Essex Road railway station

Essex Roadis aNational Railstation inCanonburyinGreater London,England, and is on theNorthern City LinebetweenOld StreetandHighbury & Islington,1 mile 59 chains (2.8 km) down the line fromMoorgate,and is inTravelcard Zone 2.The station is at the junction ofEssex Road,Canonbury Road andNew North Road,with the present entrance on Canonbury Road. Operated byGreat Northern,it is the only deep-level underground station inLondonserved exclusively by National Rail trains. Between 1933 and 1975 the station was operated as part of theLondon Underground,on a short branch of theNorthern line.Between 1922 and 1948 the station name wasCanonbury & Essex Road.The name reverted to the original form in 1948.

Essex Road
Entrance on Canonbury Road
Essex Road Location of Essex Road in Greater London
Location	Canonbury
Local authority	London Borough of Islington
Managed by	Great Northern
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	EXR
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	2
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	0.768 million
2020–21	0.197 million
2021–22	0.408 million
2022–23	0.560 million
2023–24	0.597 million
Key dates
14 February 1904	Opened (GN&CR)
4 October 1975	Closed (Northern City Line)
8 August 1976	Opened (British Rail City Line)
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.5406°N 0.0963°W/51.5406; -0.0963
London transport portal

History

The station was opened on 14 February 1904 by theGreat Northern & City Railway(GN&CR) on its underground route between theGreat Northern Railway(GNR) station atFinsbury Parkand theMetropolitan Railway(MR) andCity & South London Railway(C&SLR) station at Moorgate in theCity of London.

The GN&CR was intended to carry main line trains and the tunnels were constructed with a larger diameter (16 ft; 4.9 m) than the other deep tube railways being built at that time (roughly 11 to 12 ft; 3.4 to 3.7 m). From 1913 the MR took control of the GN&CR and ran it under its own name until it became part of theLondon Passenger Transport Board(LPTB) in 1933. In preparation for the LPTB's"Northern Heights" planthe line was transferred to the control of the Morden-Edgware Line (now the Northern line).

The Northern Heights plan involved the building of a connection to the surface platforms at Finsbury Park and the transfer of aLondon and North Eastern Railway(LNER) branch from there toEdgware,High BarnetandAlexandra Palace.By 1939 much of the work for the connection of the lines had been done and the opening of the connection was scheduled for autumn 1940 but the start ofWorld War IIput a halt to further construction. After the war the uncompleted parts of the plan were cancelled and Northern line trains continued to run to Finsbury Park on what became known as the Northern City Line or, from 1970, the Northern line Highbury Branch.

The station was, from the early 1960s, closed on Sundays. In the 1970s it was also closed on Saturdays.

Inside Essex Road featuringNetwork South EastBranding.

The Northern City Line was closed on 4 October 1975 (due to its weekend closure, Essex Road closed the day before) and ceased to be part of the London Underground. The line was transferred toBritish Rail(BR) and the unused connection between Drayton Park and Finsbury Park from the cancelled Northern Heights plan finally received the tracks to connect the line to the surface platforms atFinsbury Park.On 8 August 1976, the City Line reopened as part of the BR network with main line size trains running toOld Street.On 8 November 1976, seventy-two years after the GN&CR first opened, the line was opened fully for main line trains from Moorgate to Finsbury Park and beyond as had been originally intended. It is the only underground station on this line not operated by London Underground or Transport for London.

By comparison with other underground stations built at the beginning of the 20th century, the station's surface building is nondescript and unremarkable. Unlike many other central London underground stations, Essex Road was never modernised withescalatorsand access to the platforms is byliftor a spiral staircase. The station also lacks the automatic ticket gates present at most London Underground and many National Rail stations. Far fewer passengers use Essex Road station, only 0.77 million entries and exits during 2019–20,compared to nearby Angel tube station, with 17.7 million for 2019.

At the lower level the lifts and staircase (of 156 steps) are connected to the platforms via a passageway and a short staircase rising between the two tunnels. The Underground's former operation of the station is evident from the unused and rusty fourth rail which once provided a return of the current from the tube trains serving the line. The third rail is still in use, with return now through the running rails. Signs at street and platform level still referenceNetwork SouthEast,even though it is now Great Northern that manage and serve this station.

Services

All services at Essex Road are operated byGreat NorthernusingClass 717EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

• 4 tph toMoorgate
• 2 tph toStevenageviaHertford North
• 2 tph toWelwyn Garden City

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly service between Moorgate and Hertford North and the service between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City is increased to 4 tph.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Highbury & Islington		Great Northern Northern City Line		Old Street
Former service
Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Highbury & Islington towardsFinsbury Park		Metropolitan line Northern City Branch (1913–39)		Old Street towardsMoorgate
		Northern line Northern City branch (1939–64)
Highbury & Islington towardsDrayton Park		Northern line Northern City branch (1964–75)
Abandoned Northern Heights line
Highbury & Islington towardsBushey Heath,High BarnetorAlexandra Palace		Northern line		Old Street towardsMoorgate

Connections

London Busesroutes38,56,73,271,341and476and night routesN38andN73serve the station.

Future

Essex Road was a station on the proposedChelsea-Hackney line.However, the scheme currently being pursued by the developers ofCrossrail,known asCrossrail 2,does not provide for an interchange at Essex Road.

External links

• Train timesandstation informationfor Essex Road railway station fromNational Rail
• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Essex Road station shortly after the Metropolitan Railway's merger into London Underground, 1933
  • Canonbury Road elevation, 1975
  • Platform showing original GN&CR tiling, 1975