Vauxhall station#London Underground

The station sits just to the east of Vauxhall Bridge, on a viaduct with eight platforms, straddling South Lambeth Road and South Lambeth Place, alongside Vauxhall Cross.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations-and-destinations/stations-made-easy/vauxhall-station-plan|title=Vauxhall (Ground Floor)|publisher=National Rail Enquiries|access-date=12 September 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/maps?lineId=87&Input=Vauxhall%20Bridge%20Road&InputGeolocation=51.489416%2C-0.127784|title=Near Vauxhall Bridge Road|publisher=Transport for London|access-date=2 December 2018}} On the National Rail network it is the next station on the South West Main Line along from {{stn|London Waterloo}}, {{convert|1|mi|29|chain|km}} to the south-west. On the London Underground it is on the Victoria line between Stockwell and Pimlico stations.{{cite book|title=London Railway Atlas|page=39|first=Joe|last=Brown|publisher=Ian Allan|isbn=978-0-7110-3819-6|date=19 February 2015}} The area has several surrounding railways, including the line from Victoria to {{rws|Streatham}}.{{sfn|Davies|Grant|1983|p=68}} The station is on the boundary of zones 1 and 2 of the London Travelcard area and, although a through station, it is classed as a central London terminus for ticketing purposes.{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46587.aspx#terminals|title='London Terminal' stations|publisher=Network Rail|access-date=12 September 2017}}

Vauxhall bus station is at ground level, across the road from the railway station. It has a photovoltaic roof supplying much of its electricity, and caters for around 2,000 buses per day.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/apr/11/architecture.regeneration|title=Architecture – Route master|first=Jonathan|last=Glancey|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 April 2005|access-date=26 June 2018}}

File:Clapham Junction, Stewarts Lane, Lavender Hill & Longhedge RJD 17.jpg map of lines around Clapham Junction. Vauxhall station is at the extreme right of this map]]

The station is incorporated within the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as "Vauxhall Bridge Station" on 11 July 1848 when the main line was extended from {{Rws|Nine Elms}} to Waterloo, then known as "Waterloo Bridge Station". The viaduct was constructed to minimize property disturbances; nevertheless some 700 properties were demolished extending the line past Nine Elms and through Vauxhall.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=213-215}}

In the period when Vauxhall was opened, there was no way for an inspector to move through the length of a train to check tickets, so it was used as a ticket stop, like several other stations. Having arrived at Vauxhall, the train would stop for as long as necessary while all tickets could be examined and collected.{{sfn|Patmore|1982|p=171}}{{sfn|Bradley|2015|p=52}}

On 13 April 1856, the station caught fire and was almost totally destroyed. The line was quickly repaired and services through to Waterloo resumed without much delay.{{cite news|title=Destruction Of Vauxhall Railway Station|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=14 April 1856|access-date=19 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS201756302&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }} After being rebuilt, the station was renamed "Vauxhall" in 1862.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=238}}{{efn|A station in Birmingham called "Vauxhall" had been opened by the London and North Western Railway on 1 March 1869; it was renamed "Vauxhall and Duddeston" on 1 November 1889 and "Duddeston" on 6 May 1974.{{sfn|Butt|1995|pp=83,238}}}} In the same year, the LSWR widened the main line through the station.{{cite news|title=Railway Intelligence|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=11 April 1862|page=10|access-date=12 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS169253515&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }} Vauxhall was remodelled in 1936, which included an overhaul of the signalling system up to Waterloo.{{cite news|title=Southern Railway Improvements|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=16 May 1936|page=8|access-date=19 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS135474864&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }}

In 1921, United Dairies opened a major creamery and milk bottling plant opposite Vauxhall station.{{cite news|title=United Dairies, Limited|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=12 November 1921|page=17+|access-date=12 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS285544812&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }} Subsequently, milk trains regularly stopped at the station.{{sfn|Davies|Grant|1983|p=68}}{{sfn|Course|1962|p=92}} The regular daily milk train was from Torrington, but services from all over the West Country would stop at Clapham Junction in the evening,{{sfn|Maidment|2015|p=15}} and reduce their length by half so that they did not block Vauxhall station while unloading. They would then proceed to Vauxhall, and pull into the Up Windsor Local platform, where a discharge pipe was provided to the creamery on the other side of the road.{{sfn|Course|1962|p=92}} There was also pedestrian access from below the station, under the road to the depot, in the tunnel where the pipeline ran. Unloaded trains would then proceed to Waterloo, where they would reverse and return to Clapham Junction to pick up the other half of the train. The procedure was then repeated, so that the entire milk train was unloaded between the end of evening peak traffic and the start of the following morning.{{cite web|url=http://svsfilm.com/nineelms/torr.htm|title=The Torrington Milk Train|publisher=SVS Films|date=21 January 2012}}

