Central line

Central

Colour on map	Red
Year opened	1900
Line type	Deep Tube
Rolling stock	1992 Tube Stock
Stations served	49
Length	74 km (46 mi)
Depots	West Ruislip Hainault White City[1]
Journeys made	199 million (2002) (per annum)
Rail lines of Transport for London  London Underground lines   Bakerloo   Central   Circle   District   Hammersmith & City   Jubilee   Metropolitan   Northern   Piccadilly   Victoria   Waterloo & City Other lines   Docklands Light Railway   Tramlink   Overground
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The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at 76 km (47 mi), has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground.^[1] Out of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground. It is the second busiest line on the Underground after the Northern line.

History

The beginnings

For a detailed history of the line, see Central London Railway.

Although the Central London Railway (CLR) was incorporated in 1891 for a line between Shepherd's Bush and Bank (with an extension to Liverpool Street authorised in 1892) the time for completion had to be extended twice (1894, 1899); and it was not until 27 June 1900 that it was formally opened, a month before public traffic began to use the railway on 30 July to Bank station. The railway was initially operated by electric locomotives hauling a train of trailer cars. The distinctive station buildings, few of which survive, were designed by the architect Harry Bell Measures.

The tunnels were bored with the nominal diameter of 11 feet 8¼ inches (3.56 m), a diameter also used for several later lines, which was increased on curves but reduced to 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) close to the stations. The heavy locomotives caused considerable problems with vibration as they weighed 44 long tons (45 t; 49 ST), some three-quarters of which was unsprung.^[2]

Upon the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board (by amalgamation of the CLR with other transport companies in the London area) on 1 July 1933, the railway became known as the Central London Line; on 23 August 1937 it was simplified to Central Line.^[3]

In the late 1930s the tunnels were expanded and realigned and the stations lengthened. In 1940, the line was converted to the standard tube four rail electrification. Because of the manner in which tunnel had been enlarged, it was no longer round and for clearance reasons the positive rail within the original tunnels had to be of an unusual shape with the top contact surface 40 mm (1.6 in) higher than normal. This is still the situation today, and the extra height can be observed at most deep-level stations, where the insulating 'pots' stand on small cement mounds. Trains between Liverpool Street and White City must have special positive collectors that can lift higher than normal. In turn the current Central line stock cannot run on any other line, partly because they are operated by automatic train operation, have no trip-cocks, and would interfere with other signalling equipment. There are also clearance problems with the gearboxes.

One legacy of the line's building is that the sections under the City were built to follow the geography of the streets above, rather than underneath buildings, to take advantage of the free wayleave offered by the government. As a result there are many sharp bends and curves on the track between St. Paul's, Bank and Liverpool Street. At Bank station, the Central line platforms are so tightly curved it is not possible to see one end of the platform from the other and the traditional "mind the gap" message is particularly stressed here.

For several years from the outset a uniform fare of two pence was adopted: the railway was popularly known as the "Twopenny Tube". In July 1907 graduated fares of two pence and three pence were introduced: a one penny fare was added in 1909.

Extensions of the line

1908

Extended in the west by means of a loop to Wood Lane Exhibition Station in 1908 for the Franco-British Exhibition.

1912

Extended eastwards to Liverpool Street.

1920

In the west, a short connecting link was made from Wood Lane station to join the Great Western Railway (GWR)-operated line, the Ealing and Shepherd's Bush Railway, allowing trains to run to Ealing Broadway.

1935

As part of the New Works Programme 1935–40, announced in June 1935, London Transport proposed works to extend the Central line as follows:

• "to construct and electrify two additional GWR tracks from North Acton to West Ruislip, allowing Central line trains from Wood Lane to use the line;

An extension beyond West Ruislip to Harefield Road and Denham was also planned (and shown on tube maps of the period) but was abandoned, along with the Northern Heights extensions of the Northern line, due to post-war establishment of the green belt around London which restricted development of land in the area.

