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Cockfosters tube station

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Cockfosters London Underground
LocationCockfosters
Local authorityLondon Borough of Enfield
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms4 (facing 3 tracks)
Fare zone5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019Decrease 1.86 million[1]
2020Decrease 0.89 million[2]
2021Decrease 0.84 million[3]
2022Increase 1.41 million[4]
2023Increase 1.45 million[5]
Key dates
31 July 1933Opened (Piccadilly line)
Listed status
Listing gradeII
Entry number1358718[6]
Added to list26 May 1987
Other information
External links
London transport portal

Cockfosters is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly line for which it is the northern terminus. The station is located on Cockfosters Road (A111) approximately nine miles from central London and serves Cockfosters in the London Borough of Barnet although it is actually located a short distance across the borough boundary in the neighbouring London Borough of Enfield. The station is in Travelcard Zone 5 and the next station south-east is Oakwood.

History

The station opened on 31 July 1933, the last of the stations on the extension of the line from Finsbury Park to do so and four months after Oakwood station (then called Enfield West) opened. Prior to its opening, "Trent Park" and "Cock Fosters" (an early spelling of the area's name) were suggested as alternative station names. The original site hoarding displayed the name as a single word.

The station was designed by Charles Holden in a modern European style using brick, glass and reinforced concrete.[7] Compared with the other new stations Holden designed for the extension, Cockfosters' street buildings are modest in scale, lacking the mass of Oakwood or Arnos Grove or the avant-garde flourish of Southgate. Holden's early design sketches show the station with two towers.[8] The most striking feature of the station is the tall concrete and glass trainshed roof and platform canopies which are supported by portal frames of narrow blade-like concrete columns and beams rising from the platforms and spanning across the tracks. The trainshed roof constructed at Uxbridge in 1937-38 was built to a similar design. Cockfosters station is a Grade II listed building.

The station has three tracks with platforms number 1 to 4; the centre track being served from both sides by platforms 2 and 3. This is an example of the so-called Spanish solution. Most eastbound Piccadilly trains terminate here although some terminate at Oakwood or Arnos Grove, particularly in peak hours or in the evenings. Cockfosters depot is located between Oakwood and Cockfosters and trains can access or leave it from either direction.

2006–7 Refurbishment

In late 2006, Cockfosters Station began an intensive refurbishment programme to bring it up to standards with all other stations on the Tube network, as part of the Tube's £10billion upgrade scheme. The aim was to modernise the area, but still maintain the charm of the old building.

The plans included:

  • Resurfacing the staircase on the east and west entrances to make them more user-friendly for those with sight problems.
  • Painting of the original wooden seating areas on the east side entrance as well as minor restoration.
  • Fitting of "Emergency Signal" notices on either side of the station to alert passengers of closed entrances.
  • Installation of electronic platform train schedule systems, which inform passengers of immediate tube departures in addition to the destination. This aims to reduce confusion as to which of the three tube platforms' trains will be leaving first, and when.
  • Installation of full CCTV operation both above and below the station grounds to improve security.
  • Installation of London Underground Passenger Information Systems, both above and below ground

The above improvements were made to the station as well as a number of more minor additions to improve the building and bring it up to modern-day usage standards.

The improvements were completed by May 2007.

Exterior of Cockfosters Station in 1984

Places Nearby

Cockfosters tube station features prominently in the novel While England Sleeps by American author David Leavitt. One of the novel's protagonists is writing a book entitled The Train to Cockfosters.[9]

Connections

London Buses routes 299; 384; 298 and night route N91 serve the station.

  • Main entrance
    Main entrance
  • Western entrance
    Western entrance
  • Concourse
    Concourse
  • Concourse
    Concourse
  • Platforms 1 & 2 looking north (platforms 3 & 4 on the far right)
    Platforms 1 & 2 looking north (platforms 3 & 4 on the far right)
  • Platforms 1 & 2 looking south (platforms 3 & 4 on the far left)
    Platforms 1 & 2 looking south (platforms 3 & 4 on the far left)
  • Platforms 3 & 4 looking north with a Piccadily line train on platform 4
    Platforms 3 & 4 looking north with a Piccadily line train on platform 4
  • Platforms 3 & 4 looking south (platforms 1 & 2 on the far right)
    Platforms 3 & 4 looking south (platforms 1 & 2 on the far right)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  6. ^ "COCKFOSTERS LONDON REGIONAL TRANSPORT STATION INCLUDING PLATFORMS AND PLATFORM CANOPIES". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Paulsen, Ingvild (14 June 2003). "Undergrunnsarkitektur". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 28.
  8. ^ "Underground Journeys: Cockfosters". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  9. ^ Max, D.T. (3 October 1993). "The Lost Language of Leavitt : WHILE ENGLAND SLEEPS By David Leavitt (Viking: $22; 304 pp.) ". Los Angeles Times.
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