In 2017, work began to modernise the station layout and reduce congestion as part of an £800 million works programme to improve access to Waterloo. The existing lift was replaced and a new staircase was added between platforms 7 and 8 and the concourse.{{cite press release|url=https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/network-rail-invites-passengers-to-learn-more-about-vauxhall-station-improvements|title=Network Rail invites passengers to learn more about Vauxhall station improvements|work=Network Rail|date=13 March 2017|access-date=12 September 2018}}

File:Vauxhall tube station subway, July 2024.jpg

File:Vauxhall_tube_station_exit_corridor_to_overground.jpg

File:Vauxhall_tube_station_exit,_escalator_ascend.jpg

File:Vauxhall01LB.jpg

The first proposed underground station at Vauxhall was as part of the West and South London Junction Railway. The line was intended to connect {{rws|Paddington}} to Oval via Vauxhall, crossing the River Thames slightly downstream of Vauxhall Bridge. It was rejected in January 1901 for failing to comply with Standing Orders and giving correct notice of eviction, and the plans were quietly shelved.{{sfn|Badsey-Ellis|2005|p=98}} Another abandoned scheme to connect {{rws|Cannon Street}} with {{rws|Wimbledon}} would have seen an interchange at Vauxhall; these plans were scrapped in 1902 owing to lack of funds.{{sfn|Badsey-Ellis|2005|p=135}}

The current deep tube London Underground station is on the Victoria line, which was the first major post-war underground project in Central London. The line was given approval to be extended from {{rws|Victoria|London}} underneath the Thames to Vauxhall (and onwards to Brixton) in March 1966. To construct the escalator shaft, the ground beneath it was frozen with brine.{{sfn|Day|Reed|2010|pp=163,168}} The station platforms were designed by Design Research Unit and decorated with a motif from the 19th-century Vauxhall Gardens, designed by George Smith.{{sfn|Day|Reed|2010|p=171}}{{sfn|Lawrence|1994|p=197}} At the same time, Vauxhall Cross road junction was rebuilt in order to accommodate the new Underground station.{{cite news|title=Vauxhall takes on new look|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=9 April 1970|page=5|access-date=19 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS84505225&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }} The Underground station was opened on 23 July 1971 by Princess Alexandra, as part of the extension of the Victoria line to Brixton.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=238}}{{sfn|Day|Reed|2010|p=171}}

In October 1982, the first automated ticketing system on the Underground was installed at Vauxhall on an experimental basis. The two machines were a "Tenfare" which sold the ten most popular single tickets, and "Allfare" which supplied single and return tickets to any tube station. The experiment ran until July 1983, and was subsequently used in the design of the rollout of the Underground ticketing system across the network.{{sfn|Day|Reed|2010|p=184}}

In 2005, the existing fixed staircase between the two escalators down to platform level was replaced by a new escalator. Installed by Metronet as part of the Tube Private Public Partnership, the escalator was installed due to the high numbers of passengers using the station.{{Cite web|date=9 June 2005|title=New escalator to improve Vauxhall Station|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2005/june/new-escalator-to-improve-vauxhall-station|access-date=12 September 2021|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB}}

In the late 2000s, one potential option for extending the Northern line to Battersea was a route via Vauxhall station. Despite the benefit of connecting to the Victoria line and National Rail services, the option had a significantly higher cost than others, and increased the potential for increased overcrowding at the station.{{Cite web|date=May 2010|title=Proposals for a Northern Line extension to Nine Elms and Battersea|url=http://www.dragondark.co.uk/lr/leafletcampaign.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729231337/http://www.dragondark.co.uk/lr/leafletcampaign.pdf|archive-date=29 July 2017|access-date=9 September 2021|publisher=Real Estate Opportunities and Treasury Holdings}} A route via Nine Elms was chosen instead.{{Cite web|title=Northern line extension|url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/northern-line-extension|access-date=12 September 2021|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB}} In the mid 2010s, the Underground station was upgraded and refurbished at a cost of £36m, as part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea regeneration project.{{Cite web|date=18 December 2014|title=£36m upgrade of Vauxhall Tube station reaches half way|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/december/-36m-upgrade-of-vauxhall-tube-station-reaches-half-way|access-date=12 September 2021|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB}} Lifts were installed to provide step-free access to the Victoria line.{{Cite web|date=20 May 2013|title=Vauxhall Tube upgrade begins next year|url=https://nineelmslondon.com/news/vauxhall-tube-upgrade-begins-next-year/|access-date=12 September 2021|website=Nine Elms on the South Bank|language=en-US}}

