History

The Northern Line has its roots in two separate railways: the 5.25 km (3.25 mile) City and South London Railway - the world's first electric deep-level tube line - which opened in 1890 and ran from King William Street in the City to Stockwell; and the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, which opened in 1907.

Between 1922 and 1926, the City and South London Railway was rebuilt and linked with the Hampstead Railway at Camden Town, with extensions to Hendon Central (1923), Edgware (1924) and Morden (1926).

The line, renamed the Northern Line in 1937, was further extended between Archway and East Finchley in 1939, on over existing suburban railway tracks to High Barnet in 1940, and to Mill Hill East in 1941.

Running the Lines

London Underground is currently in the process of working towards the establishment of a public private partnership (PPP) designed to increase investment in the system. This follows the Government's announcement in March 1998 of its intention to divide London Underground into a publicly-owned operating company and three privately-owned infrastructure companies (Infracos) which will be contracted to maintain and enhance the infrastructure.

In order to facilitate the transition to the new PPP structure when the contractual arrangements are in place, the operational side of the Underground has been reorganised, with a structure based on individual lines or groups of lines replaced by one reflecting the proposed Infraco groupings. From September 1999, the Northern Line has been grouped with the Jubilee and Piccadilly Lines, with Mike Brown, Train Service Manager (JNP), and Howard Collins, Station Services Manager (JNP), jointly responsible for delivering train and station services which meet customers' requirements.

The line has 41 stations which it directly manages (ten more stations served by Northern Line trains are managed by other lines). In contrast to other Underground lines, Northern Line trains are maintained by Alstom as part of a train service contract under the Government's Private Finance Initiative (see Improving the Northern Line, below). 84 trains, each of seven cars, are required to run the peak period service.

Two depôts are used to overhaul and maintain Northern Line trains. The largest depôt is at Morden while most maintenance and overhaul work is performed at Golders Green. Additional sidings at Highgate, Edgware and High Barnet are used to stable trains overnight.

Improving the Northern Line

Plans to modernise the Northern Line, which include new trains and a state-of-the-art signalling system, took a significant step forward with the announcement in November 1994 of a deal with the then Anglo-French company, GEC-Alsthom - now Alstom - to lease 106 new trains. The first new trains started to enter passenger service in the summer of 1998. As well as the new trains, known as 1995 stock, 1959/1962 tube stock manufactured by Metro-Cammell of Birmingham is also in operation.

Major expansion schemes at Camden Town and Tottenham Court Road are being planned. Work is now complete at London Bridge to provide improved facilities and interchange with the extended Jubilee Line which is now running between Stratford and Waterloo.

Clapham North, Clapham Common, Clapham South, Balham, Oval, Tooting Bec, and Tooting Broadway have been modernised. Funds have been secured to refurbish Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon and the designs for these stations and the final contracts are currently nearing completion. When these are finalised and work commences, the two stations are scheduled to be completed May/June 2001.

Mornington Crescent re-opened in April 1998 after full modernisation that included new lifts. The escalators at Highgate, which were more than 50 years old, have been replaced and the project including further improvement and re-decoration works should be completed by Summer 2000.

Close working with the local British Transport Police Home Beat Officers has also led to greater security for passengers and staff and a marked decrease in the level of crime.

The Northern Line holds a variety of records for the Underground:

Hampstead has the deepest lift shaft, 55.2m (181 ft), and is the deepest station below ground level, 58.2m (192 ft)

- Chalk Farm has the shallowest lift shaft, 9.3m (30ft 6in)

Angel station has the longest (60m, 197 ft) escalators in western Europe, which take 80 seconds to carry passengers up or down the 27.5 m (90 ft) drop

Morden is the most southerly point served by the Underground, 16km (10 miles) from central London

The tunnel between East Finchley and Morden (via Bank) is the Underground's longest and one of the longest rail tunnels in the world, 27.8km (17.25 miles)

The Dollis Brook viaduct over Dollis Road on the Mill Hill East branch is the highest point above ground level on the Underground, 18m (60 ft)

-The Underground's deepest point below ground level is at Holly Bush Hill, Hampstead, 67.4m (221 ft)

-The Underground's deepest point below mean sea level is just south of Waterloo station, 21.3m (70 ft)

If you want to comment about Northern Line services, or wish to know more about the line, please contact:

Customer Services
Northern Line
London Underground Limited
20 Cranbourn Street
London WC2H 7AA
020 7918 2700