• "to construct a tube railway in continuation of the Central London Line from Liverpool Street eastwards to points where it will connect with the Loughton and Grange Hill lines (probably near Leyton and Newbury Park so as to permit running through trains to stations in the West End of London and beyond without passing over the congested London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines at Stratford and Ilford"

WW2

Although the works of the latter were completed by the outbreak of war the opening was delayed, and the section, safer as it was from bombing, was used as a long, narrow, munitions factory by the Plessey company.

1946-48

The eastern branch opened in December 1946 as far as Stratford (with trains continuing empty through the new tube tunnels to a temporary reversing facility at Drapers Field, in the cutting south of Leyton), with the line beyond Stratford opening as far as Woodford and Newbury Park in 1947. As for the Fairlop Loop, the southern link from Newbury Park to Ilford closed in 1947, whilst the connection to Seven Kings lasted until 1956. The Newbury Park to Woodford via Hainault section opened to tube trains in 1948, as did the section from Woodford to Buckhurst Hill. British Rail (BR) trains continued to access the line via a link from Temple Mills East to Leyton. These included the BR locomotives and stock for the Epping - Ongar shuttle (until electrification in 1957), freight trains to sidings (including Fairlop, Barkingside, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, South Woodford, Loughton, North Weald, and Ongar) until the mid-1960s, and early-morning and late-night trains between Liverpool Street and Epping (latterly formed by DMUs, and last running on 31 May 1970). This section of line now forms a loop and there are some through services to Woodford via Hainault (and vice versa), every 5 minutes or so.

For the western extension, a new pair of tracks for the Central line opened from North Acton to Greenford opened in 1947, with the section to West Ruislip following in 1948. The powers to extend the line to Denham were never implemented. The Great Western Railway's halts and stations between Old Oak Common West junction and South Ruislip were all closed by 1948, with the shuttle to Greenford using a bay in the new Underground station.

1949

Extended to Epping, when London Transport took over the line from British Railways.

1957

Extended from Epping to Ongar, taking over from British Railways.

Richmond extensions

In 1912 plans were published for an extension of the line from Shepherd's Bush under Goldhawk Road, Stamford Brook Road and Bath Road to Turnham Green and Gunnersbury,^[4] including stations at Hammersmith Grove, Paddenswick Road, Rylett Road, Stamford Gardens, Turnham Green and Heathfield Terrace. This would have enabled the Central London Railway to run trains through to Richmond and possibly beyond. The route was authorised in 1913^[5] but work had not started by the outbreak of World War I the following year. In 1919 an alternative route was published, building a tunnelled link to the disused London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) tracks south of the L&SWR's Shepherd's Bush station then via Hammersmith (Grove Road) railway station and Turnham Green.^[6] Although authorisation was granted in 1920,^[7] the connection was never realised, and the L&SWR tracks were eventually used by the Piccadilly line when it was extended west of Hammersmith in 1932.^[8] However the proposal has occasionally reappeared.^[9]

A train of 1992 tube stock approaching Roding Valley station on the Central line.

A 1992 tube stock train terminating at Loughton Station.

Epping to Ongar branch

Although electrification of this section had begun under the 1935/40 New Works Programme (see above), the line remained steam-hauled (though from 16–27 June 1952 an experimental ACV/BUT three-car lightweight railcar set operated part of the shuttle service Monday-Friday) until 18 November 1957. From that date two-, three- and four-car tube trains were used on the branch. Shorter platforms at North Weald and Blake Hall, coupled with a limited power supply, meant it was not possible to work through trains to and from London, and the line remained a branch, though the shuttle service initially operated between Ongar and Loughton. Expected levels of passenger use never materialised; the line became a heavy loss maker, and was closed on 30 September 1994 and sold to the Pilot Group. The direct connection to Epping was lifted soon after closure, but the remaining section of the branch stayed intact.

A heritage passenger service owned by Epping Ongar Railway Ltd. started operation in October 2004. A train runs on Sundays from Ongar to Coopersale, stopping at North Weald, with a possible extension to Epping in the future. It does not stop at the old Blake Hall station, as the station platform was removed upon station closure in 1981.

