Southwark Station

Southwark () is a London Underground station in the London Borough of Southwark at the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut. It is on the Jubilee line between Waterloo and London Bridge stations, and is located in Travelcard Zone 1.

The station was opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. It is somewhat west of historic Southwark, which is served by Borough and London Bridge stations. Its entrance is across the road from the disused Blackfriars Road railway station.

History

The original plan for the Jubilee Line Extension did not include a station between those at Waterloo and London Bridge; Southwark station was added after lobbying by the local council as well as North Southwark and Bermondsey MP Simon Hughes.

The architects MacCormac, Jamieson, Prichard were appointed in January 1991 by the Jubilee Line Extension design team led by Roland Paoletti. Planning approval for the station was given in 1992, with the contract to build the station and adjacent tunnels awarded to a joint venture of Aoki Corporation and Soletanche in November 1993 at a cost of £64 million. Construction began in 1994, with tunnelling beginning in April 1995.

Built on a cramped site, with its platforms underneath the Victorian main line viaduct between Waterloo East and London Bridge stations, the station presented significant technical and architectural difficulties which were resolved by constructing two concourses at different levels. Substantial compensation grouting was required to stabilise the railway viaducts. The station opened with the final phase of the Jubilee Line Extension on 20 November 1999.

Although it is close to Waterloo, not near the Bankside 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.

Design

The station was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of MacCormac, Jamieson, Prichard. Jubilee Line Extension project director Hugh Doherty called the station a "remarkable feat of engineering".

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. MacCormac said the design of this and the lower concourse was inspired by a stage set design by 19th-century Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel for The Magic Flute. The wall is one of the extension's more celebrated architectural features, winning critical approval and a number of awards.

The two platforms have platform screen doors 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.

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.

In 2000, the station was awarded a Royal Institute of British Architects Bronze medal, as well as being named Royal Fine Arts Commission/British Sky Broadcasting Building of the Year.

Connections

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

Nearby sights

* Shakespeare's Globe
* Young Vic theatre
* Old Vic theatre
* Tate Modern

References

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