Arnos Grove tube station
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 Arnos Grove
Location of Arnos Grove in Greater London |
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| Location | Arnos Grove[1] |
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| Local authority | Enfield |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Number of platforms | 4 (facing 3 tracks) |
| Fare zone | 4 |
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| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2008 |  4.250 million[2] |
| 2009 |  4.312 million[2] |
| 2010 | 4.100 million[2] |
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| Original company | London Electric Railway |
| 19 September 1932 | Station opened as terminus |
| 13 March 1933 | Line extended to Enfield West |
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| Lists of stations | DLR · Underground · National Rail · Tramlink |
| Coordinates: 51°36′59″N 0°08′01″W / 51.6163°N 0.1335°W | |
Arnos Grove is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly line between Bounds Green and Southgate. It is in Travelcard Zone 4 and is located in Arnos Grove, near Arnos Park on Bowes Road, London. The station and surrounding neighbourhood of Arnos Grove take their names from the Arnos Grove estate, which was north of the station.[1] The station is the first surface station north after the long tunnel section from Barons Court via Central London.
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[edit] History
The station was opened on 19 September 1932 as the most northerly on the first section of the Piccadilly Line extension from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters. It was the terminus of the line until services were further extended to Oakwood on 13 March 1933. Its name was chosen after public deliberation: alternatives were "Arnos Park", "Bowes Road" and "Southgate".[3]
Like the other stations Charles Holden designed for the extension, Arnos Grove was built in a modern European style using brick, glass and reinforced concrete and basic geometric shapes. A circular drum-like ticket hall of brick and glass panels rises from a low single-storey structure and is capped by a flat concrete roof. The design was inspired by the Stockholm City Library and Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund.[4] A similar design was employed by Holden for the rebuilding of Chiswick Park on the District Line (also in 1932), although the drum there is supplemented with an adjacent brick tower. The centre of the ticket hall is occupied by a disused ticket office (a passimeter in London Underground parlance) which houses an exhibition on the station and the line. In July 2011 Arnos Grove became a Grade II* listed building.[5] The building is one of the 12 "Great Modern Buildings" profiled in The Guardian during October 2007,[6] and was summarised by architectural critic Jonathan Glancey as "...truly what German art historians would describe as a gesamtkunstwerk, a total and entire work of art."[7]
Three parallel train tracks pass through the station, with two double-sided platforms between the central track and the outer tracks. The edges of the platforms are labelled platform 1 and 2, and platform 3 and 4, in such a way that the two outer tracks are accessible from platforms 1 and 4, and the central track, usually used by trains that terminate and reverse at Arnos Grove station, is accessible from platforms 2 and 3. Platforms 1 and 2 are designated for trains to Cockfosters, platforms 3 and 4 for trains to Central London. When operational problems occur on the line, Arnos Grove station may act as a temporary terminus of a reduced service - either a shuttle service between Arnos Grove and Cockfosters or a truncated service from Central London. The station has a set of seven sidings to its south for stabling trains.
In 2005 the station underwent a refurbishment programme including improvements to signage, security and train information systems. Some of the original signs are in a 'petit-serif' adaptation of the London Underground typeface, Johnston Sans. This type-face was designed by Charles Holden and Percy Delf Smith.
The station is part of the Arnos Grove group of stations, comprising all seven stations from Cockfosters to Turnpike Lane, and the management office for the group is in Arnos Grove station. Linked to the station by a lineside passageway is Ash House, which is a drivers' depot. Arnos Grove is often noted for its station cat (a rarity on the London Underground network), called Spooky, who now occupies the station car park after being evicted due to the introduction of UTS gates.[8]
[edit] Underground In Bloom 2011
Arnos Grove Drivers' Depot won Best Newcomer and Best Overall Garden for their new project which also got them an award in the London In Bloom competition. Their website tells the whole story with photographs of the garden and the awards ceremonies.
[edit] Film Location
The station building appears as "Marble Hill" underground station in the episode "Wasps' Nest" of the Agatha Christie's Poirot TV series with David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.
[edit] Nearby places
[edit] Gallery
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Looking north from eastbound through platform 1
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Looking north from terminating platform 3
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Looking south from terminating platform 3
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Looking south from westbound through platform 4
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Roundel on platform 4
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A Piccadilly line train at Arnos Grove with its doors open onto platforms 2 and 3.
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Arnos Grove platforms, as seen from a Westbound train on platform 4.
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Arnos Grove platforms, as seen from the southern end of platform 3.
[edit] Transport connections
[edit] Arnos Grove Bus Station
The following London Bus routes serve the bus station (the tube station forecourt)[9]:
[edit] New Southgate railway station
New Southgate railway station is a five minute walk from Arnos Grove or a two minute bus journey on the 232 and 382 bus routes.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hidden London – Arnos Grove, Enfield
- ^ a b c "Customer metrics: entries and exits". London Underground performance update. Transport for London. 2003-2010. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/performance/default.asp?onload=entryexit. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ Dumayne, Alan (1998). Southgate. Sutton Publishing Limited. pp. 44. ISBN 0750920009.
- ^ Jonathan Glancey (2007-10-16). "Great modern buildings: Going Underground". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/oct/16/architecture3. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ "16 London Underground Stations Listed At Grade II". English Heritage. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/16-london-underground-stations-listed-at-grade-ii/. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ The Guardian's Great Modern Buildings Series
- ^ Going underground - Jonathan Glancey guardian.co.uk, Tuesday October 16, 2007 23:33 BST
- ^ Platform for art - Thin Cities - Arnos Grove - Transport for London
- ^ Live Travel News (TfL) - Arnos Grove Bus Station (Bowes Road)
- ^ TfL - Bus services from Arnos Grove.
[edit] External links
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
- Plan and elevation of station, drawings, 1931, from the Royal Institute of British Architects
- Charles Holden.com - Early image of Arnos Grove tube station
- History of Arnos Grove and Southgate
- The Guardian's Great Modern Buildings Series
- Arnos Grove 3D model for Google Earth
- Underground In Bloom Awards
- Garden created by green-fingered drivers
| Preceding station |  London Underground |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piccadilly line |
towards Cockfosters
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| Terminus |
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- Rail transport stations in London fare zone 4
- Piccadilly Line stations
- Tube stations in Enfield
- Grade II listed buildings in London
- Grade II listed railway stations
- Art Deco buildings in London
- Art Deco railway stations
- Former London Electric Railway stations
- Railway stations opened in 1932
- Charles Holden buildings