2003 derailment and closure

A Central line train derailed at Chancery Lane on 25 January 2003, injuring 32 passengers, after a traction motor became detached from the train and fell onto the track. The entire line was closed whilst the cause of the failure was determined and appropriate modifications made to the trains. The line was then re-opened in stages. By late March 2003 a limited service was running on the eastern and western extremities of the line, with the central section still closed. Services resumed over that central section on 3 April 2003 and to all stations (albeit at a reduced frequency) on 12 April, with a full service by the end of the month. The initial closure also extended to the Waterloo & City line which uses the same "1992 tube stock" trains, but this line, being far shorter - with only two stops and far fewer trains - reopened quickly.

A more minor derailment occurred on a set of points at the London end of the westbound platform at White City on 11 May 2004, but there were no reported injuries.

2007 derailment

Three carriages came off the rails on the westbound Central line between Mile End and Bethnal Green at about 0900 BST on 5 July 2007. The cause was attributed to a roll of tarpaulin which came free from a storage location next to the lines.^[10]

London Fire Brigade sent 14 fire engines to the scene, including four urban search and rescue vehicles. The line was closed between Liverpool Street and Leytonstone and re-opened on 7 July 2007.

Rolling stock

Former rolling stock

1992 Stock (left) and 1962 Stock at Hainault Depot. The older train is retained for departmental work.

When opened in 1900, the railway was operated by electric locomotives hauling coaches. The coaches were fitted with gates at each end, similar to those used on the City and South London Railway and the Glasgow Subway. The locomotives, with a large unsprung weight, proved highly unsatisfactory and the cause of considerable vibration. They were replaced as early as 1903 with motor cars, with the existing coaching stock being adapted to run as trailers within newly formed electric multiple units.

By the 1920s the rolling stock was in need of modernisation or replacement. Given that the then-new Standard Stock was too large to work in the line's tunnels, it was decided to modernise the existing fleet. The end gates were removed and replaced by an extension to the passenger accommodation. Two air operated single-leaf sliding doors were inserted into both sides of each carriage. Reconstruction work was carried out by the Union Construction Company at Feltham.

Additional trains were purchased for the opening of the Wood Lane to Ealing Broadway extension in 1920. These were also temporarily used on the Watford extension of the Bakerloo line.

The 1900/03 stock and 1920 stock were finally withdrawn from service in 1939. With the enlargement of the tunnels and modification of the electrical supply, Standard Stock (displaced from the Northern line by new 1938 Stock) was operated - eventually as 8-car trains following platform extensions.

The Standard Stock became increasingly unreliable during the 1950s. Some had been stored during World War II pending the opening of extensions. Plans for replacement (using a production version of the prototype 1960 Stock) were abandoned; new trains of 1962 Stock (virtually identical to the tried and tested 1959 Stock) were ordered instead. These operated until their replacement by 1992 Stock in the early 1990s.

Interior of 1992 Stock used on the Central line

The Epping-Ongar branch was not electrified until 1957, prior to which the service was operated on behalf of London Transport by British Railways using steam hauled coaches. Upon electrification, two-car sets of 1935 Stock were initially used, later replaced by 4-car sets of 1962 Stock specially modified to cope with the limited current. The section closed in 1994, and eventually became a heritage railway now known as the Epping Ongar Railway.

The 1967 rolling stock used on the Victoria line was also used on the Central line's Hainault-Woodford section until 1984.^[11]

Current trains

In common with virtually all other Underground lines, the Central line is worked by a single type of rolling stock. The 1992 Tube Stock was introduced gradually from April 1993 to 17 February 1995, and was the first in London to introduce automated announcements for connections and station stops. The 1992 stock is painted in the standard red, white and blue Underground livery and runs in 8-car sets.

In 1996 the line was fitted with automatic train operation, and this was brought into service in sections over the next few years.

