Oakwood tube station

Oakwood is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly line. It is the second most northerly station on the line, between Southgate and Cockfosters stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station is on the edge of the Oakwood area of Enfield (N14) and is situated at the junction of Bramley Road (A110) and Chase Road (the other end of Chase Road is close to Southgate Underground station). This station has step-free access after the upgrades made to the station between October and December 2007.

Oakwood
Oakwood
Location of Oakwood in Greater London
LocationOakwood
Local authorityEnfield
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone5
London Underground annual entry and exit
2015 2.84 million[2]
2016 2.88 million[2]
2017 2.89 million[2]
2018 2.70 million[3]
2019 2.78 million[4]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon Electric Railway
Key dates
13 March 1933Station opened as Enfield West
31 July 1933Line extended to Cockfosters
3 May 1934Renamed Enfield West (Oakwood)
1 September 1946Renamed Oakwood
Listed status
Listing gradeII* (since 20 July 2011)
Entry number1078930[5]
Added to list19 February 1971 (1971-02-19)
Other information
External links
WGS8451.64750°N 0.13167°W / 51.64750; -0.13167
 London transport portal

History

The station opened on 13 March 1933 as part of the Cockfosters extension, its original name being Enfield West.[6] The station did not appear on the original plans to extend the Piccadilly line beyond Finsbury Park, which only provided for seven additional stations, however it served as the line's terminus for a brief period before Cockfosters station was opened.

Station interior
The Art Deco seat and station sign

The station building is a fine example of the architecture Charles Holden designed for the Piccadilly line extensions, with a large and imposing box-shaped ticket hall surrounded by lower structures containing shops. The ceiling of the booking hall is particularly monumental and bold. The whole design mirrors proportions found in classical architecture, albeit in a distinctly 20th century structure. The dimensions of the ticket hall are approximately a "double-cube" (its front elevation is roughly twice its height and width). The station is similar to Holden's slightly earlier designs for Sudbury Town and Acton Town stations at the western end of Piccadilly line. Oakwood Station is a Grade II* listed building.[7]

Like other extensions of the London Underground lines, the opening of the Cockfosters extension stimulated the rapid development of new suburbs and much of the open countryside that existed in 1930 when construction started was quickly covered by new housing developments.

2006–07 upgrade

In early October 2006 to December 2007, the station underwent an upgrade as part of London Underground's £10billion upgrade to the whole of the London Underground Network. As part of this, a new lift was installed to provide step-free access to the platforms. The Public Address system was also improved, with new information indicators installed on the platforms and inside the ticket hall. In addition 27 new CCTV cameras were installed in the station bringing the total number to 29.

Station name

Before the station opened, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (forerunner of London Underground) suggested names for it including Oakwood, Merryhills and East Barnet, but it was named Enfield West at opening and renamed Enfield West (Oakwood) the following year.[8]

The station was located in the area of Southgate Council and, following protests from the council, it was eventually renamed Oakwood on 1 September 1946.[8][9]

Operations

Currently a few trains in the early morning and late evening enter/leave service at Oakwood, from Cockfosters Depot (which has an entrance point north of Oakwood station). There is additionally a crossover for trains to reverse, and the possibility of an extra platform built using an existing siding has been mooted to provide extra peak-hour reversing capacity.

Connections

References
  1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2020.
  2. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures (2007–2017)" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  3. "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  5. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1078930)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  6. Rose, Douglas (1999). The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History. Douglas Rose/Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-219-4.
  7. "16 London Underground Stations Listed At Grade II". English Heritage. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  8. Harris, Cyril M. (2006) [1977]. What's in a name?. Capital Transport. p. 53. ISBN 1-85414-241-0.
  9. Wolmar, Christian (2004). "Reaching Out". The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever. Atlantic Books. p. 229. ISBN 1-84354-023-1.
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
Piccadilly line
Terminus
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