London Underground and railway station usage 2019-20

In the recent weeks both London Underground and the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) have announced their latest station usage data and as always there is plenty of interesting patterns. Back in early November, Transport for London updated their annual station entries and exists. The data is for the calendar year 2019. On 1 December the ORR released their estimates for passenger usage for every railway station in Great Britain, this data is for 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. 

London Underground's top 10 busiest stations in 2019

1. King's Cross St. Pancras (88.2m)

2. Victoria (85.4m)

3. Waterloo (82.9m)

4. Oxford Circus (78.0m)

5. London Bridge (74.3m)

6. Liverpool Street (67.2m)

7. Stratford (64.8m)

8. Bank and Monument (61.7m)

9. Paddington (48.6m)

10. Canary Wharf (47.6m)

With over 88 million passengers in 2019, King's Cross St. Pancras remains the busiest station on the London Underground network. There are no new entries to the top 10 for 2019, however Paddington and Canary Wharf swapped places from the previous year's figures. Canary Wharf remains the busiest station on the network to be served by just one line, the Jubilee line. 

London Underground's least busiest stations in 2019

1. Kensington (Olympia) (109,430)

2. Roding Valley (449,612)

3. Chigwell (524,833)

4. Grange Hill (652,468)

5. North Ealing (880,333)

6. Theydon Bois (896,336)

7. Moor Park (932,748)

8. Ruislip Gardens (1,106,583)

9. Upminster Bridge (1,107,953)

10. Ickenham (1,118,573) 

There is a new least used station on the tube. Roding Valley has held the title in previous years, however London Underground have changed the way they record data for Kensington (Olympia). The station is predominantly served by London Overground services, with the station mainly receiving weekend-only services. Using station entry/exit data would not differentiate between tube and London Overground passengers. Two other stations also use 'LU boarding/alighting' data for their figures; Richmond and Wimbledon. 

Least used London Underground station by line

District line - Kensington (Olympia) (109,430)

Central line - Roding Valley (449,612)

Piccadilly line - North Ealing (880,333)

Metropolitan line - Moor Park (932,748)

Northern line - Mill Hill East (1,407,857)

Bakerloo line - South Kenton (1,415,443)

Circle and Hammersmith & City lines - Goldhawk Road (2,127,422)

Jubilee line - Canons Park (2,981,768)

Victoria line - Blackhorse Road (9,741,998)

Waterloo & City line - Bank & Monument (61,793,808)

There were over 3 billion passengers on the national rail network between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020. This period includes the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, however the 2020/21 figures will show a clearer estimate to how restrictions impacted usage of the national rail network. 

Great Britain's top 10 busiest rail stations 2019/20

1. London Waterloo (86.9m)

2. London Victoria (73.5m)

3. London Liverpool  Street (65.9m)

4. London Bridge (63.0m)

5. Birmingham New Street (46.5m)

6. London Paddington (44.8m)

7. London Euston (44.7m)

8. Stratford (London) (41.9m)

9. London St Pancras International (36.0m)

10. London Kings Cross (32.5m)

Waterloo remains the busiest station in Great Britain, however usage was down by 7.7%. The biggest story from the top 10 is London Paddington receiving an additional 6.3m passengers, with ORR suggesting "journeys to/from Heathrow" have contributed to this increase. The busiest station outside of London remains Birmingham New Street. The 10th busiest railway station in London is Highbury & Islington with 30.4m passengers. Glasgow Central, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds are the other stations to have over 30.4m passengers. 

Great Britain's least busiest stations 2019/20

1. Berney Arms (42)

2. Elton & Orton (68)

3. Stanlow & Thornton (82)

4. Havenhouse (84)

5. Denton (92)

6. Polesworth (96)

7. Thorpe Culvert (140)

8. Sugar Loaf (156)

9. Reddish South (158)

10. Shippea Hill (164)

The least used station in Great Britain, Berney Arms, only reopened on 24 February but still managed to receive 42 passengers. This is surprising considering the station reopened as the COVID-19 pandemic began to change usual travel patterns. Being a least used station can cause an increase in demand. Sugar Loaf received over 700 passengers during 18/19 as the station was highlighted as one of the least used stations in Wales in 17/18. The former least used station of Redcar British Steel for 17/18 is now more used than 57 other stations. 

