The City Line would be a new line created by joining two existing ones: the Waterloo & City line and the Northern City Line; and one closed line - the Great Northern section between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace.
The idea is not new. In 1913, the Metropolitan Railway (MR) purchased the GN&CR (Great Northern and City Railway) and revived a plan to extend the Northern City Line southward to a terminus at Lothbury in the City as part of a number of plans to connect the GN&CR to the Waterloo & City Railway (W&CR) and the Metropolitan Railway itself. When the Metropolitan Railway Act, 1913 was passed neither of the proposals for connections were permitted, but Lothbury station was allowed, as the terminus station. In 1914, The MR introduced revised proposals for its connections between the GN&CR and the MR and W&CR which removed the need for a station at Lothbury. Although these connections were never made, the Lothbury station idea was not revived again.
In the 1930s London Underground unveiled an ambitious scheme of new projects called the New Works Programme. Amongst several new routes was an extension to the Northern City Line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. The track already existed and operated a steam driven service. The existing line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park was integrated into the Northern Line and preliminary work began but post-war austerity eventually led to the scheme being scrapped in the 1950s. The track was torn up and the service dropped altogether.
More recently the Green Party has proposed that the Northern City Line be connected to the Waterloo & City line to create a new cross-London heavy rail route, something akin to the Crossrail scheme. The core section of the route would be from Finsbury Park to Clapham Junction via Moorgate, Bank and Waterloo, with a new connection at Blackfriars. Through services could then run from Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North to destinations like Hounslow, Richmond, Shepperton, Kingston and Weybridge. It would retain the aspect of a mainline railway.
This proposal is to, similarly, link up the two lines as proposed by the Metropolitan Railway, Lothbury station notwithstanding, and in addition connect to the Great Northern stretch from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. However, in this instance it would be a "tube" line, operated by London Underground. It would certainly be preferrable to expand the bore of the tunnels to allow larger than standard profile trains, however the cost of such an undertaking might well rule it out.
Extensions northward and southward are envisaged. In the north, to run from the original terminator tunnels at Finsbury Park (not the surface platforms currently being used) via the old 'Northern Heights' route (which is mostly in cutting and unobstructed), through rebuilt station sites at Stroud Green and Crouch End, interchange at Highgate, before plunging into tunnel under Queens Wood to a new underground station at Muswell Hill and on to Alexandra Palace for interchange with National Rail.
The southward section from Waterloo would require a substantial new tunnel via Battersea, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth and Roehampton, all areas never reached by the Underground before. New stations could be incorporated on the existing stretches, at the South bank/Tate Modern and at New North Road.
The idea is not new. In 1913, the Metropolitan Railway (MR) purchased the GN&CR (Great Northern and City Railway) and revived a plan to extend the Northern City Line southward to a terminus at Lothbury in the City as part of a number of plans to connect the GN&CR to the Waterloo & City Railway (W&CR) and the Metropolitan Railway itself. When the Metropolitan Railway Act, 1913 was passed neither of the proposals for connections were permitted, but Lothbury station was allowed, as the terminus station. In 1914, The MR introduced revised proposals for its connections between the GN&CR and the MR and W&CR which removed the need for a station at Lothbury. Although these connections were never made, the Lothbury station idea was not revived again.
In the 1930s London Underground unveiled an ambitious scheme of new projects called the New Works Programme. Amongst several new routes was an extension to the Northern City Line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. The track already existed and operated a steam driven service. The existing line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park was integrated into the Northern Line and preliminary work began but post-war austerity eventually led to the scheme being scrapped in the 1950s. The track was torn up and the service dropped altogether.
More recently the Green Party has proposed that the Northern City Line be connected to the Waterloo & City line to create a new cross-London heavy rail route, something akin to the Crossrail scheme. The core section of the route would be from Finsbury Park to Clapham Junction via Moorgate, Bank and Waterloo, with a new connection at Blackfriars. Through services could then run from Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North to destinations like Hounslow, Richmond, Shepperton, Kingston and Weybridge. It would retain the aspect of a mainline railway.
Existing infrastructure for this proposal was clearly evident on 1946 tube maps.
This proposal is to, similarly, link up the two lines as proposed by the Metropolitan Railway, Lothbury station notwithstanding, and in addition connect to the Great Northern stretch from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. However, in this instance it would be a "tube" line, operated by London Underground. It would certainly be preferrable to expand the bore of the tunnels to allow larger than standard profile trains, however the cost of such an undertaking might well rule it out.
Extensions northward and southward are envisaged. In the north, to run from the original terminator tunnels at Finsbury Park (not the surface platforms currently being used) via the old 'Northern Heights' route (which is mostly in cutting and unobstructed), through rebuilt station sites at Stroud Green and Crouch End, interchange at Highgate, before plunging into tunnel under Queens Wood to a new underground station at Muswell Hill and on to Alexandra Palace for interchange with National Rail.
The southward section from Waterloo would require a substantial new tunnel via Battersea, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth and Roehampton, all areas never reached by the Underground before. New stations could be incorporated on the existing stretches, at the South bank/Tate Modern and at New North Road.
View City Line (Waterloo & City - Northern City Line integration) in a larger map
The scheme does of course require alternative routing for mainline services from Hertfordshire currently terminating at Moorgate. The surface platforms at Finsbury Park would still be usable and Kings Cross or St. Pancras would seem to be the logical alternative.
What this proposal would give would be a very useful link through the City of London, connecting many 'new' neighbourhoods screaming for tube services, such as Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Battersea, Wandsworth, Roehampton University, with the added bonus of serving entertainment venues on the South Bank, Battersea Power Station and the new Arsenal football stadium.
Of the 25 envisaged stations, interchange would be achieved at:
- Alexandra Palace (National Rail)
- Highgate (Northern Line)
- Finsbury Park (Piccadilly, Victoria, National Rail)
- Highbury & Islington (Victoria, Overground)
- Old Street (Northern)
- Moorgate (Circle, H&C, Metropolitan, Northern)
- Bank (Central, DLR, Northern)
- Waterloo (Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo, National Rail)
- Vauxhall (Victoria, National Rail)
- Battersea Park (National Rail)
- Clapham Junction (Overground, National Rail)
- East Putney (District)
Development phases are envisaged thus:
- Tunneling of new link between Moorgate and Bank, incorporating new N-S aligned Bank platforms.
- Tunnel widening, Waterloo-Bank.
- Platform lengthening, Waterloo.
- Exit tunnel from Finsbury Park northbound onto the disused Northern Heights route.
- Construction of stations: Stroud Green, Crouch End, New North road, South Bank/Tate Modern
- Rerouting mainline trains from NCL to Kings Cross/St. Pancras.
- City Line opens, Highgate high level - Waterloo.
- Northbound tunnel to Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace.
- South west extension to Roehampton via Battersea.
ADDENDUM: this scheme currently extending the Northern Line to Battersea would conflict with this plan. Appetite for another line through this part of Battersea is likely to be very low. The Northern Line plan does miss an opportunity however, in stopping the line at BPS. A relatively simple extension of the line a couple of stops west would carry it to Clapham Junction. Experience shows that short and simple extensions of this type are rarely carried out afterwards and of course, cost far more to do in two phases.
