Aldgate East tube station

Aldgate East
Aldgate East Location of Aldgate East in Central London
Location	Spitalfields
Local authority	London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	10.13 million[1]
2013	11.66 million[1]
2014	12.25 million[1]
2015	12.84 million[1]
Key dates
6 October 1884 (6 October 1884)	Opened
31 October 1938	resited
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°30′55″N 0°04′20″W / 51.5152°N 0.0722°W / 51.5152; -0.0722Coordinates: 51°30′55″N 0°04′20″W / 51.5152°N 0.0722°W / 51.5152; -0.0722
London Transport portal

Aldgate East is a London Underground station in the Spitalfields district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in east London. It is on the Hammersmith & City line between Liverpool Street and Whitechapel, and on the District line between Tower Hill and Whitechapel, in Travelcard Zone 1.^[2]

History

Original station

The name "Commercial Road" had been proposed for the original Aldgate East station, which opened on 6 October 1884 as part of an eastern extension to the District Railway (now the District line),^[3] some 500 feet to the west of the current station, close to the Metropolitan Railway's Aldgate station. However, when the curve to join the Metropolitan Railway from Liverpool Street was built, the curve had to be particularly sharp owing to the location of Aldgate East station, at which the track needed to be straight.

Resited station

As part of the London Passenger Transport Board's 1935–1940 New Works Programme the triangular junction at Aldgate was enlarged, to allow for a much gentler curve and to ensure trains that were held on any leg of the triangle did not foul any signals or points elsewhere.^[4] The new Aldgate East platforms were sited almost immediately to the east of their predecessors, with one exit facing west toward the original location, and another at the east end of the new platforms.

The new eastern exit was now close enough to the next station along the line, St Mary's (Whitechapel Road), that this station could also be closed,^{[note 1]} reducing operational overhead and journey times, because the new Aldgate East had effectively replaced two earlier stations.

The new station, which opened on 31 October 1938^[3] (the earlier station closing permanently the previous night^[5][6]), was designed to be completely subterranean, providing a much-needed pedestrian underpass for the road above. However, in order to accommodate the space needed for this, and the platforms below, the existing track required lowering by more than seven feet. To achieve this task whilst still keeping the track open during the day, the bed underneath the track was excavated, and the track held up by a timber trestle work. Then, once excavation was complete and the new station constructed around the site, an army of over 900 workmen lowered the whole track simultaneously in one night, using overhead hooks to suspend the track when necessary.^[7] The hooks still remain.

Past proposals

A campaign was launched by a local councillor in a bid to change the name of the station to Brick Lane tube station by 2012,^[8] but this had no official support and was not successful. The same councillor has also campaigned to have Shoreditch High Street railway station renamed "Banglatown".^[9]

The station today

The station has no surface buildings.^[10] Ticket barriers control access to all platforms.

District and Hammersmith and City line trains running into Aldgate East along two sides of the triangle (from Liverpool Street and from Tower Hill) pass through the site of the earlier station, most of which has been obliterated by the current junction alignment, although the extensive width and height and irregular shape of the tunnel can be observed.

Since the station was built completely under a widened road, and was built after concrete had started to be used as a construction material, the platforms have a particularly high headroom. This—combined with the late-1930s style of tiling, typical of the stations of the then London Passenger Transport Board—gives the platform area of the station a particularly airy and welcoming appearance, unusual on the Underground at the time of construction. The tiling contains relief tiles, showing devices pertinent to London Transport and the area it served; these were designed by Harold Stabler and made by the Poole Pottery.

Station improvements

The station was Metronet’s first refurbished (and show-piece) station, refurbished in ‘heritage’ style.^[11] Work actually began at platform level earlier in 2007.^[11] On 9 March 2007 it was noted that every other platform bullseye and its associated blue enamel “Way Out” plate below had been removed on both platforms, marking the end of the only sub-surface ‘New Works’ station.^[11] By 14 March all the roundels had been removed and temporary signs substituted.^[11] The north-east entrance was also closed from 10 March 2007 until 2009.^[11] As of 23 May 2007, the tiling was removed on the eastbound platform and the walls were rough cemented but the tiles remained on the westbound one, although it only took a few days.^[11] The new framework for lighting and cabling had been installed.^[11]

Services

District line

This is the general off-peak frequency. During peak times trains also operate to Wimbledon. During off-peak times, 3 trains per hour from Wimbledon terminate at Barking (as of December 2014).

• 12 tph eastbound to Upminster (On Sundays alternate trains run to Barking only)
• 3 tph eastbound to Barking
• 6 tph westbound to Ealing Broadway
• 6 tph westbound to Richmond
• 3 tph westbound to Wimbledon

Hammersmith & City line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 6 tph eastbound to Barking^[12][13]
• 6 tph westbound to Hammersmith^[12][14]

Circle line

There is no regular service, however there are two trains per day that run from Barking to Edgware Road via Victoria before 6 a.m. (as of February 2015).^[15]

• 2 tpd westbound to Edgware Road via Victoria

Connections

London Bus routes 15, 25, 67, 115 and 135, and night routes N15 and N550 serve the station.^[16] In addition, bus route 25 provides a 24-hour bus service.^[16]

Nearby tourist attractions

• Whitechapel Art Gallery
• Petticoat Lane Market
• Brick Lane

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aldgate East tube station.

• London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Aldgate East
• More photos and Google Street View imagery of this station

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Tower Hill towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		Whitechapel towards Upminster
Liverpool Street towards Hammersmith		Hammersmith & City line		Whitechapel towards Barking
	Former services
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Tower Hill towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line (1884-1938)		St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) towards Upminster