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 (2024 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

Underground Electric Railways Company of London

When the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) took over ownership of the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway, it was renamed to simply the "Piccadilly line", of which is retains that name to this day. The first extension that was carried out was a northern extension beyond Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove, which opened in 1932, followed by Southgate and Enfield West (now named Oakwood) in 1933 and finally Cockfosters later that year.

Around the same time as this northern extension was being built, the Piccadilly line also took over services from the Metropolitan District Railway to Uxbridge and Hounslow West. This occurred in multiple phases between 1932 and 1933.

Post-UERL

Hatton Cross station opened in 1975, followed by Heathrow T2&3 in 1977. Heathrow T4 opened in 1986 and Heathrow T5 opened in 2008. The Piccadilly line services alternate between terminating at Heathrow T2&3 after going via Heathrow T4 and terminating at Heathrow T5 after going via Heathrow T2&3.

Aldwych also closed in 1994, mainly due to its low usage and maintenance costs for the lifts costing £3 million, which was deemed too expensive for the low passenger use of the station.