Barbican tube station

Barbican
View of Barbican station platforms, with the Barbican Estate towers in the background, 2014
Barbican Location of Barbican in Central London
Location	Barbican
Local authority	City of London
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	4 (2 in use)
Fare zone	1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015	11.28 million[1]
2016	11.97 million[1]
2017	11.83 million[1]
2018	10.08 million[2]
2019	10.47 million[3]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2006–07	0.045 million[4]
2007–08	0.052 million[4]
2008–09	0 (closed) million[4]
Key dates
23 December 1865 (23 December 1865)	Opened as Aldersgate Street[5][6]
1 November 1910	Renamed Aldersgate[5][6]
24 October 1924	Renamed Aldersgate & Barbican[5][6]
1 December 1968	Renamed Barbican[5][6][7]
1976	Services from Great Northern line via Widened Lines ceased
1982	Electrified services from Bedford commenced
2009	Thameslink services ceased
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
WGS84	51°31′13″N 0°05′52″W / 51.5202°N 0.0977°W / 51.5202; -0.0977Coordinates: 51°31′13″N 0°05′52″W / 51.5202°N 0.0977°W / 51.5202; -0.0977
London transport portal

Barbican is a London Underground station situated near the Barbican Estate, on the edge of the ward of Farringdon Within, in the City of London in Central London. It has been known by various names since its opening in 1865, mostly in reference to the neighbouring ward of Aldersgate.

The station is served by the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, and is situated between Farringdon and Moorgate stations, in Travelcard Zone 1.^[8] Until 2009, Barbican was additionally served by Thameslink services to and from Moorgate.

Location[]

Barbican station lies in an east–west-aligned cutting with cut-and-cover tunnels at either end.^[9] The modern entrance gives access from Aldersgate Street, through a 1990s building,^[10] to a much older footbridge leading to the eastern end of the platforms.^{[note 1]} To the north of the station are the rears of buildings that face onto Charterhouse Street, Charterhouse Square and Carthusian Street.^[9] To the south are the rears of buildings that face onto Long Lane, and to the west is Hayne Street.^[9] The station is close to the Barbican Estate, Barbican Centre, City of London School for Girls, St Bartholomew-the-Great, and Smithfield.^[9]

History[]

The station was opened with the name Aldersgate Street^[5] on 23 December 1865^[6] on the Moorgate extension from Farringdon.^[11] The station's name was shortened to Aldersgate on 1 November 1910^[5][6] and it was renamed again on 24 October 1924 as Aldersgate & Barbican.^[5][6] On 1 December 1968 the station's name was simplified to Barbican.^[5][6][7]

Train services were disrupted during the Second World War when the station suffered severe bomb damage in the Blitz, particularly in December 1940.^[12] This led to the removal of the upper floors,^[10] and in 1955 the remainder of the street-level building was also demolished and the glass roof was replaced with awnings.^[13][14] This urged John Betjeman to write his poem Monody on the Death of Aldersgate Station.^[14][15]

The Thameslink lines on the south side of the station are no longer in use. The signal box seen here (R) was demolished in January 2015 as part of the Crossrail redevelopment.

The old entrance in 1981

The entrance today

Increasing traffic by other companies, including goods traffic, led to the track between King's Cross and Moorgate being widened to four tracks in 1868; the route was called the 'City Widened Lines'. Suburban services from the Midland Railway ran via Kentish Town and the Great Northern Railway ran via Kings Cross. British Rail services to Moorgate were initially steam operated before being converted to Cravens-built diesel multiple units and British Rail Class 31 locomotives class hauling non-corridor stock which remained in operation until the mid-1970s.

Passenger trains from the Great Northern line, via the York Road and Hotel curves at King's Cross to the Widened Lines, ran until the Great Northern's electrification on 1976. The City Widened Lines were renamed the Moorgate line^[16] when overhead electrification was installed in 1982, allowing the Midland City Line service to run from Bedford via the Midland Main Line to Moorgate on the Thameslink service. The Thameslink platforms at Barbican were closed again in March 2009 as part of the Thameslink Programme to allow Farringdon to have its main line platforms extended across Thameslink's Moorgate branch.^[11][17] As a result, Barbican now serves Underground lines only.

