Dictionary of Meaning

<<Back
Please select a letter:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9

Piccadilly line

*** Shopping-Tip: Piccadilly line
{{Infobox TfL line| Line=Piccadilly Line| ColourName=Dark Blue| TextColour=White| YearOpened=1906| DeepOrSurface=Deep Tube| RollingStock=London Underground 1973 Stock 1973 Tube Stock| StationsServed=52| LengthKm=71| LengthMiles=44.3| AnnualPassengers=176,177,000| Depots=Cockfosters
Northfields| }} The '''Piccadilly Line''' is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is a deep-level line running from the north-east to the west of London, albeit with significant surface running sections in its outer parts.

History

The beginnings
The '''Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway''' (GNP&BR) (its original title) was one of several controlled by the Underground Electric Railways Company Underground Electric Railways Co of London Ltd, whose chief director was Charles Yerkes Charles Tyson Yerkes, although he himself died before any of his schemes could come to fruition. There had been, in 1902, 26 Bills before Parliament to construct tube railways in London, and it required a Parliamentary Committee to decide on the most worthy of them as far as the Piccadilly Line was concerned. The scheme eventually agreed involved the amalgamation of two of the planned tube railways: the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) and the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) and the taking over of a District Line District Railway scheme for a deep-level tube line between South Kensington tube station South Kensington and Earl's Court tube station Earl's Court (approved in 1897 but not built). When the GNP&BR was formally opened on 15 December 1906, the line ran from Northern City Line Great Northern & City Line terminus at Finsbury Park station Finsbury Park to Hammersmith tube station (Piccadilly & District Line) Hammersmith. On 30 November 1907 the short branch from Holborn tube station Holborn to the Strand was opened. This had originally been the last section of the GN&SR before the amalgamation with the B&PR was made; in 1905 (and again in 1965) plans were made to extend it the short distance south under the River Thames to Waterloo Station Waterloo, but this was never to come about. Although built with twin tunnels, single-line shuttle working became the norm from 1918, and the eastern tunnel closed to traffic.

Later changes
On 1 July 1910 the GNP&BR became part of the '''London Electric Railway'''. The Act approving the change also applied to the Bakerloo Line Baker Street and Waterloo Railway and the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway. On 10 December 1928 a new Piccadilly Circus tube station, which included a sub-surface booking hall and eleven escalators was opened. This was the start of a considerable development over the whole of the Railway, which included a comprehensive programme of station enlargement on the same design as at Piccadilly Circus. From the 1920s onwards there had been severe congestion at the line's northern terminus, Finsbury Park station Finsbury Park, where travellers had to change on to trams and buses for destinations in outer North London North and North East London. There had also been deputations made to Parliament, asking for an early extension of the line either towards Tottenham and Edmonton, London 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 tube station 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 Rd in Harringay, but this was stopped by Frank Pick who felt that the Bus & Tram service at this point was adequate. There was also some opposition from the London and North Eastern Railway to the line. The extension is in tube from Finsbury Park to a point a little south of Arnos Grove tube station Arnos Grove. The total length of the extension is 7.7 miles (12km): it cost £4 million to build and was opened in sections as follows: ** 19 September 1932: to Arnos Grove ** 13 March 1933: to Oakwood tube station Enfield West (now Oakwood) ** 19 July 1933: completion to Cockfosters * Two extensions westwards: ** to Uxbridge: the District Railway had operated services to Uxbridge since 1910. The District Line tracks were taken over by the Piccadilly Line: *** 4 July 1932: Piccadilly line service extended from Hammersmith tube station Hammersmith to South Harrow tube station South Harrow *** 23 October 1933 (after formation of the London's transport history from 1933 London Passenger Transport Board) to Uxbridge ** to Hounslow: the District Line tracks from Acton Town tube station Acton Town were quadrupled to Northfields tube station Northfields on 18 December 1932 and: *** 9 January 1933: Piccadilly line trains to Northfields *** 13 March 1933: to Hounslow West tube station Hounslow West These extensions are notable for the Art Deco architecture of many of their stations, often designed by Charles Holden. In 1975 a new tunnel section was opened to Hatton Cross tube station Hatton Cross from Hounslow West. Hounslow West tube station Hounslow West became an tunnel section station. In 1977, the branch to was extended to Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 tube station Heathrow Central. This station was renamed Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 in 1984, with the opening of a further extension via Heathrow Terminal 4 tube station Heathrow Terminal 4. On the 7 January 2005 this further extension (via Heathrow Terminal 4) closed again, in preparation for works to extend the Piccadilly line to the future Heathrow Terminal 5 station.

