Tottenham Court Road station

Tottenham Court Road is an interchange station in the St Giles and Soho areas of the West End of London for London Underground and Elizabeth line services.

The London Underground station is served by the Central and Northern lines. On the Central line, the station is between Oxford Circus and Holborn stations. On the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, it is between Goodge Street and Leicester Square stations. The Elizabeth line station is between Bond Street and Farringdon stations.

The station is located at St Giles Circus, the junction of Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, New Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road and is in London fare zone 1, with a second Elizabeth line entrance at Dean Street.

History

Central London Railway

The station opened as part of the Central London Railway (CLR) on 30 July 1900. From that date until 24 September 1933, but used the name Oxford Street until an interchange (linking the eastbound Central line with the southbound Northern line via the ends of the platform) was opened on 3 September 1908 from when the present name was used for both lines. The next station north on the Northern line was originally called Tottenham Court Road, A shaft for three escalators was driven from the ticket hall under the junction down to the east end of the Central line platforms ending at an intermediate circulation space. A further pair of escalators descend from this level to the north end of the Northern line platforms. The lifts were removed and the redundant shafts were used as ventilation ducts. In 1938 a chiller plant began operating at the station. This was decommissioned in 1949.

Passenger congestion entering and leaving the Northern line platforms was partially eased by the addition of a short single escalator at the centre of the platform leading up to a passageway linking to the intermediate circulation area. However, this was in itself a cause of congestion, as traffic trying to leave the station from the Northern line found itself in the path of traffic entering and travelling to the Central line.

In the early 1980s, the entire station was redecorated, losing the distinctive Leslie Green-designed platform tiling pattern of the Yerkes tube lines (which included the CCE&HR), and the plain white platform tiles of the CLR. It was replaced by distinctive mosaics by Eduardo Paolozzi, located on platforms, passages and escalator entrances.

Initial plans for station expansion

The station had four entrances to the sub-surface ticket hall from the north-east, south-west and north-west corners of the junction and from a subway beneath the Centre Point building which starts on Andrew Borde Street. The entrances were frequently congested leading to occasions during peak periods of the day when they were briefly closed to prevent overcrowding in the station.

In the aftermath of the King's Cross fire in 1987, London Underground was recommended to investigate "passenger flow and congestion in stations and take remedial action". A Parliamentary bill was tabled in 1991 to permit London Underground to improve and expand the frequently congested station, however this was not proceeded with. In 2000, London Underground consulted on a station upgrade including a new larger ticket hall, new escalators and step free access, which would have taken 4 years to construct.

Expansion as part of Crossrail

thumb|Construction of the station expansion work in 2011

thumb|Tottenham Court Road Eastern Ticket Hall after expansion, with [[Daniel Buren|Daniel Buren's artwork.]]

The station was eventually reconstructed and upgraded in the mid 2010s as part of the Crossrail project to construct the Elizabeth line, To enable the station expansion work to occur, both the Astoria theatres and the original Central line entrance were demolished. During construction, the Central and Northern lines were alternately closed for several months to allow for upgrade works to take place.

Upon completion in 2017, the project delivered: The completed western entrance and Crossrail platforms were handed over to TfL in early 2021. Direct service to Reading, Heathrow, Stratford and Shenfield commenced on 6 November 2022.

As part of a plan to raise £500million from development above new Crossrail stations, a residential development of 92 homes as well as retail units will be built above the western ticket hall by developer Galliard Homes and a new West End theatre as well as retail and office space will be built above the eastern ticket hall by developer Derwent London. The new theatre, @sohoplace, opened on 15 October 2022 and was the first West End theatre to open in over 50 years.

Artworks

thumb|[[Eduardo Paolozzi mosaics (1982) on the Central line platform]]

In the mid 1980s, Eduardo Paolozzi was commissioned to create an artwork for the station. The design includes panels of tessellated and hand-cut smalti mural mosaic, and is a distinct and noticeable feature of the station. The frenetic design was intended to reflect the station's position adjacent to Tottenham Court Road's large concentration of hi-fi and electronics shops. During the expansion of the station for Crossrail, sections of the mosaic were restored, moved or replaced while other section were destroyed, some sections of which have been removed to be conserved at the University of Edinburgh.

As part of the expansion of the Eastern ticket hall, Art on the Underground commissioned an artwork by Daniel Buren, a French conceptual artist. This work, Diamonds and Circles', works 'in situ, was Buren's first permanent public commission in the UK. It comprises colourful diamond and circle shapes, which contrast with Buren's trademark stripes in black and white, fixed to internal glass walls throughout the ticket hall. The artwork was completed in 2017.

As part of the Crossrail project, two artworks were commissioned by Turner Prize–winning artists, one for each ticket hall. At the eastern ticket hall, Richard Wright created a mural of geometric patterns in gold leaf on the concrete ceiling above the Crossrail escalators. Gordon's work was unveiled in 2024.

|Westbound

3 tph to
9 tph to
3 tph to
9 tph to

|Eastbound

3 tph to
9 tph to
3 tph to
9 tph to

|rowspan=2| London Underground <br/> Northern line

|Northbound

10 tph to
8 tph to
2 tph to

|Southbound

10 tph to
10 tph to

|rowspan=2| Elizabeth line

|Westbound

6 tph to
4 tph to
2 tph to
2 tph to
2 tph to

|Eastbound

8 tph to
8 tph to

As of 2024, it is the fourth busiest station on the London Underground and the busiest Central line station with 62million passengers using it per year.

The station is also served by a night service on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Night Tube. The station is served by Central line trains every 10minutes in each direction and Northern line trains every 7–8minutes in each direction.

Future developments

Crossrail 2

The Crossrail 2 project proposed a station at Tottenham Court Road, the only planned interchange between the Elizabeth line and Crossrail 2. The expanded station built as part of the Crossrail project took the future demands of Crossrail 2 into account, which will allow for less construction disruption if the line is built. The station and ticket hall site were first safeguarded as part of the route during the development of the Chelsea-Hackney line in 1991. In November 2020, plans for Crossrail 2 were shelved.

In popular culture

The station was used for a sequence in the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London.
A scene in the 2008 film The Bank Job is set in the station, though it was shot at Aldwych tube station.
A scene in the musical We Will Rock You is set in the station; the musical played across the street at the Dominion Theatre from 2002 to 2014.

Connections

London Buses day and night routes serve the station.

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
City of Westminster, Draft Planning Brief – Crossrail: Tottenham Court Road Station (Eastern Ticket Hall), May 2005 , Retrieved 31 January 2008
Photos of Paolozzi's mosaics in the station
Conservation of the TCR Station Mosaics
Rebuilding work and schedule (Transport for London)
Restoration and rebuild of Central Line Paolozzi mosaics by mosaic artist Gary Drostle