London's least busiest stations 2019/20

1. Angel Road (5,882)

2. South Greenford (28,382)

3. Drayton Green (31,610)

4. Sudbury & Harrow Road (38,058)

5. Sudbury Hill Harrow (79,082)

6. Castle Bar Park (81,088)

7. Morden South (87,170)

8. Crews Hill (113,610)

9. Meridian Water (137,050)

10. Birkbeck (147,542)

The least used station in London is a station that was only open for two months of this period, Angel Road. Angel Road closed on 31 May 2019 and I was fortunate enough to be on the final train leaving the station. The station was replaced by Meridian Water on 3 June 2019 and itself features in the ten leas used stations in London for 19/20. You could therefore argue that South Greenford remains the least used station in the capital. With 321,964 passengers, Emerson Park is the current least used London Overground station. 

Next year's figures will be very interesting, however the data released from 2019 and 19/20 for the tube and national rail respectively gives an understanding of travel behaviour before the COVID-19 pandemic. Have you visited any of the stations mentioned in the blog? Let me know on Instagram or Twitter where you can find me on @TubespottingDan 

31/270 - East Acton

Today, 3rd August 2020, marks 100 year since the opening of East Acton station. Now situated on the Central line, the station was opened as part of the Central London Railway's extension which initially opened for freight only in 1917. A classic pub quiz question relates to East Acton in what is the only place name on the London Underground map to feature all four compass points in station names? The answer is, if you hadn't already guessed, is Acton. 

In 1905 the Great Western Railway (GWR) had plans that were approved by Parliament to construct a line connecting Ealing Broadway and GWR's mainline to the Shepherd's Bush area. The plans would see the line pass close by to the Central London Railway's depot at Wood Lane, not to be confused with the modern day Wood Lane station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. Construction did not take place once GWR gained parliamentary permission and in 1911 the Central London Railway and GWR agreed services on a line from Wood Lane to Ealing Broadway. The GWR constructed the line which was initially opened for freight only in 1917.  

The opening of passenger services on this line were delayed by the First World War and finally opened on 3rd August 1920. The only intermediate station between Ealing Broadway and Wood Lane was East Acton. West Acton and North Acton stations opened on 5th November 1923. Wood Lane station was closed in 1947 to be replaced by the nearby modern day White City station. The modern day Wood Lane station opened in 2008 on the Hammersmith & City line, Circle line services started calling here in December 2009 as part of the expansion to Hammersmith. The changing stations in the Shepherd's Bush area is slightly complex so I will revisit in a future blog post. 

As East Acton was built by the Great Western Railway it has a unique style. As the Central London Railway was electrified and exclusively for passenger services the GWR built two dedicated freight tracks in 1938. These tracks were closed in 1964, now overgrown, but still visible to the north of the station. Despite being named East Acton, the station is not located near the neighborhood of East Acton. I am glad that it is still named East Acton or else I would not be able to be open this piece with a fact that could crop up in a pub quiz. 

30/270 - Uxbridge

With one of the most impressive station building's on the network, Uxbridge station is also the most used terminus station on both the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines. A station has served Uxbridge since July 1904, however, the striking Charles Holden building opened in December 1938. Uxbridge is located in zone 6 and is the most used station in the zone.

The station building was designed by Charles Holden. Holden designed 47 London Underground stations, predominantly in Art Deco design, with 26 of the stations being located on the Piccadilly line. Make sure to take in the impressive stained glass windows created by Hungarian artist Erwin Bossanyi. Uxbridge is similar in design to Cockfosters, the terminating station at the other end of the Piccadilly line. Cockfosters station opened in 1933 and serves the Cockfosters area in the borough of Barnet, however the station is actually located across the borough boundary in Enfield.

Whilst Uxbridge is served by the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines, it receive more trains on the Metropolitan line. 8 Metropolitan trains per hour terminate at Uxbridge during off-peak services, compared to just 3 on the Piccadilly line. All Piccadilly line trains leaving Uxbridge terminate at Cockfosters and not Heathrow. During peak services, some Metropolitan line trains terminate at Baker Street, the rest run all the way to Aldgate. 

The area outside of the station entrance now blends in with the rest of the High Street and the intu shopping center, but it was originally designed for something else. This space is shaped in a semi circle to provide a turning circle for trolleybuses, which replaced the trams here in 1936. This space is now predominantly used by pedestrians with a few taxi ranks being the only vehicles to mainly use it.

The rest of the Uxbridge branch features interesting stations. Hillingdon station, for example, is one of the most unique stations on the network. The station was resited in 1992 and won the London Underground station of the year in 1994. The majority of the station is housed under a dominating roof and make sure to keep an eye out of the 'Hillingdon (Swakeleys)' roundels.




