Victoria line

Victoria line
A 2009 stock Victoria line train at Euston station
Overview
Type	Deep Level
System	London Underground
Stations	16 (4 Step Free)
Ridership	199.988 million (2011/12) [1] passenger journeys
Colour on map	Light Blue
Website	tfl.gov.uk
Operation
Opening	1968
Depot(s)	Northumberland Park
Rolling stock	2009 Tube Stock 8 cars per trainset
Technical
Line length	21 km (13 mi)
Transport for London rail lines London Underground lines   Bakerloo   Central   Circle   District   Hammersmith & City   Jubilee   Metropolitan   Northern   Piccadilly   Victoria   Waterloo & City Other lines   Docklands Light Railway   Tramlink   Overground v t e

The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground route running from the south (Zone 2) to the north-east (Zone 3) of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map. Unlike most other lines on the Underground, it runs entirely below ground with the exception of the connection between Seven Sisters and the line's depot at Northumberland Park.^{map 17} Constructed in the 1960s, it was the first entirely new tube line in London for fifty years, and was designed to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the Piccadilly line and the West End branch of the Northern line. It has always been operated using automatic train operation, though all trains do carry drivers.

200 million passengers use the Victoria line each year, making it the sixth most heavily used line on the network in absolute figures, but in terms of the average number of journeys per mile it is by far the most intensively used line.^[1]

History

A tube railway running from Victoria to Walthamstow was first proposed by a Working Party set up by the British Transport Commission in 1948.^[2] The main purpose was to relieve congestion in the central area. The necessary Private Bill was introduced into Parliament in 1955. It described a line from Victoria to Walthamstow (Wood Street). There was also a proposal, though not included in the Bill, for a subsequent extension from Victoria to Fulham Broadway station on the District line.^[3]

Construction began in 1962 on the initial Walthamstow-Victoria section, opening Walthamstow-Highbury on 1 September 1968,^[4] and the full Walthamstow-Brixton line was completed in 1972. A test tunnel from Tottenham to Manor House under Seven Sisters Road had been bored in 1959 and was later incorporated into the running tunnels.^[2]

In August 1967 the government gave approval for the Brixton extension. Preparatory work had already started at Bessborough Gardens near Vauxhall Bridge Road in May 1967. In June 1968 a proposal to build a station at Pimlico was approved.^[2]

The name "Victoria line" dates back to 1955; other suggestions were "Walvic line" (Walthamstow – Victoria) and "Viking line" (Victoria – King's Cross).^[5] During the planning stages, it was known as Route C and then was named the Victoria line after Victoria Station by David McKenna, whose suggestion was seconded by Sir John Elliot.^[6]

It had been intended to build the line beyond Walthamstow Central to Wood Street (Walthamstow), where it would have surfaced to terminate next to the British Rail station. Proposals were also made to extend the line as far as South Woodford or Woodford, to provide interchange with the Central line.^[7] However, in a late decision in 1961 the line was cut back to Walthamstow (Hoe Street) station, renamed Walthamstow Central in 1968.^[2]

Every Victoria line station apart from Pimlico and Blackhorse Road (see above) was built as an interchange station, and several existing stations were rearranged to allow for cross-platform interchange with the new line. In some cases this was achieved by placing the Victoria line platforms on either side of the existing station; in others, the Victoria line uses one of the older platforms and the existing line was diverted into a new platform.^[2] Particularly significant is the direct same-level interchange with the Bakerloo line at Oxford Circus, a pivotal node at the heart of the whole network, facilitating a wide range of north-south journeys across central London.

At Euston, northbound Victoria and Northern line (Bank branch) trains run along adjacent platforms, although they travel in opposite directions. Other cross-platform interchanges are provided at Stockwell (with the Northern line), Highbury & Islington (with First Capital Connect, originally the Northern City Line), and at Finsbury Park (with the Piccadilly line).^[2]

All Victoria line stations were originally tiled in blue/grey. Each station was decorated with tiled motifs in seating recesses to help identify the station. During the construction of the first stage of the Jubilee line in the late 1970s, the original motifs on Green Park station were replaced by motifs matching the new design for the Jubilee line platforms.^[2] These were in turn replaced in 2009 by replicas of the original design.

