Old Street station

Old Street station is in the London Borough of Islington, close to the boundary with the London Borough of Hackney to the north-east. It is in the centre of, and underneath the Old Street Roundabout, a major intersection on the London Inner Ring Road which is partly in Islington's Bunhill ward and partly in Hackney's Hoxton ward.^[7][8]

There is no street-level station building. Access to the platform is provided by ramps and stairs to a modern entrance adjacent to a sub-surface shopping parade, known as St Agnes Well.^[7] Expanding its catchment, on the Northern line between Old Street and Angel is a disused station named City Road.^{[9][n 1]}

The station is on the National Rail network's Northern City Line, 45 chains (900 m) down-line from Moorgate served by Great Northern trains.^[11] Although a through-station on this route, for ticketing purposes Old Street is considered a central London terminus.^[12] On the Underground, it is on the Bank (eastern) branch of the Northern line, between Moorgate and Angel, in Travelcard Zone 1.^[13]

The station was opened on 17 November 1901 as an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR), the first deep-level tube railway in London that connected the City of London with Southwark. It was part of an extension from Moorgate to Angel, along with the station at City Road.^{[14][15][n 2]} The area around the station was originally a mix of light industry, commerce and warehouses.^[18]

The Northern City Line platforms were opened on 14 February 1904 by the Great Northern & City Railway, which built its tunnels to a 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter capable of accommodating main-line trains as it was intended to carry such services from its northern terminus at the Great Northern Railway's Finsbury Park station to Moorgate.^{[19][n 3]} Before Moorgate was expanded in 1938 to include in-station escalators between platforms, Old Street was used as the main interchange between the C&SLR and the Northern City lines.^[21] The Finsbury Park connection eventually opened in November 1976, with the line becoming a British Rail route, with through services to Hertford and Welwyn Garden City.^[22]

The C&SLR was built with smaller tunnels than the later tube lines and needed to be enlarged to enable them to accommodate standard stock trains. The section between Euston and Moorgate closed on 8 August 1922 and reopened on 20 April 1924.^[23] The surface building was rebuilt in 1925 when escalators replaced the lift shaft to access the platform tunnels.^[24] The station frontage was redesigned by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's architect Stanley Heaps with consultant architect Charles Holden. Holden had been recommended by managing director Frank Pick to make uniform facades for several station entrances. He designed the stations for the C&SLR's extension to Morden which was being built.^[25]

Old Street was used as a bomb shelter during World War II; the nearby City Road station (which had closed in 1922) was temporarily re-opened to use as a shelter.^[26]

In 1968, the station was again modified; the surface building was replaced with a sub-surface structure in the centre of the roundabout and another escalator shaft was added.^[7] During the 1990s corrosion caused by excessive soil acidity required a section of the cast iron running tunnel lining in the Northern line, south of Old Street, to be relined with stainless steel tunnel segments.^[27][28]

In the early 1970s, Old Street was planned to be a stop on a new tube line from Wimbledon in the southwest to Leytonstone in the northeast, via Waterloo and Holborn. The route incorporated parts of existing lines at each end but was not built because of a lack of funding.^[29]

In 2014 the station was redeveloped in a collaboration between Transport for London and letting agency Appear Here.^[30] Pop-up retail spaces were constructed around the station entrance in a drive to increase revenue.^[31]

Old Street station has had increased footfall in the 21st century. In 2014, around 23 million people passed through the station annually.^[30] The station is considered strategically important, as the area around Old Street is being developed as a centre for Information Technology. In 2017, the London Borough of Islington announced plans to redevelop the area around the station with a new entrance and better facilities for cyclists.^[32]

On 16 August 1921, a man fell onto the track and was killed. He was identified by a card containing personal details in his pocket.^[33]

On 25 March 1970, an escalator at the station broke down during the morning rush hour. Six people were taken to hospital for minor injuries after they fell.^[34]

In March 2015, a man was struck and killed by a train. An inquiry returned a verdict of accidental death.^[35] Two significant incidents occurred in 2017. In May, the station was closed after a body was found in the station complex.^[36] On 30 September, the station was evacuated after passengers heard a loud "bang". Around 20 ambulances and numerous police officers attended the scene, believing it to be a potential terrorist incident. A search around the station found nothing suspicious.^[37]

The station has four platforms. Platforms 1–2 serve the Northern line on the London Underground network,^[38] while platforms 3–4 serve the Northern City Line on the National Rail network. Both are deep-level tube lines. The station is part of the London station group and acts as a final destination for people travelling with National Rail tickets marked "London Terminals".^[39]

Late evening and weekend services were introduced at the National Rail station, as part of the Great Northern Thameslink franchise in 2015.^[40]

Services at the station are as follows.

All National Rail services at Old Street are operated by Great Northern using Class 717 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[41]

• 4 tph to Moorgate
• 2 tph to Stevenage via Hertford North
• 2 tph to Welwyn Garden City

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly service between Moorgate and Hertford North and the service between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City is increased to 4 tph.

The typical off-peak London Underground service on the Northern line in trains per hour is:^[42]

• 20 tph to Morden via Bank
• 10 tph to Edgware
• 8 tph to High Barnet
• 2 tph to Mill Hill East

During the peak hours, the service is increased up to 22 tph in each direction.

London Buses routes 21, 43, 55, 76, 135, 141, 205, 214, 243 and night routes N55, N205 and N271 serve the station.^[44][45]

The graffiti artist Banksy painted a Pulp Fiction mural near Old Street station in 2002. It was based on Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield from the film of the same name, except the characters held bananas in place of guns. It was accidentally painted over in 2007.^[46] A Transport for London representative said "Our graffiti removal teams are staffed by professional cleaners, not professional art critics".^[47]

Notes

Citations

Sources

• Train times for Old Street station from National Rail
• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Original Old Street station building, 1915
  • Redesigned station building, 1929
• Map sources