I also regard Ruislip station building as one of the most charming on the network. Ruislip was originally the only intermediate station on the Uxbridge branch. Eastcote is another example on this branch of Charles Holden's influence on the tube network. The station opened as Eastcote Halt in 1906 and the current station building was built between 1937 and 1939.




When it is safe to travel on public transport for leisure, I highly recommend a trip out to Uxbridge and taking the time to visit some of the other stations on an interesting branch. The branch has a mixture of Metropolitan Railway and Art Deco designs and travelling the branch by contrasting S8 and 1973 stock trains is a joy. 

100 London Underground facts to remember for the virtual pub quiz

2020 so far has been the strangest of years. But is it the year we fell in love with quizzing? Quizzing is an important part in British culture, Pointless and The Chase dominating tea time viewing, and all you have to do is go on Twitter when somebody takes the minus offer to demonstrate how popular testing your knowledge has become. Quiz shows vary in format, prizes and ability, from tricky sequences in Only Connect, to the almost impossible on University Challenge, or testing your knowledge and practice of the penny slots on a British seaside pier in Tipping Point, everybody has their favourite and I think secretly everybody ultimately wants to appear on a quiz show, or maybe just me!

Lockdown has seen a rise in virtual pub quizzes, and it doesn't look like we have got bored of them just yet. But what is a pub quiz without a London Underground question? In this post I have rattled my brain and answer the top 100 London Underground facts to remember for the virtual pub quiz.

The classic questions
1) How many stations are there on the London Underground?
270. I have entered and exited 242 of them so far. You can follow my journey on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where I am @TubeSpottingDan

2) What percentage of the London Underground is actually Underground?
Roughly 45%. 

3) How many London Underground stations are south of the river Thames?
27 or 10%. Most of these are on the northern line.

4) Who was influential in creating the modern London Underground map?
Harry Beck. It became official in 1933.

6) Which famous celebrity was born at East Finchley station?
Jerry Springer. His mum was taking shelter during World War Two.

6) What is the only London Underground station to be named after a football club?
Arsenal. In 1932 the Arsenal chairman Herbert Chapman led a campaign to rename Gillespie Road station to Arsenal (Higbury Hill).

7) How many London Underground stations lie outside of the M25?
Five. Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, Chorleywood and Epping are located outside of the orbital motorway often described as the boundary of London.

8) What do the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Lewisham, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton have in common?
Only boroughs to have no London Underground stations. Out of 32 boroughs and the City of London, that comprise the Greater London Authority, six boroughs do not have a London Underground station.

9) Which station became the first to be entirely staffed by women?
Maida Vale. When the station opened in 1915 it became the first to be staffed entirely by women.

10) The river Westbourne flows above the platforms at which station?
Sloane Square. The iron pipe that was built to funnel the river when the station was built is still in place today.

Word questions
11) What is the only London Underground station that does not include any of the letters in the word Underground?
Balham. This is my favourite fact about the tube!

12) What is the only London Underground station that does not include any of the letters in the word Mackerel?
St John's Wood. I could go on for ages about which station does not include letters in the word xxxx, but this is a classic fact.

13) Name a station that contains all of the vowels?
Mansion House or South Ealing.

14) What is the most common station name ending?
Park. 23 stations feature Park at the end of their name.

15) Which station was originally named Gillespie Road?
Arsenal. Despite many stations having different names, this is perhaps the most common change of name questions I have came across.

16) Which station was originally named Post Office?
St Paul's. When the now named St Paul's station opened the station we now know as Blackfiars was called St Paul's.

17) Which station was originally named Euston Road?
Warren Street. The station opened in 1907 as Euston Road but was changed to Warren Street in 1908.

18) Which station was originally named Walham Green?
Fulham Broadway. The station was renamed to Fulham Broadway in 1952.

19) What is the first station alphabetically?
Acton Town.

20) What is the last station alphabetically?
Woodside Park.

Which line... question
21) The Viking line was proposed for which tube line?
Victoria line. 

22) Which line is entirely Underground?
Waterloo & City line. This question is a slight trick question as all of the stations and public areas on the Victoria line is underground, however the depot and therefore some of the track is above ground at Seven Sisters.

23) Which line has the most stations?
District line. From Upminster to Ealing Broadway, there is 60 stations on the District line.

24) Which line is the longest?
Central line. From Epping to West Ruislip the Central line is 74km in length.