2005 terrorist attack
On July 7 2005, a Piccadilly Line train was attacked by a suicide bomber. The blast occurred at 08:50 British Summer Time BST while the train was travelling between King's Cross St. Pancras tube station King's Cross St. Pancras and Russell Square tube station 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 relatively small high explosive device, concealed in a rucksack, was used; the bomber died in the explosion. The Piccadilly Line bomb resulted in the largest number of fatalities, with 21 people reported killed. Evacuation of the Piccadilly Line proved to be more difficult as it is a deep level line, and it was more difficult for the emergency services to reach. The entire line remained closed for the rest of the day. Parts of the line re-opened on July 8, with no service between Hyde Park Corner tube station Hyde Park Corner and Arnos Grove tube station Arnos Grove, and full through running was restored on August 4, exactly 4 weeks after the initial bomb. {{further|7 July 2005 London bombings}}

Infrastructure

Rolling Stock
Image:Plineraynerslane.JPG right|thumb|A Piccadilly Line train of the current 1973 stock approaching the southbound platform of Rayners Lane station Like virtually all 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. 76 trains out of a fleet of 88 are needed to run the line's peak time service, although one unit is now severely damaged as a result of the terrorist attacks of 7th July 2005. While the stock was recently refurbished, it is due for replacement within the next decade. In the past, the line has been worked by the 1959 tube stock 1959 stock, 1956 tube stock 1956 stock, 1938 tube stock 1938 stock, standard tube stock and 1906 gate stock.

Signalling
The line is controlled from the control centre at Earl's Court, which it shares with the District Line. The line is in need of resignalling, and this work is planned to be carried out by 2014.

Service Pattern
The current service pattern is: : 12tph Cockfosters - Heathrow Airport : 3tph Cockfosters - Uxbridge : 3tph Cockfosters - Rayners Lane : 6tph Arnos Grove - Northfields (''tph'' = trains per hour e.g. 3tph is a train every 20 minutes) Half of the Uxbridge trains turn back at Rayners Lane - a 10 minute service runs between Acton and Rayners Lane, with a 20 minute service to Uxbridge (this section is supplemented by the Metropolitan line, however). Other services operate at times, especially at the start and towards the end of the traffic day.

Map
Image:Piccadilly Line.svg thumb|550px|center|Geographically accurate path of the Piccadilly Line

Stations
''(In order from east to west.)''

Cockfosters branch
* Cockfosters tube station Cockfosters opened July 31, 1933 * Oakwood tube station Oakwood opened March 13, 1933 * Southgate tube station Southgate opened September 19, 1932 * Arnos Grove tube station Arnos Grove opened September 19, 1932 ''Tunnel section commences'' * Bounds Green tube station Bounds Green opened October 13, 1940 * Wood Green tube station Wood Green opened September 19, 1932 * Turnpike Lane tube station Turnpike Lane opened September 19, 1932 * Manor House tube station Manor House opened September 19, 1932 * Finsbury Park tube station Finsbury Park opened December 15, 1906 * Arsenal tube station Arsenal opened December 15, 1906 * Holloway Road tube station Holloway Road opened December 15, 1906 * Caledonian Road tube station Caledonian Road opened December 15, 1906 {{NYCS acc}} * King's Cross St. Pancras tube station King's Cross opened December 15, 1906 * Russell Square tube station Russell Square opened December 15, 1906 * Holborn tube station Holborn opened December 15, 1906 * Covent Garden tube station Covent Garden opened April 11, 1907 * Leicester Square tube station Leicester Square opened December 15, 1906 * Piccadilly Circus tube station Piccadilly Circus opened December 15, 1906 * Green Park tube station Green Park opened December 15, 1906 * Hyde Park Corner tube station Hyde Park Corner opened December 15, 1906 * Knightsbridge tube station Knightsbridge opened December 15, 1906 * South Kensington tube station South Kensington opened December 15, 1906 * Gloucester Road tube station Gloucester Road opened December 15, 1906 * Earl's Court tube station Earl's Court opened December 15, 1906 {{NYCS acc}} ''Tunnel section ends'' * Barons Court tube station Barons Court opened December 15, 1906 * Hammersmith tube station (Piccadilly & District Line) Hammersmith opened December 15, 1906 * Turnham Green tube station Turnham Green opened 1877 * Acton Town tube station Acton Town opened February 20, 1910 The line splits here into two branches — the London Heathrow Airport Heathrow branch and the Uxbridge branch.

