Borough is a London Underground station in the Borough area of the London Borough of Southwark in central London. It is on the Bank branch of the Northern line between London Bridge and Elephant & Castle stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1.

Borough London Underground
Entrance on Borough High Street
Borough is located in Central London
Borough
Borough
Location of Borough in Central London
LocationThe Borough
Local authorityLondon Borough of Southwark
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes (Northbound only)[1]
Fare zone1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019Increase 5.55 million[2]
2020Decrease 1.47 million[3]
2021Increase 2.07 million[4]
2022Increase 3.74 million[5]
2023Increase 4.07 million[6]
Railway companies
Original companyCity and South London Railway
Key dates
18 December 1890Opened (C&SLR)
1922Closed for tunnel reconstruction
1925Reopened
15 January 2022Temporary closure
16 May 2022Reopened
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°30′04″N 0°05′35″W / 51.501°N 0.093°W / 51.501; -0.093
London transport portal

The station entrance is in Borough High Street (part of the A3), on the corner of Marshalsea Road. The A2 terminates opposite it.

History

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Borough station in 1890
 
Station entrance in 1961

The station was opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the first successful deep-level tube railway, the City and South London Railway (C&SLR), and was rebuilt in 1922 when the tunnels were enlarged.

 
Southbound platform, looking north, after the 2022 refurbishment. This platform is directly below the northbound platform. It is only accessible via a narrow flight of stairs as stated. The arch of the exit passage is almost entirely hidden by modern panelling

Although little of the original surface building remains at Borough, it originally bore a close resemblance to Kennington station. These similarities extended to the layout below ground, although here it is Kennington that no longer retains the original design. Borough station has level access to the northbound platform from the lifts, making this platform accessible to those with mobility restrictions. The southbound platform is a floor lower down, accessible only by narrow stairs; the original architectural finishes to this have been obscured by modern station infrastructure, but the original appearance would have been comparable with those still visible on the southbound platform at Kennington.

Borough is the most northerly of the original remaining C&SLR stations. North of here the railway initially followed a different route from the present one, with the tunnels running to the original terminus at King William Street. This route was abandoned in 1900 when new tunnels on a different alignment to London Bridge and Moorgate were opened. Nevertheless, the original tunnels passed close enough to the location of London Bridge station for them to still be visible through a vent, immediately above the middle of the southbound platform there.

During the Second World War, parts of the disused tunnels between Borough and the south side of the River Thames were adapted into a large public air-raid shelter by Southwark Borough Council. The shelter had six entrances along Borough High Street; it opened on 24 June 1940 and closed on 7 May 1945.[7] A plaque at the station records this.

The lifts from the 1922 reconstruction were replaced in 1985, during which time the spiral staircase was the only way in and out of the station.[8]

On 15 January 2022, Borough tube station closed temporarily until mid-May 2022, to allow major upgrade works at Bank station to be finished. During the closure, refurbishment works were carried out at Borough.[9] It reopened on 15 May 2022[10] although the official opening was on 16 May 2022.[9]

Connections

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London Buses routes 21, 35, 133, 343, C10 and night routes N21, N133 and N343 serve the station.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
  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. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ Emmerson, Andrew; Beard, Tony (2004). London's Secret Tubes. Capital Transport. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-1-85414-283-2.
  8. ^ Borough station with its vintage Otis lifts in 1985, retrieved 6 June 2023
  9. ^ a b "Northern line Bank branch to re-open on Monday 16 May following completion of latest works". Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  10. ^ Marshall, Geoff (15 May 2022). "The NEW Northern Line Bank Platform is OPEN". Retrieved 16 May 2022 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Buses from Borough" (PDF). TfL. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Night buses from Borough" (PDF). TfL. June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
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Preceding station   London Underground Following station
London Bridge Northern line
Bank Branch
Elephant & Castle
towards Morden
Former Route
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
King William Street
Terminus
Northern line
(1890–1900)
Elephant & Castle
towards Stockwell
  NODES
design 1
Done 1
Story 2