In late 2010 and 2011, platform humps were installed on all Victoria Line stations except Pimlico to provide step-free access to trains.^[8] This project was in accordance with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.^[9][10] The Victoria line humps resemble in form the Harrington Hump, a ramp type being installed on some mainline stations, but are of a masonry construction.^[11]

Each platform constructed specifically for the Victoria line from new is 132.6 metres (435 ft) long.^[12] The line has hump-backed stations to allow trains to store gravitational potential energy as they slow down and release it when they leave a station, providing an energy saving of 5% and making the trains run 9% faster.^[13]

During upgrade work at London Victoria station, on 23 January 2014 construction workers accidentally penetrated the signalling room of the Victoria Line and flooded it with quick-drying concrete leading the suspension of services south of Warren Street. Services resumed the following day after using sugar as a retardant so as to make it easier to shovel the concrete out.^[14][15]

Opening

The first section to be opened was between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington. There was no initial opening ceremony: instead the normal timetable started on Sunday 1 September 1968. The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at about 6:30 am. Later that year, the section between Highbury & Islington and Warren Street was opened, again without ceremony, on 1 December 1968.^[16]

The official opening ceremony took place at Victoria station on 7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse. After a short ceremony, Her Majesty bought a 5d ticket (5.00 old pence = 2.08 new pence) and travelled to Green Park.

Princess Alexandra opened the Brixton extension on 23 July 1971, making a journey from Brixton to Vauxhall. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh had previously visited the line during its construction: in July 1968, they visited tunnel workings under Vauxhall Park.

When the line was opened from Victoria to Walthamstow Central the station at Blackhorse Road served by Kentish Town - Barking trains was ignored for interchanged purposes and publicity materials even went as far as to state specifically that it was a station with no interchange. This was probably as the service was proposed for closure under the Beeching axe. An interchange was provided at a later date when surface line platforms and a connecting overbridge were built on the same side as the tube station and the original railway station was closed and demolished.

Service and rolling stock

2009 Stock at Euston

Trains run every two minutes during peak periods. In normal service all trains run from Brixton to Seven Sisters, with roughly three out of five continuing to Walthamstow Central.^[17]

When the line was opened it was served by a fleet of 39½ eight-car trains of 1967 Tube Stock trains. These were later supplemented by a number of cars of 1972 Mark I Tube Stock, transferred from the Northern Line and converted to be compatible with the 1967 stock.^[18] Ultimately there were 43 trains, each made up of two four-car units. These were replaced by 2009 Tube Stock between 2009 and 2011 (see below).

In the early planning stages of the line an articulated type of rolling stock was considered, but the idea was dropped because of difficulties in transferring the stock to Acton Works for heavy overhauls.^[19] With the demise of Acton Works this no longer applies, and the new 2009 tube stock has a wider profile and slightly longer carriages which preclude it running on other deep-level tube lines.

The line is equipped with an Automatic Train Operation system (ATO); the train operator (driver) closes the train doors and presses a pair of "start" buttons, and if the way ahead is clear, the ATO drives the train at a safe speed to the next station and stops it there. This system has operated since the line opened in 1968, making the Victoria line the world's first full-scale automatic railway.^[20]

Replacement of the 1967 rolling stock began in July 2009 as part of Transport for London's 5-year £10 billion redevelopment project.^[21] A new fleet of 47 eight-car trains called 2009 Tube Stock were built by Bombardier Transportation.^[22] The first prototypes began testing in 2008. The main fleet began to be introduced in 2009 and went into squadron service in 2010. The last of the 1967 stock trains ran on 30 June 2011, after which the whole service was provided by 2009 stock.^[23]

