Victoria Line - History

History

A tube railway running from Victoria to Walthamstow was first proposed by a Working Party set up by the British Transport Commission in 1948. The main purpose was to relieve congestion in the central area. The necessary Private Bill was introduced into Parliament in 1955. It described a line from Victoria to Walthamstow (Wood Street). There was also a proposal, though not included in the Bill, for a subsequent extension from Victoria to Fulham Broadway station on the District line.

Construction began in 1962 on the initial Walthamstow-Victoria section and the full Walthamstow-Brixton line was completed in 1972. A test tunnel from Tottenham to Manor House under Seven Sisters Road had been bored in 1959 and was later incorporated into the running tunnels.

In August 1967 the government gave approval for the Brixton extension. Preparatory work had already started at Bessborough Gardens near Vauxhall Bridge Road in May 1967. In June 1968 a proposal to build a station at Pimlico was approved.

The name "Victoria line" dates back to 1955; other suggestions were "Walvic line" (Walthamstow – Victoria) and "Viking line" (Victoria – King's Cross). During the planning stages, it was known as Route C and then was named the Victoria line after Victoria Station by David McKenna, whose suggestion was seconded by Sir John Elliot.

The line was designed to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the Piccadilly line, as well as to maximise possible interchanges. It had been intended to build the line beyond Walthamstow Central to Wood Street (Walthamstow), where it would have surfaced to terminate next to the British Rail station. Proposals were also made to extend the line as far as South Woodford or Woodford, to provide interchange with the Central line. However, in a late decision in 1961 the line was cut back to Walthamstow (Hoe Street) station, renamed Walthamstow Central in 1968.

Every Victoria line station apart from Pimlico was built as an interchange station, and several existing stations were rearranged to allow for cross-platform interchange with the new line. In some cases this was achieved by placing the Victoria line platforms on either side of the existing station; in others, the Victoria line uses one of the older platforms and the existing line was diverted into a new platform. Particularly significant is the direct same-level interchange with the Bakerloo line at Oxford Circus, a pivotal node at the heart of the whole network, facilitating a wide range of north-south journeys across central London.

At Euston, northbound Victoria and Northern line (Bank branch) trains run along adjacent platforms, although they travel in opposite directions. Other cross-platform interchanges are provided at Stockwell (with the Northern line), Highbury & Islington (with First Capital Connect, originally the Northern City Line), and at Finsbury Park (with the Piccadilly line).

All Victoria line stations were originally tiled in blue/grey. Each station was decorated with tiled motifs in seating recesses to help identify the station. During the construction of the Jubilee line in the late 1970s, the original motifs on Green Park station were replaced by motifs matching the new design for the Jubilee line platforms. These were in turn replaced in 2009 by replicas of the original design.

In late 2010 and 2011, platform humps were installed on all Victoria Line stations except Pimlico to provide step-free access to trains. This project was in accordance with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Victoria line humps resemble in form the Harrington Hump, a ramp type being installed on some mainline stations, but are of a masonry construction.