St Paul's London Underground
entrance to St Paul's (2009)
St Paul's is located in Central London
St Paul's
St Paul's
Location of St Paul's in Central London
LocationSmithfield
Local authorityCity of London
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
Fare zone1
OSICity Thameslink National Rail
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018Decrease 15.10 million[1]
2019Increase 15.82 million[2]
2020Decrease 3.86 million[3]
2021Increase 5.36 million[4]
2022Increase 9.13 million[5]
Railway companies
Original companyCentral London Railway
Key dates
30 July 1900Opened as Post Office
1 February 1937Renamed St. Paul's
Other information
WGS8451°30′53″N 0°05′51″W / 51.5148°N 0.0975°W / 51.5148; -0.0975
 London transport portal

St Paul's is a London Underground station located in the City of London financial district. The station, which takes its name from the nearby St Paul's Cathedral, is on the Central line, between Bank and Chancery Lane stations, and is in fare zone 1.

It should not be confused with City Thameslink railway station which opened in 1990 with the name St. Paul's Thameslink, but is some distance from the Underground station. That station was subsequently renamed City Thameslink to avoid confusion for the emergency services, but for some years afterwards many maps and guidebooks in circulation continued to carry the earlier name.

History

The station was opened by the Central London Railway (CLR) on 30 July 1900 with the name Post Office, after the headquarters of the General Post Office on nearby St. Martin's Le Grand. The name Post Office was possibly chosen instead of the more obvious St. Paul's to differentiate it from a South Eastern Railway (SER) station which already held that name (but which today is called Blackfriars).

Post Office station on a 1908 Tube map, on the blue Central London Railway line.

The station entrance was originally located on the north side of Newgate Street, on the west side of the junction with King Edward Street, but was moved to the east when the station was modernised in the 1930s with an underground ticket hall and escalators. A modern ventilation shaft in the centre of the traffic island at the junction indicates the location of the original lift shafts. When the SER station called St. Paul's was renamed as Blackfriars in 1937, the Underground station called Post Office took the name St. Paul's, which it has kept ever since.

At the end of the 19th century, Newgate Street was a narrow road with some of its mediaeval character remaining. To reduce land purchase and compensation payments, the CLR routed its tunnels directly under public roads. At St. Paul's the narrowness of the road required the tunnels to be placed one above the other with the westbound tunnel uppermost. The lifts originally operated to a level between the two platforms, with stairs up or down to the platforms as necessary. A high-level access passageway is visible at the lowest level leading to the disused lift lobby.

During the Second World War the electricity grid control room for London and Southeast England was housed below ground in the lift shaft.

The station today

Central line train on the westbound platform

The station entrances are located around the junction of Newgate Street, Cheapside and St. Martin's Le Grand. St Paul's Cathedral is a short distance to the south. The main entrance to the cathedral is at its western end, a few minutes' walk away.

St Paul's is also the nearest Underground station to the London Stock Exchange and One New Change. Other notable sites in the vicinity include the Old Bailey, Museum of London and the church of St Mary-le-Bow.

Connections

London Buses routes 4, 8, 25, 56, 76, 100, 133 and night routes N8, N25 and N242 serve the station.[6][7]

Future proposals

An underground passageway linking City Thameslink railway station to St Paul's tube station to provide an interchange between the Central line and National Rail services on the Thameslink railway has been suggested by London TravelWatch in a report in 2014, which suggested it would benefit passengers travelling from the Central line to Gatwick and Luton Airports.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Buses from St Paul's and Mansion House" (PDF). TfL. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Night buses from St Paul's and Mansion House" (PDF). TfL. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Potential future transport projects for London (Report). London TravelWatch. June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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Preceding station London Underground Following station
Chancery Lane
towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip
 Central line Bank
towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford via Newbury Park
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