TheGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as thePiccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London, England.[note 1] The GNP&BR was formed through a merger of two older companies, the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) and the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR). It also incorporated part of a tube route planned by a third company, theDistrict Railway (DR). The combined company was a subsidiary of theUnderground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL).
The B&PCR and the GN&SR were established in 1896 and 1898 respectively, but construction of both railways was delayed while funding was sought. In 1902 the UERL, which already controlled the DR, took control of both companies and quickly raised the funds, mainly from foreign investors. A number of different routes were planned, but most were rejected by theParliament of the United Kingdom.
When it opened in 1906, the GNP&BR's line served 22 stations and ran for 14.17 kilometres (8.80 mi) between its western terminus atHammersmith and its northern terminus atFinsbury Park. A short 720-metre (2,362 ft) branch connectedHolborn to theStrand. Most of the route was in a pair of tunnels, with 1.1 kilometres (0.68 mi) at the western end constructed above ground.[1] Within the first year of opening it became apparent to the management and investors that the estimated passenger numbers for the GNP&BR and the other UERL lines were over-optimistic. Despite improved integration and cooperation with the other tube railways, the GNP&BR struggled financially. In 1933 it and the rest of the UERL were taken intopublic ownership. Today, the GNP&BR's tunnels and stations form the core central section of theLondon Underground'sPiccadilly line.
| Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Act 1897 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for incorporating the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Company and for empowering them to construct an Underground Railway from Piccadilly Circus to South Kensington and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 60 & 61 Vict. c. cxcii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 August 1897 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by |
|
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
In November 1896 notice was published that aprivate bill was to be presented toParliament for the construction of the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR).[2][note 2] The line was planned to run entirely underground between Air Street nearPiccadilly Circus and the south end ofExhibition Road,South Kensington. The route was to run beneathPiccadilly,Knightsbridge,Brompton Road andThurloe Place, with intermediate stations atDover Street,Down Street,Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge and Brompton Road. A short branch to the east of the South Kensington terminus was planned to a depot south of Brompton Road at the end of Yeoman Row. Electricity to operate the trains was to be provided from agenerating station to be built about a mile south of the South Kensington terminus on the north bank of theRiver Thames atLots Road,West Brompton.[4] Following parliamentary approval, the bill receivedroyal assent as theBrompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. cxcii)[5] on 6 August 1897.[6]
Also announced in November 1896 was a bill to be presented by the District Railway (DR) for a tube railway to be constructed beneath its existing sub-surface line betweenGloucester Road andMansion House stations.[7] The DR operated a steam railway, running incut and cover tunnels, and planned to ease congestion along its heavily used route by constructing an express line with just a single intermediate station atCharing Cross (now Embankment). The express line was to surface west of Gloucester Road and connect to the DR's existing line atEarl's Court. Since, like the B&PCR, the DR'sdeep tube line would be operated with electric trains, the DR planned to build a generating station adjacent to itsWalham Green station (now Fulham Broadway).[8] The bill received assent on 6 August 1897 as theMetropolitan District Railway Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. ccxlvii).[6]
| Great Northern and Strand Railway Act 1899 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for incorporating the Great Northern and Strand Railway Company and for empowering them to construct an Underground Railway from the parish of Saint Clement Danes in the Administrative County of London and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 62 & 63 Vict. c. cciii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 1 August 1899 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
Status: Amended | |
In November 1898 the Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) was announced as a tube railway, to run fromWood Green to Stanhope Street, north of theStrand.[9] The GN&SR was backed by theGreat Northern Railway (GNR), the main line railway operating fromKing's Cross station. The GNR saw the new company as a means of relieving congestion on its route. The GN&SR was to run beneath the GNR's main line fromWood Green station (now Alexandra Palace) toFinsbury Park station. It was then planned to run south-west throughHolloway to King's Cross, and then south toBloomsbury andHolborn. Intermediate stations were planned at the GNR'sHornsey,Harringay and Finsbury Park stations, and at Holloway,York Road, King's Cross,Russell Square and Holborn.[10] A power station was planned next to the GNR's tracks atGillespie Road.[9] When theLondon County Council planned the construction ofKingsway andAldwych, Stanhope Street was scheduled for demolition so the southern terminus was relocated to the junction of the two new roads.[10] The bill was enacted on 1 August 1899 as theGreat Northern and Strand Railway Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. cciii).[11]
Although the three companies had permission to construct their railways, they still had to raise thecapital for the construction works in a competitive market.