25) Which line is the shortest?
Waterloo & City line. At just 2.37km in length, the Waterloo & City line is the shortest. With just Bank and Waterloo as stations, the line also features the lowest number of stations.

26) Which line requires the most trains to run the peak service?
Northern line. The Northern line requires 91 trains during the peak service.

27) Which line records the hottest temperatures during the summer?
Bakerloo line. Contrary to popular belief that the Central line is the hottest, during the 2018 heatwave the Bakerloo line recorded an average temperature of 31.04C, with the Central line recording 30.47C.

28) Which line is the oldest?
Metropolitan line. Opening between Paddington and Farringdon in 1863, the Metropolitan Railway, which became the Metropolitan line, is the oldest line on the network.

29) Which line contains the longest continuous tunnel?
Northern line. From East Finchley to Mordon (via. Bank), the longest tunnel is over 17 miles long.

30) Which two lines are the only lines to connect with all of the other lines?
Central line and Jubilee line. Until the East London line closed in 2007, the only line to connect with all lines was the Jubilee line.

Year questions
31) When did the London Underground open?
1863. The first section of the network opened from Paddington to Farringdon on 10 January 1863 and was built using a 'cut and cover' method of construction.

32) When was the Oyster card introduced?
2003. The payment card that is now used for transport across London, buses, tubes, even river services, was first introduced in 2003.

33) When was alcohol banned on the London Underground?
2008. Thousands celebrated the final day you could drink on the tube by hosting a party on the Circle line.

34) When was steam last used on the London Underground?
1961. The final steam services ran from Rickmansworth to Aylesbury until 1961. The line was then electrified from Rickmansworth to Amersham, and services onto Aylesbury were transferred to British Rail.

35) What year did Hannah Dadds become the first female tube driver?
1978. Hannah Dadds worked on the District line and her sister Edna also drove trains on the tube.

36) In what year did the latest station open on the network?
2008. Wood Lane opened in October 2008 and is located near to former station that closed in 1959.

37) When did 'Night Tube' services first start?
2016. Services on the Central and Victoria lines began on 19 August 2016.

38) The Jubilee line, that comprises of former Bakerloo and Metropolitan line track and new tunnels, opened in which year?
1979. The latest line to join the network opened to the public on 1 May 1979.

39) Although the stations opened between 1863 and 1902 as part of the Metropolitan Railway, when did the Hammersmith & City open as a separate line?
1990. The line features 29 stations.

40) The Waterloo & City Railway opened in 1898, however when did the operations of the line transfer to London Underground?
1994. The line shares the same stock of trains as the Central line.

Escalator questions
41) Where was the first escalator installed?
Earl's Court. In 1911 the first escalator on the London Underground was installed at Earl's Court.

42) Each week escalators on the London Underground travel the equivalent distance of how many trips round the world?
Two.

43) Which was the last station to use wooden escalators?
Greenford. In 2014 the wooden escalators were replaced in 2014 and Greenford became the first station in 2015 to install an inclinator.

44) Where is the longest escalator on the network?
Angel. It is over 60m long!

45) Where is the shortest escalator on the network
Stratford. It is one of just two stations to feature escalators that go up from street-level to an underground platform.

46) Where did they trial a spiral escalator?
Holloway Road. The remains of the trial can be found at the Transport Museum Depot in Acton.

47) Which station has the most escalators?
Waterloo. With an impressive 23.

48) How many moving walkways are there on the network?
4. Two are at Bank and two are at Waterloo.

49) How many escalators are there on the network?
451.

50) How many passenger lifts are there across the network?
202. 

The tube and pubs
51) Name a London Underground station named after a pub?
Angel, Elephant & Castle, Manor House, Royal Oak or Swiss Cottage

52) What is the only London Underground station to feature a pub attached to the building?
Kew Gardens. The Railway pub was renamed The Tap on the Line in 2013.

53) The tiles on the platform of which Victoria line station were inspired by a pub?
Stockwell. The tile motif features a swan after the nearby The Swan pub.

54) Which former station building is now 'Market Hall' where you can purchase a beer from a former ticket booth?
Fulham Broadway. The refurbished former station building reopened in 2018.

55) The Hole in the Wall pub closed in 1985, but where would you find it?
Sloane Square. A pub was located on the westbound platform at Sloane Square.

Station architecture
56) Who designed the station buildings of Arnos Grove, Cockfosters and Southgate?
Charles Holden. Holden designed 47 stations across the network, 26 on the Piccadilly line.

