Bank and Monument stations

Bank and Monument
Entrance at the Bank of England, by Bank junction
Bank and Monument Location of Bank and Monument in Central London
Location	King William Street
Local authority	City of London
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	10
Accessible	Yes (Bank DLR only)[1]
Fare zone	1
OSI	Bank: Cannon Street Fenchurch Street Liverpool Street Monument: Fenchurch Street [2]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015	57.51 million[3]
2016	64.26 million[3]
2017	61.80 million[3]
2018	54.77 million[4]
2019	61.79 million[5]
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2012	24.528 million[6]
2013	26.169 million[7]
2014	29.721 million[7]
2015	30.752 million[7]
2016	32.256 million[8]
Key dates
6 October 1884 (6 October 1884)	Opened (MICCR)
8 August 1898	Opened (W&CR)
25 February 1900	Opened (C&SLR)
30 July 1900	Opened (CLR)
18 September 1933	Bank-Monument escalator link opened
29 July 1991	Opened (DLR)
Listed status
Listed feature	Entrance within Bank of England & Redundant entrance within St Mary Woolnoth
Listing grade	I
Entry number	1079134 (Bank)[9] 1064620 (Church)[10]
Added to list	4 January 1950
Other information
External links	TfL station info page - Bank * TfL station info page - Monument
WGS84	51°30′47″N 0°05′17″W / 51.513°N 0.088°W / 51.513; -0.088Coordinates: 51°30′47″N 0°05′17″W / 51.513°N 0.088°W / 51.513; -0.088
London transport portal

Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground and Docklands Light Railway stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. Bank station, named after the Bank of England, opened in 1900 at Bank junction and is served by the Central, Northern and Waterloo & City lines,^[11] and the DLR. Monument station, named after the Monument to the Great Fire of London, opened in 1884 and is served by the District and Circle lines. The stations have been linked as an interchange since 1933.^[11]

The station complex is one of the busiest on the London Underground network, with usage of the station rising by 38% since 2008.^[12] Owing to this, the station complex has been rated the Underground's worst station in passenger surveys,^[13] and is currently undergoing a substantial upgrade and expansion.^[12] The stations are in fare zone 1.

History[]

The Bank–Monument station complex was created by building links between several nearby stations constructed by different companies. The first station was opened by the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway.

Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway, 1884[]

Monument station on an 1888 map. The C&SLR's King William Street station, then under construction, is also shown.

The Metropolitan Railway (MR) and District Railway (DR) had, by 1876, built most of the Inner Circle (now the Circle line), reaching Aldgate and Mansion House respectively. The companies were in dispute over the completion of the route as the DR was struggling financially and the MR was concerned that completion would affect its revenues through increased competition from the DR in the City area. City financiers keen to see the line completed established the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway in 1874 to link Mansion House to Aldgate. Forced into action, the MR bought out the company and with the DR began construction of the final section of the Inner Circle in 1879. The new section of railway included two new stations: Tower of London and another located close to the Monument.

The station at Monument opened with the name "Eastcheap" on 6 October 1884, after the nearby street, and was renamed "The Monument" on 1 November 1884.^[11] Initially, trains from both companies served the station on the Inner Circle service but other operational patterns have been used. The Inner Circle service achieved a separate identity as the Circle line in 1949 although its trains were still provided by the District or Metropolitan lines.^[11]

Waterloo & City Railway, 1898[]

The Waterloo & City Railway was built by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) to link its terminus at Waterloo to the City. The station, with platforms under Queen Victoria Street and close to Mansion House, opened on 8 August 1898 as "City".^[11]

The Waterloo and City line platforms were renamed "Bank" on 28 October 1940.^[11] In September 1960, the steeply sloping passages to the platforms were supplemented with the "Travolator", one of the few sets of moving walkways on the whole underground system.^[14] Advertising at the Waterloo & City line station often takes the form of large painted murals on the walls and ceilings of the sloped exits, forming one of the largest advertisements on the Underground.

As the W&CR was owned by the L&SWR, a mainline railway, it became part of British Rail; it was only transferred to Underground operation in 1994.

City & South London Railway, 1900[]

The entrance to the former C&SLR station, now a branch of Starbucks, with the church of St Mary Woolnoth behind.

The first station to be known as Bank opened on 25 February 1900 when the City & South London Railway (C&SLR, now part of the Northern line) opened its extension from Borough to Moorgate.^[11] The earlier terminus of the line, King William Street, on a different tunnel alignment was closed at the same time.

The C&SLR had obtained permission to demolish the 18th-century church of St Mary Woolnoth on the corner of Lombard Street and build a station (originally proposed to be named "Lombard Street") on the site. After public protest, the company changed its plans to build only a sub-surface ticket hall and lift entrance in the crypt of the church. This necessitated moving the bodies elsewhere, strengthening the crypt with a steel framework and underpinning the church's foundations. Unusually for stations later converted to escalators, the original lift access from the ticket hall is still in use.

