Southwark is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

station in the London Borough of Southwark at the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut. It is between and stations on the

Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...

, and is in Travelcard Zone 1. It was opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. The station is somewhat west of historic Southwark, which is served by

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

and

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...

stations. Its entrance is across the road from the disused

Blackfriars Road railway station Blackfriars was a short-lived railway station on the South Eastern Railway (SER) line, in the parish of Southwark Christchurch, between Charing Cross and London Bridge. It was opened in 1864 with the name Blackfriars but closed less than five ...

. The original plan for the Extension did not include a station between those at Waterloo and London Bridge; Southwark station was added after lobbying by the local council, it is in fact sited right next to the borough's boundary with

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

at Joan Street. Although it is close to Waterloo, not near the

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance be ...

attractions it was intended to serve, and its only National Rail interchange is to main line station; the passenger usage matches those of other minor central stations. It does however get over twice the traffic of nearby Borough station, and around three times that of Lambeth North.

History

Southwark station was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of

MJP Architects MJP Architects is an employee-owned British architectural practice established in 1972 by Sir Richard MacCormac, and based in Spitalfields, London. The practice officially changed its name from MacCormac Jamieson Prichard to MJP Architects in June ...

. It is on a cramped site, with its platforms underneath the Victorian main line viaduct between

Waterloo East Waterloo East railway station, also known as London Waterloo East, is a railway station in central London on the line from through London Bridge towards Kent, in the south-east of England. It is to the east of London Waterloo railway station ...

and London Bridge stations. The site presented significant technical and architectural difficulties which were resolved by constructing two concourses at different levels. The two platforms have

platform screen doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail sys ...

which are meant to prevent passengers or debris from falling onto the tracks. They are connected at each end to the lower concourse which is a simple tunnel between the platforms and is illuminated by glass and steel "beacons" at each end, and is faced with stainless steel panels, deliberately left unpolished. Stairs lead up to a section of high floor in the central area of the tunnel, from where three narrow tube-like escalator shafts lead sideways (south) to the higher concourse. The upper concourse is the centrepiece of the station. It is a space high with a glass roof that allows daylight to enter deep into the station. It is faced with a spectacular glass wall, long, consisting of 660 specially cut pieces of blue glass, which was designed by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. The wall is one of the extension's more celebrated architectural features, winning critical approval and a number of awards. MacCormac said the design of this and the lower concourse was inspired by the work of the 19th-century

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n architect

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

. One end of the higher concourse connects to Waterloo East station, and the other end to the station's modest low-rise entrance building which is intended as a base for a future commercial development.

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 40, 63 and night routes N63 and N89 serve the station.

Gallery

Southwark Tube Station Sep 07.jpg, Entrance Southwark tube concourse.jpg, Intermediate concourse Southwark stn westbound look east.JPG, Westbound platform Art Changes, We Change - London Undergound roundel by Michael Craig-Martin at Southwark Station.png, New roundel design by Michael Craig-Martin in celebration of the new

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

in collaboration with Art on the Underground Additional images of Southwark Underground Station, and an architectural case study, are available on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) web site.

Nearby sights

* Shakespeare's Globe *

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

theatre *

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

theatre *

References

{{Jubilee line navbox Jubilee line stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Southwark Transport architecture in London London Underground stations located underground Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1999 Richard MacCormac buildings