57) Who designed the station buildings of Belsize Park, Caledonian Road and Covent Garden?
Leslie Green. Green designed 45 stations on the Underground, 18 on the Piccadilly line.

58) Who financed the different tile patterns of central London Northern and Piccadilly line stations?
Charles Yerkes. The American financier financed the different station colour patterns to help literate passengers.

59) What colour tiles did Leslie Green use in his station building designs?
Red. The red tiled facades became synonymous with the London Underground.

60) Who designed Boston Manor, Osterley and St. John's Wood?
Stanley Heaps. Heaps worked with Green and later Holden, but he had his own influence across the network.

Roundels
61) Where will you find the largest roundels on a station platform?
Canary Wharf. A YouGov survey in 2013 revealed Canary Wharf as the 'most loved'.

62) Where will you find the largest roundel anywhere on the network?
Brixton. The roundel at the entrance of Brixton station is the largest anywhere on the London Underground networks.

63) Name a station that does not feature roundels on the platforms?
Barking, Richmond, Upminster and Wimbledon. These stations are not operated by Transport for London.

64) Where was the first roundel installed?
St James's Park. The first roundel was installed in 1908.

65) Where is the only place on the network you would find a roundel that breaks the pattern rule regarding diamonds?
Arsenal. The diamonds above and below the letters fall in between each letter, except on the mosaic at Arsenal station where the diamonds are spread evenly out.

Passenger usage
66) Which station is the busiest?
King's Cross St. Pancras. With just under 90 million passengers in 2018.

67) Which station is the least used on the London Underground?
Roding Valley. The Central line station received around 280,000 passengers in 2018.

68) What is the most used station that is on just one line?
Canary Wharf. Just under 45 million people used Canary Wharf in 2018.

69) What is the least used Zone 1 station?
Regents Park. 3.7 million people used the Bakerloo line station in 2018, the second least used station in Zone 1 is Lambeth North.

70) Which line is the busiest?
Central line. With over 260 million annual passengers, the Central line is the busiest, followed by the Northern.

Longest and shortest
71) What is the shortest distance between two adjacent stations on the network?
260m. Leicester Square and Covent Garden are connected by the Piccadilly line.

72) And how much does this journey cost per mile?
£29.81. A staggering £100,000 is spent each year by people taking this short journey by train.

73) Which two stations are the closest on the network?
Bayswater and Queensway. Although on separate lines, Bayswater and Queensway are less than 100m apart.

74) Which two adjacent stations are furthest apart?
Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer. The two stations are nearly four miles apart!

75) What is the longest possible journey?
Epping to West Ruislip. The journey on the Central line takes you over 34 miles of track.

Height
76) Which station is the deepest?
Hampstead. The Northern line station is 58.5 meters deep

77) Which station has the most steps?
Hampstead. Being the deepest it is no surprise that with 320 steps, Hampstead features more than any other station.

78) Which station is the highest above sea level?
Amersham. The Metropolitan line station is 147 meters above sea level

79) What is significant about the Dollis Brook Viaduct?
The highest point above ground a tube train travels. The Dollis Brook Viaduct is 18 meters high.

80) According to signage, the 193 steps at Covent Garden are equivalent to how many floors in a building?
Fifteen. Although this fact crops up at Russell Square and Hampstead despite having 175 and 320 steps respectively.

Large stations
81) Which station features the most platforms?
Baker Street. With 10 platforms Baker Street has more platforms than any other station. Note Bank and Monument are classed as two separate stations.

82) Which station is served by the most London Underground lines?
King's Cross St. Pancras. The Zone 1 station is served by six lines - Circle line, Hammersmith & City line, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line and Victoria line.

83) True or False? You can fit One Canada Square inside Canary Wharf station?
True. The station is so big that you could fit the 235 meter building on its side.

84) The construction of the expansion of which station is the deepest excavation ever in central London?
Westminster. A void known as the 'station box' was constructed to accommodate escalators to take passengers from the new Jubilee line platforms to the sub-surface platforms.

85) In 2003 which station was used for a disaster training exercise named Exercise Osiris?
Bank. The exercise involved over 500 emergency response staff.

Rolling stock
86) Which current rolling stock is the oldest?
1972 Stock - Bakerloo line. The Bakerloo line trains are the oldest on the network.

87) Which current rolling stock was introduced most recently?
S7 Stock. The S8 Stock was first introduced on the Metropolitan line in July 2010, with the S7 being used on the Hammersmith & City line in July 2012.

