Southwark tube station

Southwark tube station is a London Underground Jubilee line station in the London Borough of Southwark at the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut. It is between the Waterloo and London Bridge stations and is in Travelcard Zone 1. It was opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. The station is somewhat west of historic Southwark, which is served by Borough tube station and London Bridge station.

The original plan for the Extension did not include a station between those at Waterloo and London Bridge; Southwark station was added after lobbying by the local council. Although it is close to Waterloo and not near the Bankside attractions it was intended to serve and its only rail interchange is to London Waterloo East mainline station the passenger usage matches those of other minor central stations.

History
Southwark station was designed by Richard MacCormac of MJP Architects. It is on a cramped site with the platforms underneath the Victorian mainline viaduct between Waterloo East and London Bridge stations. The site presented significant technical and architectural difficulties which were resolved by constructing two concourses at different levels.

The two platforms have platform edge doors and are connected at each end to the lower concourse which is a simple tunnel between the platforms and is illuminated by glass and steel "beacons" at each end, and is faced with stainless steel panels, deliberately left unpolished. Stairs lead up to a section of high floor in the central area of the tunnel, from where narrow tube-like escalator shafts lead sideways (south) to the higher concourse.

The upper concourse is the centrepiece of the station. It is a space 16 metres (52 ft) high with a glass roof that allows daylight to enter deep into the station. It is faced with a spectacular glass wall, 40 metres (131 ft) long, consisting of 660 specially cut pieces of blue glass, which was designed by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. The wall is one of the extension's more celebrated architectural features, winning critical approval and a number of awards.

The station's architect, Richard MacCormac, said the design of this and the lower level concourse was inspired by the work of the 19th century Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

One end of the higher concourse connects to Waterloo East station and the other end to the station's modest low-rise entrance building which is intended as a base for a future commercial development.

Gallery
Additional images of Southwark Underground Station, and an architectural case study, are available on the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) web site.

Nearby sights

 * Shakespeare's Globe
 * Young Vic theatre
 * Old Vic theatre
 * Tate Modern