Central London Railway, 1900[]

Bank and Monument shown on a 1908 Tube map. Bank was served by the Central London (blue), City & South London (black), and Waterloo & City (thin grey) railways, while Monument was served by the Metropolitan (red) and District (green) railways. The stations were not yet connected.

The opening of the eastern terminus of the Central London Railway (CLR, now the Central line) at Bank followed on 30 July 1900.^[11]

As with the C&SLR, the high cost of property in the City, coupled with the presence of the Royal Exchange, the Bank of England, and Mansion House, meant that the station had to be built entirely underground. Permission was granted by the City of London Corporation for the station to be sited beneath the busy junction of roads meeting at this point on condition that public subways were provided to act as pedestrian road crossings. To avoid undermining the road above, the station's lifts were installed in separate lift shafts rather than paired two-per-shaft as usual.

To avoid wayleave payments to property owners and to lessen possible claims for damage during construction and operation, the CLR tunnels were directly under public streets. This caused the platforms under Threadneedle Street and Poultry to be so curved that one end of the platform cannot be seen from the other. East of Bank station the Central line tunnels have sharp curves to avoid the vaults of the Bank of England itself. Due to the close proximity of the CLR, W&CR and C&SLR stations, and the non-competing directions of their services, their ticket halls were soon connected, but connection between the CLR and C&SLR platforms were made only when escalators were installed in 1924. The Central London Railway station itself was reconstructed during the major rebuilding of the Bank of England in 1925. The booking hall underneath Bank junction was redecorated and a new subway entrance built into the corner of the Bank itself.^[15]

Monument link, 1933[]

Wall tiles at the station show the supporters of City of London coat of arms, combined with the Underground Roundel

The southern end of the C&SLR (by then part of the Edgware-Highgate-Morden line) platforms was close to those of Monument station and, on 18 September 1933, a connecting escalator link was opened, connecting the two stations directly for the first time.^[11][14]

World War II[]

During the Blitz, the station was used as a bomb shelter. On 11 January 1941 during World War II the Central line ticket hall of Bank station suffered a direct hit from a German bomb. The roadway collapsed into the subways and station concourse, killing 56 people.^[16]

Docklands Light Railway and station refurbishment, 1990s[]

In 1991, the Docklands Light Railway was extended to Bank Station, following criticism of the original, poorly connected terminus at Tower Gateway.^[17] The new platforms were built parallel to but deeper than those of the Northern Line, with connections at one end to the Central line and Monument Station at the other. As part of the construction of the extension, a new link between the Waterloo & City and the Central line was excavated – uncovering part of one of the Greathead tunnelling shields used for the Waterloo and City line. This shield forms part of the new passageway, and passengers pass through when transferring between the two lines.^[18] As with all other DLR stations, the DLR platforms are accessible, however the route is indirect with the use of three different passenger lifts required to reach the DLR.^[15]

Statue of James Henry Greathead, which was erected by Bank station in 1994

In January 1994, a statue of James Henry Greathead was erected outside the station, next to the Royal Exchange. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of London and is positioned on a plinth which hides a ventilation shaft for the Underground.^[19]

Etched glass panels by artist John Hutton

The rest of the station was comprehensively refurbished, with decorative tiling panels based on the City's coat of arms, new lighting and replacement of escalators. This work was completed in 1997, partially funded by the City of London Corporation.^[20]

New Bloomberg entrance, 2010s[]

In the late 2010s, a new entrance was constructed at Bloomberg's new London headquarters on Walbrook, near Cannon Street station,^[21] providing direct access to the Waterloo & City line via four new escalators and two lifts – providing step free access to that line for the first time. First announced in 2008,^[22] construction began in November 2015,^[23] and the new entrance was opened on 30 November 2018. The new entrance was officially opened by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg in December 2018.^[24]

The new entrance incorporates etched glass panels by artist John Hutton, depicting 66 figures based on the ancient Roman history of the area, including the Roman Temple of Mithras. The artwork was originally completed in 1962 on Bucklersbury House, the post war office building previously located on the site.^[25][26]

Future station upgrade and expansion[]

The curved Central line platform, showing the 1-foot (30 cm) gap between the train and the platform edge (delineated by the solid white line).

