bill to increase its capacity by enlarging its tunnels to the larger diameter used for the tunnels of the more recently built railways to allow larger, more modern rolling stock to be used.<ref name="Gazette_23">Template:London Gazette</ref>Template:Refn Together, the works proposed in these bills would enable the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR)'s trains to run over the C&SLR's route and vice versa, effectively combining the two separate railways. Tunnel enlargement works only restarted after World War I when an extension of time was granted in February 1919.<ref name="Gazette_26">Template:London Gazette</ref>Template:Refn The Moorgate to Clapham Common section reopened on 1 December 1924, approximately eight months after the rest of the line.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn
Bakerloo lineEdit
In November 1891, a private bill was presented to Parliament for the construction of the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR).<ref name="LG_01">Template:London Gazette</ref> The railway was planned to run entirely underground from Marylebone<ref name="1896_Act">Template:London Gazette</ref> to Elephant & CastleTemplate:Sfn via Baker Street and Waterloo<ref name="LG_01" /> and was approved in 1900.Template:Sfn<ref name="1900_act">Template:London Gazette</ref> Construction commenced in August 1898Template:Sfn under the direction of Sir Benjamin Baker, W.R. Galbraith and R.F. Church<ref name="Lee-March1956">Template:Cite magazine</ref> with building work by Perry & Company of Tredegar Works, Bow.<ref name="Lee-March1956"/>Template:Refn Test trains began running in 1905.Template:Sfn The first section of the BS&WR was between Baker Street and Lambeth North.<ref name=culgbakerloo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The BS&WR station opened on 5 August 1906, almost five months after the rest of the line.<ref name=culgbakerloo/>
IncidentsEdit
On the morning of 27 November 1923, a slight misjudgement at the end of the tunnel enlargement work left the tunnel unstable near Borough.<ref name=culgnorthern/> A collapse on the same day, caused when a train hit temporary shoring near Elephant & Castle, filled the tunnel with wet gravel.<ref name=culgnorthern/>Template:Sfn Later a gas main exploded, causing a water main to break and leaving a water-filled crater in the middle of the street.<ref name=culgnorthern/> The line was briefly split in two, but was completely closed on 28 November 1923.<ref name=culgnorthern/>Template:Sfn
A girl born at the station on 13 May 1924 was the first baby to be born on the Underground network.<ref name=A&E/><ref name=LBLU/> According to initial press reports, she had been named Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor (so that her initials would be T.U.B.E.) but this later proved false: her actual name was Mary Ashfield Eleanor Hammond.<ref name=A&E/><ref name=LBLU/> Her second name Ashfield was from Lord Ashfield, chairman of the railway, who agreed to be the baby's godfather, but said that "it would not do to encourage this sort of thing as I am a busy man."<ref name=A&E>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=LBLU>Template:Citation</ref>
Station upgrade and expansionEdit
The interchange between the Bakerloo and Northern lines has long been criticised by local residents for its lack of escalators, its winding passageways and its two separate station entrances.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Given the increased demand on the Underground station from proposed and under-construction residential development, Southwark Council has called for the expansion and redevelopment of the station, noting in 2008 that it was the "final hurdle" of a deal to redevelop the Shopping Centre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2018, the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre was approved, with a new station entrance as part of the proposal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The upgrade and expansion work will include a new station entrance and ticket hall facing Elephant Square, three new escalators, and lifts providing step-free access to the Northern line platforms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The new entrance would also improve the interchange between the Underground and Elephant & Castle railway station, with a more direct route through the new development.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The shell of the new ticket hall will be constructed by the developer Delancey; TfL and Southwark Council will share the £15m cost of connecting the shell to the existing platforms and to "fit out" the new ticket hall with escalators and lifts.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The Shopping Centre closed in September 2020, allowing construction work to begin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new ticket hall is scheduled to open in 2028/9.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The new ticket hall has been designed to accommodate the proposed Bakerloo line extension. New Bakerloo tunnels would be dug along with new platforms to accommodate the increase in demand if the Bakerloo line extension comes into service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="e&cblupgrade">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Proposals for the futureEdit
Bakerloo line extension to southeast LondonEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} An extension to Camberwell from Elephant & Castle was planned and approved in 1931.<ref name=Gazette_1>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref name=Gazette_2>Template:London Gazette</ref> Elephant & Castle was also to be reconstructed with a third platform to provide the additional reversing capacity, along with a new ticket hall and escalators. Due to the need to prioritise the extension from Baker Street to Finchley Road, to relieve congestion on the Metropolitan line, as well as financial constraints and the outbreak of the Second World War, no work was carried out on the extension.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn In the 1950s there was a brief revival of the plan, in which it was proposed that Elephant & Castle would not be altered and the additional turn-round capacity would be provided by making Camberwell a three-platform terminus. The project was ultimately unaffordable owing to post-war austerity, reduced demand, and the disproportionately high cost of the project with a three-platform deep-level terminus and the requirement for new trains and a depot.Template:Sfn
During 2005–06, a Bakerloo extension was proposed with three route options.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The options were extensions to Hayes via Peckham Rye, Beckenham Junction via Camberwell, or Hayes via New Cross.<ref name="lrc-peckham">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In July 2011, Network Rail recommended an extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham, where it would take over the line to Hayes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Refn In September 2014, Transport for London ran a consultation on the Bakerloo extension to Hayes and Beckenham Junction with options via Lewisham and Camberwell or Old Kent Road, taking over Network Rail's Hayes line.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The cost of the extension is estimated at around £2–3 billion with construction expected to take place between the mid-2020s and early 2030s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Refn A February 2017 consultation indicates that the line could extend to Lewisham via Old Kent Road with future extension options later on.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notes and referencesEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
External linksEdit
Template:Bakerloo line navbox Template:Northern line navbox Template:Authority control