Oxford Circus is a London Underground station in Central London. It serves Oxford Circus and is located at the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street, with entrances on all four corners of the intersection. The station is served by three lines: Bakerloo, Central and Victoria. As of , it was the fourth-busiest station on the London Underground; and as such access to the station is frequently restricted at peak times. On the Bakerloo line the station is between Regent's Park and Piccadilly Circus stations, on the Central line it is between Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations, and on the Victoria line it is between Green Park and Warren Street stations. It is in London fare zone 1.
The Central line station opened on 30 July 1900, and the Bakerloo line station on 10 March 1906. Both are Grade II listed. The station was rebuilt in 1912 to relieve congestion. Further congestion led to another reconstruction in 1923. Numerous improvements were made as part of the New Works Programme and as a flood protection measure. To accommodate additional passengers on the Victoria line, a new ticket hall was built. The Victoria line platforms opened on 7 March 1969, including cross-platform interchange with the Bakerloo line.
History
Central line
thumb|291px|left|Route diagram showing the original route of the Central line between Shepherd's Bush and Bank (then known as Cornhill).
In the 1890s, the Central London Railway (CLR) published a notice of a private bill that would be presented to Parliament for the 1890 parliamentary session. The bill planned an underground route between Shepherd's Bush and Cornhill (now Bank station). These plans were accepted by both Houses of Parliament on 5 August 1891.
The CLR employed the engineers James Henry Greathead, Sir John Fowler, and Sir Benjamin Baker to design the railway. Tunnelling was completed by the end of 1898 and the official opening of the CLR (now the Central line) by the Prince of Wales took place on 27 June 1900; it was opened to the public on 30 July. Oxford Circus station opened as part of the first section of the line, between Shepherd's Bush and Bank. The railway was planned to run entirely underground from Marylebone to Elephant & Castle via Baker Street and Waterloo. Construction commenced in August 1898 under the direction of Sir Benjamin Baker, W.R. Galbraith and R.F. Church. The works were carried out by Perry & Company of Tregedar Works, Bow.
Victoria line
A proposal for a new underground railway running from Victoria to Walthamstow was first proposed by a Working Party set up by the British Transport Commission in 1948, though that largely followed a 1946 plan for an East Croydon to Finsbury Park line.