Heathrow branch
(Continuing from Acton Town.) * South Ealing tube station South Ealing * Northfields tube station Northfields (one of the two train depots is here and some trains terminate here) * Boston Manor tube station Boston Manor * Osterley tube station Osterley * Hounslow East tube station Hounslow East: was '''Hounslow Town''' until 1 December 1926 * Hounslow Central tube station Hounslow Central: was '''Heston Hounslow''' until 1 December 1926 ''Tunnel section recommences'' * Hounslow West tube station Hounslow West: was '''Hounslow Barracks''' * Hatton Cross tube station Hatton Cross * '''Closed for 20 months from January 05''' - Heathrow Terminal 4 tube station Heathrow Terminal 4 * Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 tube station Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3

Uxbridge branch
(Continuing from Acton Town.) * Ealing Common tube station Ealing Common * North Ealing tube station North Ealing * Park Royal tube station Park Royal: opened 1931 * Alperton tube station Alperton * Sudbury Town tube station Sudbury Town * Sudbury Hill tube station Sudbury Hill * South Harrow tube station South Harrow: was '''South Harrow & Roxeth''' until 1929 * Rayners Lane tube station Rayners Lane (from here through to Uxbridge trains share track with Metropolitan Line and some trains terminate here) * Eastcote tube station Eastcote * Ruislip Manor tube station Ruislip Manor * Ruislip tube station Ruislip (Some trains terminate here as well, but only on Monday-Friday peak hours) * Ickenham tube station Ickenham * Hillingdon tube station Hillingdon * ''Terminus:'' Uxbridge tube station Uxbridge

See also
Leslie Green - architect of the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway's early stations

Closed Stations on the Piccadilly line
'''Aldwych tube station Aldwych''' opened on the 30 November 1904 as Strand station. It was at the end of a branch line from the main line at Holborn tube station Holborn. From 1917 onwards it was only served by a shuttle from Holborn. In 1917 it also changed its name to 'Aldwych'. It was temporarily closed in 1940 during World War II to be used as an air-raid shelter. It re-opened again in 1946. The service continued until 30 November 1994 when it was discontinued: the level of use was too low to justify the costs of replacing lift machinery. '''Brompton Road tube station Brompton Road''' opened 15 December 1906 - closed 30 July 1934. It is located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington. '''Down Street tube station Down Street''' opened 15 December 1906 - closed 21 May 1932. It is located between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner. '''Park Royal & Twyford Abbey tube station Park Royal & Twyford Abbey''' opened 23 June 1903 - closed 5 July 1931. Although on the route of the current Piccadilly Line a short distance north of the present Park Royal station, this station was never served by Piccadilly Line trains. Park Royal & Twyford Abbey station was opened by the District Line, the original operator of the line between Ealing Common and South Harrow, but was closed and replaced by the present Park Royal station before the Piccadilly Line started running trains to South Harrow in 1932. '''York Road tube station York Road''' opened 15 December 1906 - closed 19 September 1932. It is located between King's Cross St Pancras and Caledonian Road. It has been suggested [http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/50] that this station may be reopened to serve new developments on the nearby King's Cross, London King's Cross railway lands, although the number of passengers expected to use the station may not be high enough to justify the cost of refitting it to modern standards.

External links

- Piccadilly Line - London Underground website Category:London Underground Category:Hillingdon Category:Harrow Category:Ealing Category:Hounslow Category:Hammersmith & Fulham Category:Kensington & Chelsea Category:Westminster Category:Camden Category:Islington Category:Hackney Category:Haringey Category:Enfield de:Piccadilly Line nl:Piccadilly Line no:Piccadilly-linjen see Piccadilly Line

*** Shopping-Tip: Piccadilly line