Map

The TFL line diagram is available online.^[12]

Stations

Central line

North Weald   Blake Hall (closed 1981) Coopersale Halt   M11 (Rail access only)   Ongar (Epping Ongar Railway) Epping   Former LU Ongar Line M25   (closed 1994) Theydon Bois    Debden    Loughton    Buckhurst Hill   M11 Roding Valley   Chigwell    Grange Hill     Woodford   Hainault depot        Hainault A406   Fairlop South Woodford   Barkingside    Newbury Park    A12    LNER Fairlop Loop to Snaresbrook   Ilford and Seven Kings A12   Gants Hill Wanstead   Redbridge Leytonstone       Gospel Oak to Barking Line Leyton    High Speed 1   Great Eastern Main Line    Lea Valley Lines Stratford International   Crossrail    Below: Former North London Line Stratford    under reconstruction as DLR)    Jubilee Line North London Line   Docklands Light Railway    Crossrail Great Eastern Main Line       District Line and H&C    Mile End        Bethnal Green    Shoreditch High Street (proposed)    Liverpool Street Bank        St Paul's    Chancery Lane Holborn        British Museum (closed 1933) Tottenham Court Road     Oxford Circus     Bond Street     Marble Arch   Crossrail    Lancaster Gate    Queensway Notting Hill Gate        Holland Park Shepherd's Bush   West London Line    Shepherd's Bush     Right hand    running starts           White City depot        Wood Lane (Central Line)    (closed 1947)         Hammersmith & City Line   Wood Lane (Metropolitan Line)     Wood Lane (H&C)        White City GWR goods line   to West London Line Westway (A40)           Flyover restores    left hand running     to Paddington   East Acton    Great Western Main Line North London Line    New North Main Line   North Acton     First Central (proposed)   A40    West Acton Piccadilly line   Piccadilly and District Lines A406/A40 gyratory    Hanger Lane   Great Western Main Line Perivale   Ealing Broadway        Greenford Branch Line to GWML     Chiltern Main Line   Greenford    Northolt        South Ruislip    Ruislip Gardens        Ruislip depot    Metropolitan line and Ruislip   Piccadilly line    West Ruislip South Harefield   Harefield Road Denham   Aborted Denham extension Chiltern Main Line

Notice explaining about step-free access. This can be found inside every Central line train.

In order from west to east.

Station	Image	Opened[13]	Notes[13]
West Ruislip		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	Terminus Opened as West Ruislip (for Ickenham); the suffix was later dropped.map 1
Ruislip Gardens		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 2
South Ruislip		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 3
Northolt		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 4
Greenford		01947-06-30 30 June 1947	map 5
Perivale		01947-06-30 30 June 1947	map 6
Hanger Lane		01947-06-30 30 June 1947	map 7
Ealing Broadway ( Trains to Heathrow)		01920-08-03 3 August 1920	Terminus - Change for District linemap 8
West Acton		01923-11-05 5 November 1923	map 9
North Acton		01923-11-05 5 November 1923	map 10
East Acton		01920-08-03 3 August 1920	map 11
White City		01947-11-23 23 November 1947	Trains run right-handed through this stationmap 12
Shepherd's Bush		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Refurbished in 2008map 13
Holland Park		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	map 14
Notting Hill Gate		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Change for Circle and District linesmap 15
Queensway		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Opened as Queens Road; renamed 1 September 1946map 16
Lancaster Gate		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	map 17
Marble Arch		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	map 18
Bond Street		01900-09-24 24 September 1900	Change for Jubilee linemap 19
Oxford Circus		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Change for Bakerloo and Victoria linesmap 20
Tottenham Court Road		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Opened as Oxford Street; renamed 9 March 1908 - Change for Northern linemap 21
Holborn		01933-09-25 25 September 1933	Opened as a Piccadilly station on 15 December 1906. Central line platforms opened 25 September 1933 and station renamed Holborn (Kingsway); the suffix was later dropped. Change for Piccadilly line.map 22
Chancery Lane		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Renamed Chancery Lane (Grays Inn) 25 June 1934; the suffix was later droppedmap 23
St. Paul's		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Opened as Post Office; renamed 1 February 1937map 24
Bank		01900-07-30 30 July 1900	Change for Circle, District, Northern and Waterloo & City lines and DLRmap 25
Liverpool Street ( Trains to Stansted)		01912-07-28 28 July 1912	map 26
Bethnal Green		01946-12-04 4 December 1946	map 27
Mile End		01946-12-04 4 December 1946	map 28
Stratford		01946-12-04 4 December 1946	Change for Jubilee linemap 29
Leyton		01947-05-05 5 May 1947	map 30
Leytonstone		01947-05-05 5 May 1947	map 31
Snaresbrook		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	map 32
South Woodford		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	Opened as South Woodford (George Lane); renamed 1947map 33
Woodford		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	Terminus of Hainault Loopmap 34
Wanstead		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	map 35
Redbridge		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	map 36
Gants Hill		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	map 37
Newbury Park		01947-12-14 14 December 1947	map 38
Barkingside		01948-05-31 31 May 1948	map 39
Fairlop		01948-05-31 31 May 1948	map 40
Hainault		01948-05-31 31 May 1948	map 41
Grange Hill		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 42
Chigwell		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 43
Roding Valley		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	Currently least used station on the networkmap 44
Buckhurst Hill		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 45
Loughton		01948-11-21 21 November 1948	map 46
Debden		01949-09-25 25 September 1949	map 47
Theydon Bois		01949-09-25 25 September 1949	map 48
Epping ,		01949-09-25 25 September 1949	Terminusmap 49

