South Kensington tube station: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

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South Kensington tube station

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	Topics South Kensington tube station Topic Home South Kensington is a London UndergroundLondon Underground This article is about the British underground transport system.... station in KensingtonFacts About Kensington Kensington is a district of West London within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located 2.8 miles west of Chari... , west LondonLondon London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom.... . It is served by the DistrictDistrict Line The District Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map.... , Circle and PiccadillyPiccadilly Line The Piccadilly Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured royal blue on the Tube map.... lines. On the District and Circle lines the station is between Gloucester RoadGloucester Road tube station Gloucester Road is a London Underground station in South Kensington, near the intersection of Gloucester Road and Cromwell R... and Sloane SquareSloane Square tube station Sloane Square tube station is a London Underground station in Sloane Square, Chelsea.... , and on the Piccadilly Line it is between Gloucester Road and KnightsbridgeKnightsbridge tube station Knightsbridge is a London Underground station in Knightsbridge.... . South Kensington is the easternmost interchange between these three lines; the Circle and District lines diverge from the Piccadilly line slightly east of the station. It is in Travelcard Zone 1Travelcard Zone 1 Travelcard Zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal system used for calculating co-ordinated inter-modal T... . The main station entrance is located at the junction of Old Brompton RoadOld Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a street in South Kensington, London.... , Thurlow Place, Harrington Road, Onslow Place and Pelham Street. Subsidiary entrances are located in Exhibition RoadExhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London, England.... giving access by pedestrian tunnel to the Natural HistoryNatural History Museum -\|\|-\|\|-\|\|}The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London.... , ScienceScience Museum (London) The Science Museum on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England, is part of the National Museum of Science and Indu... and Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum is on the corner of Cromwell Gardens and Exhibition Road in South Kensington, west London, En... s. Also close by are Imperial College LondonImperial College London Imperial College London is a prestigious British academic institution focusing on science, engineering and medicine, complem... , the Royal College of MusicRoyal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a prestigious music school located in Kensington, London.... , the London branch of the Goethe-InstitutGoethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut is a German non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote German language and culture outside of t... and the Ismaili CentreIsmaili Centre The Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London, England, is one of four such centres world-wide.... . History The station was opened on 24 December 1868 by the Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways The Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway were the first two of the series of underground railway... (MR, later the Metropolitan LineFacts About Metropolitan Line The Metropolitan Line is part of the London Underground, coloured magenta on the Tube map.... ) and the Metropolitan District RailwayMetropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways The Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway were the first two of the series of underground railway... (MDR, later the District Line). The MR had previously opened an extension from Praed StreetPaddington station Paddington station is a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of London, England... (now Paddington) to Gloucester Road on 1 October 1868 and opened tracks to South Kensington to connect to the MDR when the later opened the first section of its line to WestminsterWestminster tube station Overview Westminster tube station on the London Underground serves the Circle, District and Jubilee lines.... . Although the two companies were rivals, each company operated its trains over the other's tracks in a joint service known as the "Inner Circle". On 1 August 1870, the MDR opened additional tracks between Gloucester Road and South Kensington and on 10 July 1871 the MDR opened its own station facilities. On 1 February 1872, the MDR opened a northbound branch from its station at Earl's CourtEarl's Court tube station Earl's Court tube station is a London Underground station in Earls Court.... to connect to the West London Extension Joint RailwayWest London Line The West London Line is a short railway linking Clapham Junction in the south to Willesden Junction in the north.... (WLEJR, now the West London LineWest London Line Summary The West London Line is a short railway linking Clapham Junction in the south to Willesden Junction in the north.... ) which it connected to at Addison RoadKensington (Olympia) station Kensington station is a National Rail and London Underground station in West London.... (now Kensington (Olympia)). From that date the "Outer CircleOuter Circle (London) The Outer Circle was a railway route in London operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries over tracks which are now ... " service began running over the MDR's tracks. The service was run by the North London RailwayNorth London Railway The North London Railway was a railway that opened in 1850 and connected the north of London to the East and West India Dock... (NLR) from its terminus at Broad Street (now demolished) in the City of LondonCity of London The City of London is a small area in Greater London, England.... via the North London LineNorth London Line The North London Line is a railway line through northern London.... to Willesden JunctionWillesden Junction station HistoryLondon and Birmingham Railway from Euston ran through the site from 1837.... , then the West London Line to Addison Road and the MDR to Mansion HouseMansion House tube station Mansion House is a London Underground station in the City of London, near Mansion House.... - at that time the eastern terminus of the MDR. From 1 August 1872, the "Middle CircleMiddle Circle The Middle Circle was a railway route in London which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries over tracks which a... " service also began operations through South Kensington running from MoorgateMoorgate