88) Which is the most recent stock to be removed from the network?
D78 Stock. The last D78 Stock train exited service on 21 April 2017 after serving the District line for 37 years.

89) Which four landmarks feature on the moquette of the 1992, 1995 and 1996 Stock trains?
Tower Bridge, Big Ben, London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral. The Barman mosquette, named after TfL's Publicity Officer Christian Barman, is a famous design across London.

90) Which stock became the first to use air-conditioning?
S8 Stock. When introduced in July 2010, the S8 Stock became the first to use air-conditioning ever on the tube.

10 more classic questions
91) Which station that is underground is the only to have sub-surface and deep-level platforms at the same level?
Mile End. The Central line and District/Hammersmith & City line stations uniquely share a cross-platform interchange, taking inspiration from the Moscow metro.

92) Which station has the largest car park?
Epping. With 599 spaces.

93) Which line features the most stations with no station building?
Central line. Bank, Bethnal Green, Chancery Lane, Gants Hill and Notting Hill Gate stations have no station building.

94) Which station is the easternmost to be entirely underground?
Gants Hill. Prior to opening in 1947, this part of the Central line was used as a munitions factory.

95) The tiles at which station are inspired by a nearby Cricket ground?
Oval. Added in 2008, the tiles at Oval station bring a uniqueness to the station.

96) How many London Underground stations feature on the standard monopoly board?
Three. Liverpool Street, King's Cross and Marylebone.

97) Which London Overground station was planned to be the eastern terminus of the Victoria line?
Wood Street. Had the Victoria line of been constructed to Wood Street, it would have been the only station on the line to be above ground.

98) Which station is furthest from central London?
Chesham. The station is 25 miles away from Charing Cross.

99) What is the only station to have Grade 1 listed status?
St. James's Park. The station includes 55 Broadway, the administrative headquarters of the London Underground.

100) Where can you find mosaics dedicated to Alfred Hitchcock?
Leytonstone. The approach to Leytonstone station features many mosaics based on Alfred Hitchcock's works. The mosaics were revealed in 2001.

There you have it. 100 facts that may come up on your next pub quiz. Have I missed any classic facts or pub quiz questions? What is your favourite London Underground? You can get involved by commenting below or following me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook where I am @TubeSpottingDan

Virtual tour of the Piccadilly line

It is now June and we are three months in to major changes to life in the UK. Now the football season should have been all but over I usually find myself spending much of my free time in the summer months travelling to different parts of London and the UK by tube, rail and other forms of public transport. Going on a summer rail adventure would usually bring joy to millions of people in the UK, however, this summer we must resist these urges and continue to avoid public transport unless it is absolutely necessary. Join me today on a virtual tour of one of my favourite London Underground lines, the Piccadilly line.

Spanning over 70km and featuring 53 stations, the Piccadilly line is both the second-longest tube line and the line that features the second-most stations, being second to the Central and District line respectively. The line is served by the 1973 Stock, the second oldest behind the 1972 Stock of the Bakerloo line, and despite the units charm the line is in desperate need of new trains. In July 2017 I wrote that the 1972 and 1973 Stocks "from the inside look decades apart", however major refurbishments of the Bakerloo line units have since taken place. My favourite aspect of the 1973 Stock is that since 2006 the units were fitted with a system that allows the driver to chose between tourist or commuter settings for audio announcements.

Whilst the Piccadilly line serves many tourist attractions (Buckingham Palace, the Museums at South Kensington and Covent Garden) and transport hubs for visitors (King's Cross, St Pancras and Heathrow Airport) I start this virtual journey in zone 5 at a station that's name often brings a smile to somebody's face, you guessed it, Cockfosters. With just under 2 million annual passengers, Cockfosters is the least used terminus on the Piccadilly line, however, is well worth a visit. Cockfosters is one of the many stations to be designed by Charles Holden, a name that will pop multiple times throughout this virtual tour. Holden designed 47 stations on the London Underground, 26 of which are on the Piccadilly line.

Cockfosters to Finsbury Park

This section of the Piccadilly line north of Finsbury Park opened gradually between September 1932 and July 1933. All of these stations feature their own unique colour schemes a nod to the earlier central London stations on the line that feature their own tile patterns to help illiterate passengers know which station to alight at their stop. There are some fantastic stations on this section of the Piccadilly line that I recommend visiting once it is safe to do so.