{{Main articles|Vauxhall bus station}}

The bus station opened on 4 December 2004. It was designed by Arup Associates and features a distinctive metallic design constructed out of stainless steel.{{cite web|url=https://londonist.com/2016/09/an-ode-to-vauxhall-bus-station|title=An Ode To Vauxhall Bus Station|date=September 2016|access-date=12 September 2018}} The station has been criticised for its proximity to the heavy traffic around Vauxhall Cross. In 2011, Transport for London announced they would demolish the bus station and construct a "linear walkway" instead. This was scrapped, but in 2017, they revived the demolition plans as part of general improvements in the area following support from Lambeth Council. The rebuilding is expected to take place between 2019 and 2021.{{cite journal|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/end-looms-for-arup-associates-long-threatened-vauxhall-bus-station/10023709.article|title=End looms for Arup Associates' long-threatened Vauxhall bus station|journal=Architects' Journal|date=26 September 2017|access-date=7 December 2018}} Kate Hoey, member of parliament for Vauxhall has criticised the proposals, calling them a "stitch up".{{cite journal|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/outcry-after-lambeth-votes-to-demolish-arup-associates-iconic-vauxhall-bus-station/10026494.article|title=Outcry after Lambeth votes to demolish Arup Associates' 'iconic' Vauxhall bus station|journal=Architects' Journal|date=21 December 2017|access-date=8 December 2018}}

File:Vauxhall railway station - London - 240404.jpg

Vauxhall railway station is served by the South Western Railway to and from London Waterloo. Approximately 460 trains travel between the stations each day.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/vauxhall-to-london-waterloo|title=Vauxhall to London Waterloo|publisher=The Train Line|access-date=8 December 2018}}

There are 8 platforms at the station, arranged into 4 islands, which, from north to south:

• Platforms 1 and 2 on Waterloo–Reading line towards {{stn|London Waterloo}}
• Platforms 3 and 4 on Waterloo–Reading line towards {{stn|Reading}}
• Platform 5 on South West Main Line fast line towards {{stn|London Waterloo}}
• Platform 6 on South West Main Line fast line towards {{stn|Weymouth}}
• Platform 7 on South West Main Line slow line towards {{stn|London Waterloo}}
• Platform 8 on South West Main Line slow line towards {{stn|Weymouth}}

In practice, platforms 5 and 6 are not used for passenger calls as fast trains do not call at this station.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:{{NRtimes|December 2024|149, 152, 155}}

• 20 tph to {{stn|London Waterloo}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Chessington South}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Hampton Court}}
• 1 tph to {{stnlnk|Dorking}} via {{stnlnk|Epsom}}
• 3 tph to {{stnlnk|Guildford}} (1 of these runs via Epsom and 2 run via Cobham)
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Woking}} via {{stnlnk|Weybridge}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Shepperton}} via {{stnlnk|Kingston|England}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Teddington}} via Kingston, returning to London Waterloo via {{stn|Richmond||London}}
• 2 tph to Teddington via Richmond, returning to London Waterloo via Kingston
• 2 tph to Weybridge via {{stnlnk|Hounslow}}
• 2 tph to {{stnlnk|Windsor & Eton Riverside}}

Vauxhall is between Pimlico and Stockwell on the Victoria line with a peak time service frequency of 36 trains per hour, or around one every 100 seconds.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/victoria-line-trains-now-run-every-100-seconds-making-it-the-second-most-frequent-line-in-the-world-a3544946.html|title=Victoria line trains now run every 100 seconds making it the second most frequent line in the world|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=22 May 2017|access-date=19 September 2018}}

London Buses routes 2, 36, 77, 87, 88, 156, 185, 196, 344, 360, 436, 452 and night routes N2, N87 and N136 serve the adjacent bus station.{{Cite web|url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/vauxhall-a4.pdf|title=Buses from Vauxhall|date=29 June 2024|website=TfL|access-date=28 June 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/vauxhall-night-a4-0622.pdf|title=Night buses from Vauxhall|date=June 2022|website=TfL|access-date=18 June 2022}}

London River Services are available from nearby St George Wharf Pier.{{cite web|url=https://www.thamesclippers.com/assets/doc/Online-Timetable-June-2018-fc0756fde6.pdf|title=MBNA Thames Clippers Timetable|date=21 May 2018|issue=June 2018|access-date=14 September 2018|format=Timetable|archive-date=14 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914203337/https://www.thamesclippers.com/assets/doc/Online-Timetable-June-2018-fc0756fde6.pdf|url-status=dead}} The service was opened in September 2011 by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, with the aim of expanding boat transport along the Thames by 20%. A service runs approximately every 40 minutes to the City of London and Canary Wharf.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14928051|title=New floating Thames pier opens at Vauxhall|work=BBC News|date=15 September 2011|access-date=2 December 2018}}

