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Victoria line

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Template:Infobox TfL line The Victoria line is coloured light blue on the Tube map and is the busiest line on the London Underground carrying 174 million passengers over a 20 km length of track[1][2]. It is a deep-level line running from the south-west to the north-east of London. It is the only line on the Underground, except for the two-stop Waterloo & City line, where the entire line is operated underground, with the only section of track to emerge above ground being the route to the depot from Seven Sisters to Northumberland Park.

History

Construction began in 1962 and continued until 1970. A test tunnel from Tottenham to Manor House under Seven Sisters Road had been constructed in 1959 and this was later integrated into the running tunnels.

The name "Victoria line" dates back to 1955; other suggestions were "Walvic line" (Walthamstow - Victoria) and "Viking line" (Victoria - King's Cross). Legend has it that a person in the planning department remarked that "Victoria line" sounded "just right" at which point it was adopted as the working title of the new line.

The Victoria line was designed to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the Piccadilly line, as well as to maximise possible interchanges. It had been intended to build the line past Walthamstow Central to Wood Street (Walthamstow), where it would surface to terminate next to the British Railways station. However, a late decision in 1961, saw the line cut back to Walthamstow (Hoe Street) station which was later renamed Walthamstow Central in 1968.

Each Victoria line station apart from Pimlico was built as an interchange station and several existing stations were rearranged to allow for cross-platform interchange with it. In some cases this was achieved by placing the Victoria line platforms on either side of the existing station, while in others the Victoria line uses one of the older platforms and the existing line was diverted into a new platform.

At Euston, northbound Victoria and Northern line (Bank branch) trains run along adjacent platforms, although they are in fact, travelling in opposite directions. "Same-direction" cross-platform interchanges are available at Stockwell (with the Northern line), Oxford Circus (with the Bakerloo line), Highbury & Islington (with First Capital Connect, originally the Northern City Line) and at Finsbury Park (with the Piccadilly line).

All Victoria line stations were originally tiled in a non-descript cool blue/grey colour fashionable at the time. Each station was decorated with tiled motifs on seating recesses to distinguish them from each other. During the construction 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.

Opening

A ticket used on the first train on the Victoria line, which ran from Walthamstow Central to Highbury & Islington on September 1, 1968

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 September 1, 1968. The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at about 6.30am. Later that year, the section between Highbury and Warren Street was opened.

The official opening ceremony took place at Victoria station on 7 March 1969, The Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse. After a short ceremony, she purchased a 5d (five old pence) ticket and travelled to Green Park. Princess Alexandra opened the Brixton extension on 23 July 1971, also making a journey from Brixton to Vauxhall.

Service and rolling stock

1967 Stock train leaving Northumberland Park Depot

Trains run every two to two and a half minutes during peak periods. In normal service, all trains run from Brixton to Seven Sisters, roughly two out of three continuing to Walthamstow Central[3].

The Victoria line is served by a fleet of 43 1967 Tube Stock trains. Each is made up of two four-car units. 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 there. This system has been in place since the line opened in 1968, making the Victoria line the world's first full-scale automatic railway.[4]

The future

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

The 1967 stock is due for replacement over the next decade as part of Transport for London's 5-year £10 billion redevelopment project. The replacement for the line's 1967 Tube Stock will be the 2009 Tube Stock built by Bombardier Transportation. The first prototypes were built in 2006 and will be tested in service from 2008, with the main fleet entering service between 2009 and 2012. The signalling will also be replaced with a more modern ATO system from Westinghouse Rail Systems during the Victoria line upgrade.

When the Victoria line was constructed, severe budget restrictions were imposed and as a result the station infrastructure standards were lower than on older lines and on later extension projects. Examples of these lower standards include narrower than usual platforms and undecorated ceilings at Walthamstow Central, Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale, adversely affecting lighting levels. At most stations between the up and down escalators there is a concrete staircase where an additional escalator could be installed, but hasn't been fitted, which can cause severe congestion at peak times. In addition, there have been station closures for safety reasons, when both escalators have been unserviceable. Over many years, heavy equipment has been installed in unsightly fenced-off sections at the ends of platforms owing to the lack of anywhere else to install them. It is not clear from Transport for London's Five-Year Investment Programme whether these shortcomings are likely to be remedied.

Supporters of Tottenham Hotspur (and the club itself) are campaigning for a surface station to be opened next to Northumberland Park Station, adjacent to the line's depot. This would provide an improvement in transport links, seen as essential if the club's wish to redevelop their ground and increase crowd capacity is to become a reality. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, did float this idea earlier this decade, but nothing has been heard about it since that time.[5]

To the south of the line's northern end lies the London Borough of Hackney, it has no London Underground stations and the region seems to be a void on the tube map as no line seems to be crossing that area. One suggestion has been that the Victoria Line could be extended beyond Walthamstow Central station, taking a loop through the borough before joining back on its original tracks between Finsbury Park and Highbury & Islington stations. The London Borough of Haringey nearby has only a few Underground stations, the Victoria Line could potentially serve this area too in the future.[citation needed]

Map

Geographically accurate map of the Victoria line
Geographically accurate map of the Victoria line
Inside a Victoria line carriage

Stations

With list of Motifs on platforms

Depot

References

  1. ^ http://www.metronetrail.com/default.asp?sID=1118413495531
  2. ^ http://www.trainweb.org/tubeprune/Statistics.htm
  3. ^ http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/4867.aspx
  4. ^ Although the system was tested on the Tube on a smaller scale before that, initially on a short section of the District line; then a larger trial was carried out on the Central line between Woodford and Hainault. See:
    • "Driverless metros poised to expand". Railway Gazette International. 2000-03-01. Retrieved 2007-10-25. These trials matured into 'attended ATO'. London's Victoria line was the first into revenue service on September 1 1968, with Philadelphia's Lindenwold line close behind in January 1969.
    • "Automatic Train Operation on the Victoria Line". The Tube Professionals' Rumour Network. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
    • http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldhansrd/vo980225/text/80225-09.htm. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 1998-02-25. col. 747. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
  5. ^ http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/88
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