Since 2003, demand at the Bank-Monument station complex has risen by over 50% to 337,000 customers per day.^[15] According to Transport for London, "areas of the station are close to 'saturation' point, where day to day demand overwhelms capacity". Unlike other congested stations such as Oxford Circus, passengers cannot be held back at station entrances during peak times to avoid overwhelming the station, as around half of passengers are interchanging between lines.^[12] The high demand on the station is exacerbated by the narrow passageways, pinch points, spiral staircases and indirect routes between lines. Some parts of the station operate "one way", with staff directing passengers on longer routes to increase the capacity of the station.^[15]

Given these issues, the station complex is currently under construction to substantially upgrade the station and increase capacity by 40%, at a cost of around £620m.^[12][27] The overall project – incorporating twelve new escalators, two new lifts and two moving walkways – includes:^[12][28]

• A new southbound platform for the Northern line and conversion of the existing southbound platform to passenger circulation space.
• New direct passenger tunnel with moving walkways connecting the Northern line and Central line.
• New escalators between the Northern line and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
• A new station entrance and ticket hall on Cannon Street, with new escalators and step free access to the Northern line and DLR.
• Modernising the station to comply with contemporary fire and evacuation standards.

Following consultations in the early 2010s^[29][30] and a Transport and Works Act Order in 2015,^[31] construction began in April 2016, and is estimated to take 6 years. By July 2019, the project had reached the halfway stage.^[32] By October 2020, all tunnelling work, around 1.3 kilometres (0.8 mi), had been completed, with around 200,000 tonnes of material excavated from beneath the City.^[33][34] By July 2021, installation of escalators was underway, as well as preparation work to connect to the new Northern line tunnels in 2022.^[28][35]

Owing to the severe curvature of the Central line platforms, there is a substantial gap between the train and the platform. Because of this, no step-free access is currently proposed for the Central line, as the cost would be prohibitive and it would be difficult for passengers to use.^[36]

The new Northern line tunnel was dug from a worksite on King William Street, using the underground spaces left over from the closed King William Street tube station.^[37][38] Former running tunnels have previously been used as circulation space at Angel and London Bridge stations. Before the project can be completed, the Northern line Bank branch will have to close for several months to allow the existing line to be connected to the new running tunnels. In June 2021, the temporary closure of the Bank branch was announced to take place from 15 January 2022 until May 2022.^[28][35]

As of June 2021, new areas of the station are estimated to open in Spring 2022, with the new Cannon Street entrance opening in Autumn 2022.^[28][35]

Ticket halls and entrances[]

Following the opening of the Bloomberg entrance in 2018, the station complex has sixteen entrances and four ticket halls,^[15][39] the most of any station on the Underground.^[40]

• Bullring (Central Line) ticket hall, located underneath Bank Junction.
• Lombard Street (Northern Line) ticket hall, under Lombard Street.
• Monument ticket hall, located under Monument Street adjacent to the Monument to the Great Fire of London, serving the District & Circle Lines.
• Walbrook ticket hall, at Bloomberg London, serving the Waterloo & City line.^[24]

Notable events[]

On 11 January 1941, during the Blitz, 56 people were killed and 69 were seriously injured when a German bomb hit the booking hall, with the blast travelling down the stairs and escalators to the platforms. The crater, measuring 120 by 100 feet (37 m × 30 m), was covered with a Bailey bridge for the traffic to pass over. The station itself was closed for two months.^[41][42]

On 7 September 2003, Bank station was used for a disaster training exercise, Exercise Osiris, billed as "the most realistic live disaster exercise of its kind". The event, lasting several hours and involving about 500 police, fire brigade, ambulance and London Underground personnel, was intended to prepare the emergency services for mass decontamination in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.^[43]

Connections[]

A large number of London Bus routes serve the station complex day and night.^[44][45][46]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bank and Monument stations.

• A diagram of the Bank/Monument station complex
• Another diagram (in colour)
• Bank Station from the Open Guide to London
• History of Bank station, including a picture just after the 1941 bomb
• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • C&SLR Lombard Street entrance in front of St Mary Woolnoth, 1914
  • C&SLR King William Street entrance in front of St Mary Woolnoth, 1914
  • Entrances in front of Royal Exchange, 1914
  • Entrance in front of Royal Exchange, 1923
  • Ticket hall showing steel support structure and tops of escalators, 1925
  • Ticket hall, 1933
  • View of bomb crater, January 1941
• More photographs of Bank station
• Photograph and Street View imagery of Monument station

	Bank
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
St. Paul's towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		Central line		Liverpool Street towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford (via Hainault)
Moorgate towards Edgware, Mill Hill East or High Barnet		Northern line City Branch		London Bridge towards Morden
Waterloo Terminus		Waterloo & City line Mondays to Saturdays only		Terminus
Preceding station		DLR		Following station
Terminus		Docklands Light Railway		Shadwell towards Lewisham, Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal
	Monument
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Cannon Street towards Edgware Road (via Victoria)		Circle line		Tower Hill towards Hammersmith (via King's Cross St. Pancras)
Cannon Street towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		Tower Hill towards Upminster
	Former services
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Cannon Street towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line (1884–1967)		Mark Lane towards Upminster