Piccadilly line

The Piccadilly Line is one of the eleven London Underground lines, running from Heathrow Airport and Uxbridge to Cockfosters via Central London. The line is operated by 1973 Tube Stock, with new trains (24 Tube Stock) due to enter service in the mid-to-late 2020s.

History

Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway

The first section opened on 15th December 1906 as part of the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway (GNPBR), operating between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park. If you look at the walls of a number of the stations, you can still see signage displaying this.

The stations on the GNPBR were:

• Finsbury Park
• Gillespie Road (now Arsenal)
• Holloway Road
• Caledonian Road
• York Road (closed 17 September 1932)
• King's Cross (now King's Cross St. Pancras)
• Russell Square
• Holborn
• Strand (later Aldwych, opened 30 November 1907, closed 30 September 1994)
• Covent Garden (opened 11 April 1907)
• Leicester Square
• Piccadilly Circus
• Dover Street (now Green Park)
• Down Street (opened 15 March 1907, closed 25 May 1932)
• Hyde Park Corner
• Knightsbridge
• Brompton Road (closed 29 July 1934)
• South Kensington (opened 8 January 1907)
• Gloucester Road
• Earl's Court
• Barons Court
• Hammersmith

During its life, the Piccadilly Line has been extended a number of times, with extensions west from Hammersmith to Acton adjacent to the District Railway's service, and in the east to Wood Green and then eventually Southgate all in the early 1930s. Eventually, the Piccadilly Line would take over the District Railway's service to Uxbridge.