Oxford Circus

 

Despite being a major coaching route, there were several obstacles along the road, including the bridge over the Tyburn. A turnpike trust was established in the 1730s to improve upkeep of the road. It became notorious as the route taken by prisoners on their final journey from Newgate Prison to the gallows at Tyburn near Marble Arch. Spectators drunkenly jeered at prisoners as they carted along the road, and could buy rope used in the executions from the hangman in taverns. By about 1729, the road had become known as Oxford Street. The official opening of the Central London Railway (CLR, now the Central line) by the Prince of Wales took place on 27 June 1900; it was opened to the public on 30 July. Oxford Circus station opened as part of the first section of the line, between Shepherd's Bush and Bank. A proposal for a new underground railway running from Victoria to Walthamstow was first proposed by a Working Party set up by the British Transport Commission in 1948. Construction began in 1962 on the initial Walthamstow to Victoria section and the Victoria line platforms opened on 7 March 1969.

 

To handle the additional Victoria line passenger loads, a new ticket hall was constructed directly under the road junction. To excavate the new ticket hall below the roadway, traffic was diverted for five years (August 1963 to Easter 1968) onto a temporary bridge-like structure known as the "umbrella" covering the Regent Street/Oxford Street intersection. Service tunnels were constructed to carry water mains and telecom cables past the new ticket hall. Construction of the Victoria line station tunnels with their platforms, the new escalator shafts and the linking passages to the Central line platforms was carried out from access shafts sunk from nearby Cavendish Square, Upper Regent Street and Argyll Street. With the additional escalators in place, a new one-way circulation scheme was introduced and the remaining lifts were removed. The original motifs designed by Hans Unger on the Victoria line platforms were restored in 2007. Oxford Circus station has 14 escalators. Major escalator refurbishment took place in 2010–11. Platform humps were also installed at the station to provide step-free access to trains. The Victoria line humps resemble in form the Harrington Hump. The station has cash machines, Euro cash machines, escalators, help points, payphones and wi-fi.

 

Connections: Bakerloo and Central Lines. London Bus routes 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 23, 25, 55, 73, 88, 94, 98, 137, 139, 159, 189, 390, 453 and C2, and night routes N3, N7, N8, N13, N18, N55, N73, N98, N109, N113, N136, N137 and N207 serve the station. Additionally, bus routes 6, 10, 12, 23, 25, 88, 94, 139, 159, 189, 390, 453 and C2 provide a 24-hour bus service.

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