Incidents and accidents[]

On 16 December 1866 three passengers were killed, a guard was seriously injured and one other person suffered shock when a girder collapsed onto a passenger train in the station.^[18] The accident was the first to include multiple passengers on the underground network. Four people died during the accident, and a fifth (a workman involved in the accident) died while awaiting trial. Service on the line was running again only 30 minutes after the accident.^[19]

Station building[]

The station replaced an earlier building at 134 Aldersgate Street, which for many years had a sign claiming "This was Shakespeare's House".^[20] Although the building was very close to the nearby Fortune Playhouse, there is no documentary evidence that Shakespeare lived there; a subsidy roll from 1598 shows a "William Shakespeare" as the owner of the property, but there is nothing to indicate that it is the playwright.^{[citation needed]} The station has no surface building.^[21]

The station today[]

The station is mostly open to the elements,^[10] though there are some short canopies. The remains of the supporting structure for a glass canopy over all four platforms (removed in the 1950s)^[10] may still clearly be seen. At the west end of the platforms may be seen the beginnings of the complex of tunnels leading under Smithfield meat market.^[22] Livestock for the market was at one time delivered by rail and there was a substantial goods yard under the site of the market.^[23][24]

Platform 1 is the most northerly, serving eastbound London Underground services.^[25][26] Platforms 2 and 3 form an island platform, with platform 2 serving westbound services.^[25][26] Platforms 3 and 4 are out of use.^[10] A display on the history of the station, including text and photographs, is just inside the barriers, on the southern side of the main entrance corridor.^{[citation needed]}

The station has a commemorative plaque affixed to one of its walls in memory of the station's deceased cat Pebbles.^[27]

Services and Connections[]

The station is served by the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines. All three lines share the same pair of tracks from Baker Street Junction to Aldgate Junction making this section of track one of the most intensely used on the London Underground network.

Circle line[]

The typical service in trains per hour (tph) is:^[28]

• 6 tph Clockwise via Liverpool Street and Tower Hill
• 6 tph Anti-Clockwise via Kings Cross St Pancras and Paddington

Hammersmith & City line[]

The typical service in trains per hour (tph) is:^[28]

• 6 tph Eastbound to Barking
• 6 tph Westbound to Hammersmith via Paddington

Metropolitan line[]

The Metropolitan Line is the only line to operate express services, though currently this is only during peak times (Eastbound 06:30–09:30 / Westbound 16:00–19:00). Fast services run non-stop between Wembley Park, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Moor Park, Semi-fast services run non-stop between Wembley Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill.^[29]

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:^[30]

• 12 tph Eastbound to Aldgate
• 2 tph Westbound to Amersham (all stations)
• 2 tph Westbound to Chesham (all stations)
• 8 tph Westbound to Uxbridge (all stations)

Off-peak services to/from Watford terminate at Baker Street

The typical peak time service in trains per hour (tph) is:^[30]

• 14 tph Eastbound to Aldgate
• 2 tph Westbound to Amersham (fast in the evening peak only)
• 2 tph Westbound to Chesham (fast in the evening peak only)
• 4 tph Westbound to Watford (semi-fast in the evening peak only)
• 6 tph Westbound to Uxbridge (all stations)

Connections[]

London Buses routes 4, 56 and 153 serve the station.^[31]

Future development[]

When opened, the Crossrail platforms at Farringdon will have exits up to Farringdon and Barbican tube stations.

When Crossrail is completed, Farringdon's eastern ticket hall will be just to the west of Barbican station, and an interchange is being built here.^[32] This has involved significant changes at the western end of the station, including the demolition of the former signal box^[10] to construct a lift shaft from the Crossrail station to the westbound Underground platform only. The original plans of a new footbridge spanning the tracks to the eastbound platform was not proceeded with on the grounds of engineering difficulties.^[33][34] Work was anticipated to be completed in 2018.^{[35][needs update]}

Notes and references[]

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barbican tube station.

• London Transport Museum photographic archive: Barbican station

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Farringdon towards Hammersmith		Circle line		Moorgate towards Edgware Road (via Aldgate)
		Hammersmith & City line		Moorgate towards Barking
Farringdon towards Amersham, Chesham, Uxbridge or Watford		Metropolitan line		Moorgate towards Aldgate
	Former services
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Farringdon towards Hammersmith		Metropolitan line Hammersmith branch (1864–1990)		Moorgate towards Barking
	Disused Railways
Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Farringdon		First Capital Connect City Widened Lines Peak hours only		Moorgate
Farringdon		Great Northern Railway Widened Lines		Moorgate