Former stations

• Denham; never connected
• Harefield Road; never opened
• Wood Lane; closed 22 November 1947^[13]
• British Museum; 24 September 1933^[13]
• North Weald; first served 25 September 1949; closed 30 September 1994.^[13]
• Blake Hall; first served 25 September 1949; closed: 31 October 1981.^[13]
• Ongar; first served 25 September 1949; closed 30 September 1994.^[13]

Depots

There are three depots on the Central line; West Ruislip^{map 50} near the West Ruislip station, Hainault^{map 51} near the Hainault tube station and White City^{map 52} near the White City tube station.^[1]

Future plans

The developers of the First Central business park at Park Royal, west London were planning a new station between North Acton and Hanger Lane. This would have served the business park and provide a walking distance interchange with Park Royal station on the Piccadilly line.^[14] This is not currently being actively pursued.

If the Chelsea–Hackney line is built then it is intended that it will take over the Epping branch of the Central line. Current hopes are that this will be completed by 2025.^[15][16] This would mean that all/most eastbound services would ideally terminate at Woodford, providing a more frequent service than present for the users of Grange Hill, Chigwell and Roding Valley stations.

It would be possible to provide an interchange with London Overground at Shoreditch High Street station which opened in 2010 but current thinking is that the disadvantages to existing passengers outweigh the benefits.

Maps

References

External links

• Central line - London Underground page with line facts and brief history
• Clive's Underground Line Guide
• A History of the London Tube Maps - 1914 tube map showing proposed extension to Gunnersbury
• Epping Ongar Railway - The company currently owning the Epping and Ongar branch and running trains on it.

Central line Stations Bank  · Barkingside · Bethnal Green · Bond Street · Buckhurst Hill · Chancery Lane · Chigwell · Debden · Ealing Broadway  · East Acton · Epping · Fairlop · Gants Hill · Grange Hill · Greenford  · Hainault · Hanger Lane · Holborn · Holland Park · Lancaster Gate · Leyton · Leytonstone · Liverpool Street  · Loughton · Marble Arch · Mile End · Newbury Park · North Acton · Northolt · Notting Hill Gate · Oxford Circus · Perivale · Queensway · Redbridge · Roding Valley · Ruislip Gardens · St Paul's · Shepherd's Bush  · Snaresbrook · South Ruislip · South Woodford · Stratford  · Theydon Bois · Tottenham Court Road · Wanstead · West Acton · West Ruislip  · White City · Woodford Click to enlarge Rolling stock 1992 Stock History Former stations Blake Hall · British Museum · North Weald · Ongar · Wood Lane Former companies Central London Railway · Great Eastern Railway · Great Western Railway Abandoned plans Richmond extension · Denham extension · Denham · Harefield Road Former rolling stock 1900/1903 Stock · 1915 Stock · 1920 Stock · Standard Stock · 1935 Stock · 1962 Stock Proposed stations First Central London Underground · Transport for London London Transport portal