{{rail start}}

{{rail line|previous={{stn|London Waterloo}}|next={{stnlnk|Queenstown Road}}
or
{{stnlnk|Clapham Junction}}|route=South Western Railway
{{smalldiv|South West Main Line}}|col={{SWR colour}} }}

{{s-rail|title=LUL}}

{{rail line|previous={{lus|Stockwell}}
{{smalldiv|towards {{lus|Pimlico}}}}|next={{lus|Pimlico}} {{smalldiv|towards {{stn|Walthamstow Central}}}}|route=Victoria line|col={{rcr|LUL|Victoria}} }}

{{end}}

• On 11 September 1880, a light engine collided with a service from Waterloo to Hampton. Five passengers were killed.{{cite news|title=The Vauxhall Railway Accident|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=28 September 1880|page=4|access-date=12 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS68206396&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }}
• On 29 August 1912, a light engine collided with a rake of nine carriages. One passenger was killed and 43 were injured.{{cite journal |last1=Brodrick |first1=Nick |title=LSWR "lavatory brake third" |journal=Steam Railway |publisher=Bauer Media |issue=375, 30 April – 27 May 2010 |page=56 }}
• On 20 September 1934, two electric suburban trains collided at Vauxhall. The driver of one train and a passenger were taken to St Thomas' Hospital for treatment.{{cite news|title=Electric Trains In Collision|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=21 September 1934|page=12|access-date=19 September 2018|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS203238197&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|url-access=subscription }}
• On 9 October 2000, an untrained student worker was hit by a train near Vauxhall station while unsupervised. An inquest in May 2002 returned a verdict of unlawful killing.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1999148.stm|title=Student rail worker 'unlawfully killed'|work=BBC News|date=20 May 2002|access-date=12 September 2018}}
• On 5 May 2016, a fire broke out in one of the signal cables at Vauxhall station. Services from Waterloo through the station were cancelled and the next major down station, {{rws|Clapham Junction}} was closed as an overcrowding measure.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36210107|title=Vauxhall Station fire: Ongoing disruption follows blaze|work=BBC News|date=5 May 2016|access-date=12 September 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/05/vauxhall-station-fire-disrupts-london-rail-services|title=Vauxhall station fire disrupts London rail services|date=5 May 2016|access-date=12 September 2018}}

The name Vauxhall is phonetically similar to the Russian word for a railway station, {{lang|ru|вокзал}} (vokzal). One theory for this similarity is that Tsar Nicholas I visited Britain in the mid-19th century to study the railway network. At the time, every train on the South Western Railway called at Vauxhall as a ticket stop. From this, the Tsar concluded that Vauxhall was a major transport interchange, and the word was introduced as the generic term in Russian.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/from-vauxhall-to-vokzal-1240445.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220811/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/from-vauxhall-to-vokzal-1240445.html |archive-date=11 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=From Vauxhall to Vokzal|first=Phil|last=Reeves|work=The Independent|date=21 September 1997|access-date=12 September 2018}}

Notes

{{notelist}}

Citations

{{reflist|30em}}

Sources

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{butt-stations}}
• {{cite book|last=Badsey-Ellis|first=Antony|title=London's Lost Tube Schemes|publisher=Capital Transport|year=2005|isbn=185414-293-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Simon|title=The Railways - Nation, Network and People|publisher=Profile Books|year=2015|isbn=978-1-84668-209-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Course|first=Edwin|title=London railways|publisher=B. T. Batsford|year=1962}}
• {{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=R|last2=Grant|first2=M.D.|title=London and its railways|publisher=David & Charles|year=1983|isbn=0-7153-8107-5}}
• {{cite book|last1=Day|first1=John R|last2=Reed|first2=John|year=2010|orig-year=1963|title=The Story of London's Underground|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-341-9}}
• {{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Alan| year = 1984 |orig-year=1969 | title = London's Termini | publisher =David & Charles| edition=New Revised| isbn = 0-330-02747-6|location=London}}
• {{cite book|last=Lawrence|first=David|title=Underground Architecture|year=1994|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-854-14160-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Maidment|first=David|title=A Privileged Journey: From Enthusiast to Professional Railwayman|publisher=Pen & Sword|year=2015|isbn=978-1-473-85949-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Patmore|first=John Allan|title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Southern England|publisher=David & Charles|year=1982|isbn=978-0-715-38365-0}}

{{refend}}

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