Knightsbridge tube station

Knightsbridge is a London Underground station in Knightsbridge, London. It is on the Piccadilly line between South Kensington and Hyde Park Corner, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.

Knightsbridge London Underground
Sloane Street entrance, 2004.
Knightsbridge is located in Central London
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Location of Knightsbridge in Central London
LocationKnightsbridge
Local authorityKensington & Chelsea
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms2
Fare zone1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018Increase 17.71 million[1]
2019Decrease 16.53 million[2]
2020Decrease 4.46 million[3]
2021Increase 7.45 million[4]
2022Increase 13.27 million[5]
Railway companies
Original companyGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway
Key dates
15 December 1906Station opened
Other information
External links
WGS8451.50167°N 0.16083°W / 51.50167; -0.16083
 London transport portal

History

The station was opened on 15 December 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly line). When opened, the platforms were accessed in the standard manner by four lifts and an emergency staircase connecting to parallel passageways and bridges to midway along the platforms. The original station building designed by Leslie Green was located on Brompton Road a short distance west of its junction with Knightsbridge and Sloane Street. A rear entrance was located on Basil Street.

The location of the station in a busy and fashionable shopping district meant that patronage at the station was high from the beginning, particularly due to the presence locally of the Harrods and Harvey Nichols emporiums. This contrasted with the next station on the line westward — Brompton Road — where passenger numbers were so low that from soon after its opening many trains were timetabled not to stop there.

1930s reconstruction

In the early 1930s, the availability of government grants to stimulate the depressed economy enabled the Underground Group to carry out a major modernisation programme, during which many central London stations were brought up to date with escalators to replace the original lifts. Knightsbridge was one of the Piccadilly line stations to benefit from the installation of escalators.

To enable the escalators to reach the existing platforms without excessive below ground reconstruction or interference with station operations a new ticket hall was constructed under the Brompton Road/Knightsbridge/Sloane Street junction and new circulation passages were constructed at the lower level. A new station entrance was inserted into the existing building on the corner of Brompton Road and Sloane Street. Subway entrances on the other corners of the junction enabled pedestrians to avoid the traffic on the busy junction. The original entrances in Brompton Road and Basil Street were closed. The Brompton Road building was subsequently demolished, but the rear entrance at the corner of Basil Street and Hoopers Court remains, although converted for use as offices.

To ease congestion, it was also decided to provide an additional entrance to the western end of the platforms closer to Harrods. The additional exit would further diminish the passenger numbers at Brompton Road so this station was scheduled to close. A separate ticket hall was provided for the western escalators which is accessed by a long subway from the surface entrance at the corner of Hans Crescent. This narrow subway was to be a regular problem, often becoming congested with groups of passengers trying to pass each other in the confined space.

Eventually in 2004, this congestion was solved by the expansion of this exit into a large circular area, under the road towards Harrods, with the way out of the station being by a stairway in the midst of the road.

Early 21st century station upgrades

In recent years, several piecemeal improvements to the station have occurred. The platforms were refurbished in 2005, with the 1930s cream-coloured tiles being concealed behind a modern metal cladding system.[6] In December 2010, a new entrance was opened across the road from the station, as part of the One Hyde Park residential development.[7]

In 2017, a major upgrade to the station was announced, with two new entrances constructed on Brompton Road and Hooper's Court. The new Hooper's Court entrance will have two large lifts, which will allow for step-free access throughout the station.[8] This entrance will also re-open some areas of the station that were closed in the early 1930s when escalators were installed.[9]

Previously expected to open in 2021,[8] the stepped entrance on Brompton Road, which replaced a smaller entrance on the corner of Sloane Street that was becoming unsafe due to overcrowding and a narrow pavement outside, opened in October 2022.[10] As of April 2023 step-free entrance in Hoopers Court is expected to open before the end of the year.[11]

Most of the upgrade costs are being paid for by Knightsbridge Estate and developers Chelsfield, who own the property above the station and are responsible for the redevelopment. TfL are contributing £12m, enabling step-free access to be extended to platform level.[12]

The station appeared in a 1992 episode of Rumpole of the Bailey (Rumpole and the Children of the Devil), as Horace Rumpole and his wife Hilda travel there separately from Temple and Gloucester Road stations respectively. They exit Knightsbridge station from the stairs at the former street level portico on the corner of Hans Crescent and Brompton Road, which has since been redeveloped as the main entrance to a Zara fashion shop at 79 Brompton Road.

The opening scene of the 1997 film version of Henry James's The Wings of the Dove was set on the east-bound platforms at both Dover Street and Knightsbridge stations, both represented by the same studio mock-up, complete with a working recreation of a 1906 Stock train.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knightsbridge tube station.
  • Westbound platform looking east
    Westbound platform looking east
  • Eastbound platform looking west
    Eastbound platform looking west
  • Platform roundel
    Platform roundel

Connections

London Buses routes 9, 14, 19, 22, 52, 74, 137, 414, 452, C1 and night routes N9, N19, N22, N74 and N137 serve the station.[13][14]

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. "Rimex Metals | Applications | Architecture | Knightsbridge Station, London, UK". onetex.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  7. "Knightsbridge gets new Tube entrance by hotel". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  8. "Improvements and Projects - Knightsbridge". Transport for London. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. "Knightsbridge Tube station to become step-free in 2020". Transport for London. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  10. Mansfield, Ian (17 October 2022). "New entrance for Knightsbridge tube station". ianVisits. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  11. Transport for London. "Step-free access". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023. Knightsbridge is going step free in 2023.
  12. "Work begins on multi-million pound redevelopment of Knightsbridge Tube". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  13. "Buses from Knightsbridge" (PDF). TfL. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. "Night buses from Knightsbridge" (PDF). TfL. June 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
Preceding station London Underground Following station
South Kensington
towards Uxbridge, Rayners Lane or Heathrow Airport (Terminal 4 or Terminal 5)
 Piccadilly line Hyde Park Corner
towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
Former Route
Preceding station London Underground Following station
Brompton Road
towards Hounslow West or Uxbridge
 Piccadilly line
1906-34
 Hyde Park Corner
towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
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