In July 2018 to celebrate England reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, oh what could have been, I visited Southgate station. A few days after I visited the station temporarily changed its name on the platform roundels and exterior roundels to 'Gareth Southgate' recognising the England manger's achievements. In my opinion, the exterior of Southgate station is Charles Holden's finest. The impressive circular flat roof is supported by a central column in the ticket hall and the top of the building features a tesla coil that is well worth visiting lit up in the evening. Soutgate is an example of Holden not only designing fantastic looking stations, but stations with commercial potential. The circular design of the station allows for shops, offices and public toilets. Southgate is also the northern most station on the network to feature under ground platforms. For more facts about this fantastic station check out my post from July 2018.

Although I personally think Southgate is Holden's finest, many regard his best to be Arnos Grove. Also circular in design, the exterior clearly combines brick, concrete and glass, materials Holden used across many tube stations. The centre of the ticket hall features a display dedicated to the works of Holden and it is no surprise that in 2007 The Guardian highlighted Arnos Grove as of the 12 'Great Modern' buildings alongside the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Sydney Opera House and New York's Empire State Building.

Arsenal to Caledonian Road

This section can be busy on Arsenal match days. Finsbury Park, Arsenal and Holloway Road are affected as 60,000 people arrive and exit The Emirates Stadium. Holloway Road station, the closest to the ground, closes on event days before kick off and after kick off to avoid huge queues along Holloway Road. A trial spiral escalator was erected at Holloway Road in the 1900s, however it was not successful. The remains of this escalator can be found at the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton. 

Arsenal station is rather unique. All classic London Underground logos feature the diamonds above and below the letters fall in between each letter, except on the mosaic at Arsenal station where the diamonds are spread evenly out. When Arsenal Football Club moved from Woolwich to north London in 1913 the now Arsenal station was called Gillespie Road. In 1932 the Arsenal Chairman, Herbert Chapman, led a campaign to change the name of the station to Arsenal (Highbury Hill), meaning that the station is the only London Underground station to be named after a football club. The tiling on the platform walls still read Gillespie Road. 

Caledonian Road station is a classic example of Leslie Green influence on the tube and in particular the Piccadilly line. Green designed 45 stations on the London Underground, 18 on the Piccadilly, and the stations were often unique in design with distinctive red tiled facades. This design is so synonymous with the London Underground that the fictional Walford East station in EastEnders is inspired by Green's design. 

The West End
This section includes the stations between King's Cross St. Pancras and Hyde Park Corner. King's Cross St. Pancras is a big and busy station that includes sub-surface platforms and deep-level platforms for the Victoria line, Northern line and Piccadilly line. On 18 November 1987 a small fire was reported on the escalator taking passengers from the Northern and Piccadilly lines, unfortunately the fire escalated to a fireball and set the ticket hall on fire. 31 people lost their lives in the incident and a memorial is in place in the ticket hall for the deep-level platforms.

Many of the stations on the central core feature the distinctive platform tiling works to assist passengers using the railway that were illiterate. I also cannot discuss the Piccadilly line without mentioning its many now disused and abandoned stations. The most famous is Aldwych, a single station branch line from Holborn, however there were plans to extend this to Temple. Alwych, or Strand as it was originally named, closed in 1994 but has been used as film set for films such as Darkest Hour, The Bank Job and The Krays. When navigating Holborn station today, it may feel like you are going up and down a lot. That is because you are walking around and over the now abandoned platforms for that shuttle down to Aldwych.


Covent Garden and Leicester Square stations are famously close. At a distance of just 260m, they are the closest of two adjacent stations on the network, and it cost £29.81 a mile to complete this journey. Last year travel vloggers Geoff Marshall and Vicky Pipe put this journey to the test and concluded that if you are at Leicester Square from a Northern line train it is still quicker to exit the station and walk to Covent Garden than walk to the Piccadilly platforms, board a train and exit Covent Garden. As a station often used by tourists, Covent Garden is infamous for long waits for the lifts, or brave passengers can test themselves climbing 193 steps or 15 floors. You will see equivalent to 15 floors or storeys across the tube whether its 193 steps at Covent Garden, 175 steps at Russell Square or 320 steps at Hampstead. Geoff did the maths at Covent Garden is equivalent to between 10 or 11 floors.

