Latest – 20/12/99
The Extension is now completely open through from Stratford via North Greenwich to Stanmore. The final section linking to the ‘old’ Jubilee Line at Green Park opened in early December 1999. However, Westminster station is still closed. Charing Cross station on the old Jubilee Line is now closed.
Background
The Greenwich Peninsula, until round four years ago a derelict industrial wasteland, is an unlikely location for an underground station. For it to be the site of the largest station and passenger interchange on the entire London Underground network is almost unbelievable. However, the entire area is now the location of Britain’s year-long Millennium Exhibition, and even before those plans were announced it was within the boundary of the Port Greenwich development then planned by British Gas. As such, it is an essential part of the regeneration of the area.
The Jubilee Line Extension Project has been a £2 billion pound development that has probably been the largest recent construction project in Europe. It links Green Park at its western end, with Stratford in the east. The 10-mile line incorporates five existing stations, which all require major interchange work, with six stations new to the Underground network. Journey time from North Greenwich to the West End will be just 10 minutes.
The new station is remarkable in a number of ways. Officially opened on Friday, May 14th 1999, the station box even has seasoned engineers impressed. The huge structure is large enough to hold 3000 double-deck buses or the entire Canary Wharf Tower on its side. Passenger access to the platforms is by means of suspended walkways and open escalators. The unique arrangement of three platforms open on to the same waiting area, with sliding doors preventing access to the tracks. Massive V-shaped pillars support the roof and the whole area is clad in a blue colour scheme in order to maximise light and the feeling of space.
The above-ground parts of the station, road infrastructure, parking and landscaping were completed in January 1999, with the distinctive ‘mouth-shape’ roof clearly in evidence from nearby vantage points. The station design was prepared by Sir Richard Rodgers, famous for many pieces including the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
The station was originally planned to incorporate park-and-ride facilities for 1000 cars, a ‘kiss-and-ride’ set down and a major bus-interchange, all within a few hundred yards of the Blackwall Tunnel motorway approach road, the A102. With the delayed opening the Jubilee line, however, this parking provision will not now become available to commuters prior to the end of the MEX in 2001, since it would break the parking controls planned by Greenwich Council for the immediate surroundings of the Exhibition. An announcement was also made in May 1999 that the planned ‘kiss-and-ride’ facility for private cars has been dropped as it would provide an excuse for cars to visit the Dome site as opposed to the distant ‘park-and-ride’ schemes endorsed by both the NMEC and Greenwich Council
During the construction phase underground, two yellow-liveried works trains Emma and Sophie were hard at work laying miles of cable and bringing in all station equipment from the line’s main Depot at Stratford.
Further information is available from:
Jubilee Line Extension Project
Tel: 0800 318 421
Last updated; December 20th 1999
Web’d by David Riddle
Compiled partly from an article in the first issue of Meridian Line, June ’96
For a copy, contact:
Meridian Line Publishing
10 College Approach
Greenwich
London SE10 9HY
Tel: 0181 305 2999
Fax: 0181 853 0996
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