Southwark tube station

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Southwark London Underground
Southwarktubestation.JPG
Entrance on The Cut
Southwark is located in Central London
Southwark
Southwark
Location of Southwark in Central London
LocationBankside
Local authorityLondon Borough of Southwark
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone1
OSIWaterloo East National Rail
Blackfriars at Bankside entrance National Rail[2]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015Increase 17.94 million[3]
2016Decrease 17.86 million[3]
2017Decrease 16.71 million[3]
2018Decrease 15.33 million[4]
2019Decrease 14.95 million[5]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon Regional Transport
Key dates
20 November 1999Opened
Other information
External links
WGS8451°30′11″N 0°06′18″W / 51.503°N 0.105°W / 51.503; -0.105Coordinates: 51°30′11″N 0°06′18″W / 51.503°N 0.105°W / 51.503; -0.105
Underground sign at Westminster.jpg London transport portal

Southwark is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Southwark at the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut. It is between Waterloo and London Bridge stations on the Jubilee line, and is in Travelcard Zone 1. It was opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension.[6] The station is somewhat west of historic Southwark, which is served by Borough and London Bridge stations. Its entrance is across the road from the disused Blackfriars Road railway station.

The original plan for the Extension did not include a station between those at Waterloo and London Bridge; Southwark station was added after lobbying by the local council, it is in fact sited right next to the borough's boundary with Lambeth at Joane Street. Although it is close to Waterloo, not near the Bankside attractions it was intended to serve, and its only National Rail interchange is to London Waterloo East main line station; the passenger usage matches those of other minor central stations. It does however get over twice the traffic of nearby Borough station, and around three times that of Lambeth North.

History[]

Southwark station was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of MJP Architects. It is on a cramped site, with its platforms underneath the Victorian main line viaduct between Waterloo East and London Bridge stations. The site presented significant technical and architectural difficulties which were resolved by constructing two concourses at different levels.

The two platforms have platform screen doors which are meant to prevent passengers or debris from falling onto the tracks. They are connected at each end to the lower concourse which is a simple tunnel between the platforms and is illuminated by glass and steel "beacons" at each end, and is faced with stainless steel panels, deliberately left unpolished. Stairs lead up to a section of high floor in the central area of the tunnel, from where three narrow tube-like escalator shafts lead sideways (south) to the higher concourse.

The upper concourse is the centrepiece of the station. It is a space 16 metres (52 ft) high with a glass roof that allows daylight to enter deep into the station. It is faced with a spectacular glass wall, 40 metres (130 ft) long, consisting of 660 specially cut pieces of blue glass, which was designed by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. The wall is one of the extension's more celebrated architectural features, winning critical approval and a number of awards.

MacCormac said the design of this and the lower concourse was inspired by the work of the 19th-century Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

One end of the higher concourse connects to Waterloo East station, and the other end to the station's modest low-rise entrance building which is intended as a base for a future commercial development.

Connections[]

London Buses routes 40, 63 and night routes N63, N89 serve the station.

Gallery[]

Additional images of Southwark Underground Station, and an architectural case study, are available on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) web site.[7]

Nearby sights[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures (2007–2017)". London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Archived from the original (XLSX) on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. ^ "The new JLE Station at Southwark opens". London Transport. 15 November 1999. Archived from the original on 3 March 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Southwark Underground Station (photos)". Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
Preceding station   Underground no-text.svg London Underground   Following station
towards Stanmore
Jubilee line
towards Stratford
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