Marble Arch is a

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

station. It is located near the

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. The station is on the Central line between

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. History It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between t ...

and

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

stations, and is in

Travelcard Zone 1 Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used by the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail. For most tickets, travel through Zone 1 is more expensive than journeys o ...

History

The station was opened on 30 July 1900 by the

Central London Railway The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below g ...

(CLR). Like all the original stations on the CLR, Marble Arch was served by lifts to the platforms but the station was reconstructed in the early 1930s to accommodate

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

s. This saw the closure of the original station building, designed by the architect

Harry Bell Measures Harry Bell Measures (1862–1940) was an English architect. Career He had a varied career. In 1884 to 1892 he was in-house architect for William Willett, producing high-quality housing for the wealthy in London and South East England; these wer ...

, that was situated on the corner of Quebec Street and Oxford Street, and a replacement sub-surface ticket hall opened further to the west. The new arrangements came into use on 15 August 1932. The original surface building was later demolished. The platforms, originally lined in plain white tiles, were refitted with decorative vitreous enamel panels in 1985. The panel graphics were designed by Annabel Grey. The station was modernised in 2010, resulting in new finishes in all areas of the station, apart from the retention of many of the decorative enamel panels at platform level.

The station today

The station is named after the

nearby and is located at the north east side of the Marble Arch junction, at the western end of

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

. There is a siding to the west of the station allowing trains from Epping, Hainault and Woodford to terminate here. It is not commonly used but it is still retained for emergencies and when engineering works take place.

Incidents

On 27 April 2018, a 90-year old man,

Robert Malpas Sir Robert Malpas (9 August 1927 – 18 June 2023) was a British engineer and businessman. Much of his career was spent with ICI. He was Chairman of ICI Europa Ltd and a member of the ICI Main Board before becoming a managing director of BP, ...

, was suddenly and without warning pushed onto the train tracks, suffering a broken pelvis and a head wound. A bystander rescued him from the tracks, and the perpetrator - who was unknown to Malpas - was later found guilty of attempted murder and jailed for life. The incident was captured on CCTV.

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** {{Central line navbox Central line (London Underground) stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the City of Westminster Former Central London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1900 Railway stations with vitreous enamel panels Buildings and structures in Mayfair

History

The station today

Incidents

See also

References

External links