station Moorgate station is a London Underground and mainline station in the City of London, located on Moorgate, a street which sha... along the MR's tracks on the north side of the Inner Circle to Paddington then over the Hammersmith & City RailwayHammersmith & City Line The Hammersmith and City Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the Tube map, running between Ham... (H&CR) track to Latimer RoadLatimer Road tube station Latimer Road is a London Underground station in North Kensington on the Hammersmith and City Line, between Shepherd's Bush a... then, via a now demolished link, to the West London Line to Addison Road and the MDR to Mansion House. The service was operated jointly by the H&CR and the MDR. In 1885 the MDR opened the pedestrian subway from the station beneath the length of Exhibition Road giving sheltered access to the newly built museums although there was a toll on using the passage until 1908. On 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House. By the beginning of the 20th century, the MDR had made extensions to Richmond, EalingEaling Broadway station Ealing Broadway is a National Rail and London Underground station, in Ealing in west London.... , HounslowHounslow West tube station Hounslow West is a London Underground station in Hounslow in west London.... (now served by the Piccadilly Line) and WimbledonWimbledon station Wimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of... and was suffering considerable congestion on the southern section of the Inner Circle between South Kensington and Mansion House. Between these two stations it was running an average of twenty trains an hour with more in the peak periods. To relieve the congestion the MDR planned an express deep tube line from Earl's Court to Mansion House. Parliamentary approval was obtained in 1897 but little work was done. In 1898 the MDR took over the Brompton & Piccadilly Circus RailwayPiccadilly Line The Piccadilly Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured royal blue on the Tube map.... (B&PCR) which had a route planned from South Kensington to Piccadilly CircusPiccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a famous traffic intersection and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster.... . The route was modified to join the MDR deep tube route at South Kensington and the section eastwards to Mansion House was cancelled. A short section of one of the MDR deep tube platforms was constructed and tiled but never brought into service (although it was later used as a signal school). Following the purchase of the MDR by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London LtdUnderground Electric Railways Company The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited was the holding company, for three of the new deep-level "tube" ... in 1902, the planned tube line was subsequently merged with a third proposed route and opened on 15 December 1906, as the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton RailwayFacts About Piccadilly Line The Piccadilly Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured royal blue on the Tube map.... (GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly Line) between Finsbury ParkFinsbury Park station Finsbury Park Station is a busy transport interchange in North London.... and HammersmithHammersmith tube station (Piccadilly & District Line) Hammersmith tube station is a London Underground station in Hammersmith.... . The deep platforms at South Kensington were constructed beneath the sub-surface platforms and access was provided from street level by lifts from an extension to the sub-surface station building. This building was designed by Leslie GreenLeslie Green Leslie William Green was an English architect known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground ... and built with the GNP&BR's distinctive ox-blood red glazed terracottaArchitectural terracotta Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 186... façade. A short section of one of the deep level platforms was constructed and tiled but never brought into service (although it was later used as subterranean offices). On 31 December 1908, the Outer Circle service was also withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House. In 1949 the Metropolitan Line operated Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the tube mapTube map Tube map is the commonly used name for the schematic diagram that represents the lines, stations, and zones of London's rapi... as the Circle Line. In 2005 the Victoria and Albert Museum re-opened an entrance leading directly from the pedestrian subway to the Museum's basement, that had been closed since the 1970s. Famously, the two members of the band PlaceboPlacebo (band) Placebo is an alternative rock band consisting of Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt.... met here accidentally and then decided to start a band. Station layout The layout of the sub-surface platforms has been altered from the original layout. From north to south, the original layout of the platforms was: Platform 1: MR eastbound Platform 2: MR westbound Platform 3: MDR eastbound Platform 4: MDR westbound Platforms 2 and 3 were island platforms with a track between them used for terminating and reversing MR trains arriving from the west. The reversing track was taken out of use in 1957 and the gap filled to connect the two island platforms. Platforms 1 and 4 were taken out of use in January 1968 and March 1969 respectively. The tracks for these platforms were also removed and platform 4 was subsequently demolished. The widened island platform is now served by the District and Circle Lines in both directions although the trains run in the opposite direction to the original arrangement. Following the closure of platforms 1 and 4, platform 3 was renumbered as 1. The current arrangement has trains running in opposite directions to the original layout as follows: Platform 1 (previously platform 3): District and Circle Lines westbound Platform 2: District and Circle Lines eastbound Following the replacement of the original liftsElevator An elevator is a transport device used to move goods or people vertically.... with escalatorEscalator An escalator is a conveyor transport device for transporting people, consisting of a staircase whose steps move up or down o... s, the GNP&BR station building has not been used to provide access to the tube platforms. It remains abandoned on Pelham Street though the remainder of the terrace of which it once formed a part has been demolished. It is possible that the entrance may be reinstated as a means by which the mobility impaired may access the tube platforms. There are points east of the station which allow westbound trains to terminate here and then crossover to the eastbound track. External links ine station building")