The original signalling has now been replaced with a more modern ATO system from Westinghouse Rail Systems.^[2][21] LUL claims that this is the world's first ATO-on-ATO upgrade.^[22] The new system allowed a revised timetable to be introduced from February 2013, allowing up to 33 trains per hour instead of 27.^[24] This in combination with the new, faster trains will increase the line's capacity overall by 21%,^[21] equivalent to an extra 10,000 passengers per hour.^[23]

24 hour weekend service

From 2015, there will be a 24-hour service on Friday and Saturday nights on the entire Victoria line.^[25]

Map

Stations

[ v t e ] Victoria line
Legend Walthamstow Central Blackhorse Road Northumberland Park Depot Tottenham Hale Seven Sisters Finsbury Park Highbury & Islington King's Cross St. Pancras Euston Warren Street Oxford Circus Green Park Victoria Pimlico Vauxhall Stockwell Brixton

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

Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Walthamstow Central		1870	Victoria line began 1 September 1968map 1
Blackhorse Road		19 July 1894	Current station opened 1 September 1968map 2
Tottenham Hale		15 September 1840	Opened as Tottenham, renamed and beginning of Victoria line 1 September 1968map 3
Seven Sisters		22 July 1872	Victoria line began 1 September 1968map 4
Finsbury Park		1 July 1861	Opened as Seven Sisters Road (Holloway), renamed 15 November 1869, Victoria line began 1 September 1968map 5
Highbury & Islington		1872	Victoria line began 1 September 1968map 6
King's Cross St. Pancras		1863	Victoria line began 1 December 1968map 7
Euston		12 May 1907	Victoria line began 1 December 1968map 8
Warren Street		22 June 1907	Victoria line began 1 December 1968map 9
Oxford Circus		30 July 1900	Victoria line began 7 March 1969map 10
Green Park		15 December 1906	Victoria line began 7 March 1969map 11
Victoria ( Trains to Gatwick)		1 October 1860	Victoria line began 7 March 1969map 12
Pimlico		14 September 1972	map 13
Vauxhall		11 July 1848	Victoria line began 23 July 1971map 14
Stockwell		4 November 1890	Victoria line began 23 July 1971map 15
Brixton		23 July 1971	map 16

The following stations have step-free access from the street to platform level on the Victoria line: Tottenham Hale, King's Cross St. Pancras, Green Park and Brixton.

Upgrades

On 27 June 1991 the London Underground (Victoria) Act 1991 allowed for the construction of a new 43-metre (140 ft) underground pedestrian link at London Victoria station between the Victoria line platforms and the sub-surface Circle Line platforms above.^[26] On 18 September 2009 The London Underground (Victoria Station Upgrade) Order 2009 came into force, authorising the construction of a second 1,930-square-metre (21,000 sq ft) ticket hall at Victoria station.^[27] By mid-2009 trial boreholes for a cooling system at Green Park station had taken place, with additional boreholes being scheduled to be created during the end of 2009.^[28] In 2010 Engineering & Technology reported that 200 litres (44 imp gal) of water per second is being pumped at Victoria station from the River Tyburn, through heat-exchangers and into the River Thames.^[29]

Ventilation shafts

Ferry Lane fan shaft & emergency access point, Heron Island; approximately halfway between Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale

Around 50 shafts were created during the construction phase of the line.^[30] Between each station remain midpoint tunnel ventilation shafts. Special "local arrangements" are in place should it be necessary to evacuate passengers from a Victoria line train out of Netherton Road emergency escape shaft.^[31] Planning permission for Ferry Lane was granted 11 January 1968.^[32]

Between 2009–2014 thirteen ventilation shafts were scheduled to be revamped. In the first phase, during tranche 1 the air shafts for replacement were Drayton Park, Gillingham Street, Moreton Terrace, Purloss Road, Somerleyton Road and Tynemouth Road.^[33] In tranche 2 for the second phase were scheduled those at Cobourg Street, Dover Street, Gibson Square, Great Titchfield Street, Isledon Road, Kings Cross, Palace Street and Rita Road.^[33] By 2009 changes at Cobourg Street were in the planning stage, with demolition work at Moreton Terrace, Somerleyton Road and Drayton Park shafts having taken place.^[28] Original planning permission for Netherton Road shaft had been granted on 8 September 1967.^[34] On 31 March 2009 the demolition and rebuilding of Netherton Road shaft was allowed as permitted development.^[35][36]

Depot

2009 stock at the depot

Northumberland Park Depot is the service and storage area for trains on the Victoria Line of the London Underground, the only part of the line above ground.