Most of favourite stations are actually out of Zone 1, however I admire the circular concourse and ticket hall underneath Piccadilly Circus. Whilst here it is worth checking out the world clock, a unique linear clock showing the time across the globe.  Between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner there is another abandoned station, Down Street. The station opened in 1907 but due to being located in a wealthy area where car ownership was high, and close to both Green Park and Hyde Park Corner stations, Down Street was never well used. Within two years it was not uncommon for trains to skip the station, it lost its Sunday service in 1918 and finally closed in 1932. Down Street did reopeon in 1939 for a different purpose, the Railway Executive Committee's secret bunker to oversee operations of Britain's railways, and was used to house the Cabinet War Rooms before they were ready in Whitehall. 

Knightsbridge to Acton Town
Knightsbridge station is currently undergoing major station upgrades that were due to be completed in 2021. The station is located in a busy and popular fashion district, with Harrords drawing in 100,000 people per day. Harrods opened in 1849 and until March 2020 never had to close, the store even stayed open throughout First and Second World Wars. The next station west of Knightsbridge, South Kensington, is a classic example of how the London Underground network grew out individual railways. Today you can clearly see the Leslie Green inspired deep-tube entrance adjacent to the sub-surface entrance that opened many years prior.

When I said most of my favourite stations are not in Zone 1 that is true except Westminster and the next station on the Piccadilly line tour, Gloucester Road. In July 2017 when I listed my favourite 10 stations, Gloucester Road came third. The now abandoned sub-surface platform now often displays unique Art on the Underground exhibits, and who could forget the egg inspired display from 2018? The Metro described Gloucester Road as "if there's a Tube station that could double for a church, it's Gloucester Road, which has a serenity you won't find elsewhere on the network". I could not describe the station any better than that!

After emerging from the tunnels after Earl's Court, the Piccadilly line runs in parallel with the District line until Acton Town. Between these stations the Picaddilly line trains do not stop at Ravenscourt Park, Stamford Brook, Chiswick Park and only stops at Turnham Green during Night Tube hours, or really early in the morning or late at night. These stations that the Piccadilly line rushes through will be covered when I do a tour of the District line as they are well worth a mention.

Uxbridge branch
At Acton Central the Piccadilly line splits and heads south west to Heathrow Airport or north west through Brent and joins the Metropolitan line at Rayners Lane to travel out to Uxbridge. Two of my favourite stations are on this branch; North Ealing and Sudbury Town. North Ealing is the built in a unique style and has a calmness unlike any Zone 3 station. The station reminds me of Roding Valley on the Central line, the least used station on the entire network. North Ealing is the fourth least used station on the London Underground network and the least used on the Piccadilly line.



Sudbury Town is unique. It is the only station on the network to have a barometer and the roundels on the platforms use a Johnston Delf Smith font, a wedge-serief version of the classic Johnston font. The station still retains its original ticket booth, heritage signs and a wonderful waiting room, all situated within the classic concrete of Holden's designed building. Just 350m away is Sudbury & Harrow Road station, London's former least used railway station. 



From Rayners Lane the Piccadilly line shares the track with the Metropolitan line. This branch is served by more Metropolitan line trains than Piccadilly line services so will be featured on a future post about the Metropolitan line. The terminus at Uxbridge however, is worth a mention on a tour of the Piccadilly line as it was also designed by Charles Holden and is similar to Cockfosters where we started this journey. With over 7.5 million annual users, Uxbridge is the most used Zone 6 station on the network. 

Heathrow branch
The final section of the Piccadilly line from South Ealing to Heathrow Airport is one of the most interesting aspects of the network, especially the stations in Hounslow. The area is now served by four stations, three stations have been relocated; Osterley, Hounslow East and Hounslow West. I wrote a piece explaining all the changes in the area three years ago - check it out here.


The Piccadilly line extended out to Hatton Cross in 1975. The station is built in brutalist design and interchanges with a busy bus station. When the station opened it was the closest to Heathrow, this is reflected in the tiling on the central support columns that feature the British Airways Speedbird logo. The line was then extended to Heathrow Central, which is now named Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, in 1977.



Heathrow Terminal 4 station opened in 1998 and features two platforms; one for the Heathrow Express and one singular platform for the Piccadilly line. The station at Heathrow Terminal 5 opened in 2008 and unlike the other two stations that serve the airport is entirely staffed by Heathrow Express staff. To facilitate travel between the terminals, since 2012 it is free to travel between the three stations and via. Hatton Cross if you need to access Terminal 4.


There we go, a whilst stop tour of 71km of track and the highlights of 53 stations. With iconic buildings from Charles Holden and Leslie Green there is more to the Piccadilly line than you may think. I will revisit the disused stations on the line in a future blog post and despite needing new stock, the Piccadilly line remains one of my favourite lines with some of my favourite stations.