Trains access the depot by a tunneled branch line to the north of Seven Sisters. Opened with the first stage of the line in 1968, the depot is next to Northumberland Park railway station, on Tottenham Marshes, Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. As part of Transport for London's tube upgrade scheme, the depot has been expanded and upgraded to accommodate the new fleet of 2009 Tube Stock trains.^[22]

Possible future projects

When the Victoria line was built, budget restrictions meant that station infrastructure standards were lower than on older lines and on later extension projects. Examples include narrower than usual platforms and undecorated ceilings at Walthamstow Central, Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale, adversely affecting lighting levels. At most stations there is still a concrete staircase between the up and down escalators, where an additional escalator could be installed. The lack of a third escalator can cause severe congestion at peak times. However, in recent years an additional escalator has been installed in place of the fixed stairway at Brixton (2004) and Vauxhall (2006).^[21] There have been station closures for safety reasons, when both escalators have been unserviceable. Over many years, heavy equipment has been installed in fenced-off sections at the ends of platforms owing to the lack of anywhere else to install them.^{[citation needed]}

Supporters of Tottenham Hotspur (and the club itself) have campaigned for a surface station to be built next to Northumberland Park Station, adjacent to the line's depot, supported by Haringey Council.^[37] This would improve the football ground's transport links, seen as essential if the club's wish to redevelop their ground and increase its capacity is to become a reality. The idea was looked into, but Network Rail owns the necessary land and needs it for its own expansion plans.^[38] It was announced by Haringey Council in its 2012 A Plan for Tottenham report that there was "potential for a Victoria Line extension to Northumberland Park".^[39]

If the Chelsea–Hackney line were to be built it would relieve congestion on the Victoria line, offering an alternative route across central London between Victoria and King's Cross St. Pancras.

For many years there have been proposals to extend the line one stop southwards from Brixton to Herne Hill. Herne Hill station would be on a large reversing loop with one platform. This would remove a critical capacity restriction by eliminating the need for trains to reverse at Brixton. However, it would be expensive and cannot currently be justified on cost-benefit grounds. Because the current line is heavily overcrowded this is considered to be the only extension proposal with any realistic prospect of coming to fruition; but to have any hope of being built, it would have to be seen to be effective in reducing overcrowding (by enabling trains to run more frequently) and not to increase it.^{[citation needed]} The Mayor of London's 2020 Vision, published in 2013, proposes extending the Victoria Line "out beyond Brixton" by 2030.^[40]

Maps

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria Line.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria line station Motifs.

• "Opening of the Victoria Line". British Pathe. Retrieved 22 January 2013. 
• "Victoria line". Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2008. 
• "Automatic Train Operation on the Victoria Line". Tube Prune. 15 March 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2008. 
• "BCV (Bakerloo, Central & Victoria) Upgrade". Alwaystouchout.com. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2008. 
• "Victoria Line Underground Stations – Facts, Trivia And Impressions". 22 October 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2013. 

• London Transport Museum Poster Archive – images of the station tiling motifs:

v t e Victoria line Stations Walthamstow Central Blackhorse Road Tottenham Hale Seven Sisters Finsbury Park Highbury & Islington King's Cross St. Pancras Euston Warren Street Oxford Circus Green Park Victoria Pimlico Vauxhall Stockwell Brixton (100m) Click to enlarge Rolling stock 2009 Stock History 1967 Stock London Underground Transport for London London Transport portal