By 1899, there were five other tube railway companies with permission to construct railways that were raising funds – theBaker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR), theCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), theGreat Northern and City Railway (GN&CR), theCentral London Railway (CLR) and theCity and Brixton Railway.[note 3] The already operatingCity & South London Railway (C&SLR) was also looking for money for extensions to its existing route and numerous others proposed, but unapproved underground railway companies were also seeking investors.
Foreign investors came to the rescue of the DR, B&PCR and GN&SR: American financierCharles Yerkes, who had been lucratively involved in the development of Chicago'stramway system in the 1880s and 1890s, saw the opportunity to make similar investments in London. In March 1901 he and his backers purchased a majority of the shares of the DR and, in September 1901, took over the B&PCR and the GN&SR.[note 4] With the companies under his control, Yerkes established the UERL to raise funds to build the tube railways and toelectrify the DR. The UERL wascapitalised at £5 million with the majority ofshares sold to overseas investors.[note 5] Further share issues followed, which raised a total of £18 million by 1903 (equivalent to approximately £2.44 billion today)[14] for use across all of the UERL's projects.[note 6]
| Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (Extensions) Act 1899 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further powers on the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Company for the construction of extension railways and works in the county of London and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 62 & 63 Vict. c. cclxii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 August 1899 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
Status: Amended | |
During the progress of their 1896 bills through parliament, the DR and the B&PCR established a relationship through a successful joint campaign of opposition to a competing proposal from the City & West End Railway. This was for a tube railway running fromHammersmith toCannon Street, which would have duplicated parts of the DR's and the B&PCR's approved routes.[16] In late 1898, this common interest led to the purchase of the B&PCR by the DR. In November 1898[17] a bill for the B&PCR was announced, which sought permission for short extensions at each end of its route: at its eastern end, from Piccadilly Circus to Cranbourn Street and, at the western end, connections between the B&PCR's tunnels and those of the DR's deep tube line.[18] Parliament rejected the eastern extension, but permitted the connection between the two lines and approved a capital injection from the DR into the B&PCR. The bill received royal assent on 9 August 1899 as theBrompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (Extensions) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. cclxii).[19]
| Metropolitan District Railway Act 1900 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for empowering the Metropolitan District Railway Company to erect a station for generating electrical energy and thereby work certain railways to acquire lands to extend the time for the completion of certain railways and compulsory purchase of lands to make certain provisions with respect to the Ealing and South Harrow and Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railways to raise further capital and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 63 & 64 Vict. c. cclxxiii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 August 1900 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
Status: Amended | |
In November 1899, the DR published a notice of a bill for the 1900 parliamentary session. The company was still unable to proceed with the construction of its proposed deep line, and the new bill included provisions for extensions of time for this line and for those of the B&PCR. The bill included construction and operation of the power station at the Lots Road site previously chosen by the B&PCR.[20] The B&PCR also published notice for a bill requesting an extension of time,[21] but this was later withdrawn and the extension request in the DR bill was used.[18] The time extensions were granted in theMetropolitan District Railway Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. cclxxiii), which received assent on 6 August 1900.[22]
In November 1900, the B&PCR published a notice of a bill for the 1901 session, in which it sought permission for two extensions.[23] The first, eastward, took a more northerly route than the rejected 1899 extension to Cranbourn Street: it was to run viaShaftesbury Avenue, Hart Street (now Bloomsbury Way),Bloomsbury Square, Theobalds Road and Rosebery Avenue, toAngel,Islington where it terminated underIslington High Street. Where the line crossed other tube routes, stations were planned: atCambridge Circus to interchange with the planned CCE&HR, and atMuseum Street near to the CLR's recently openedBritish Museum station.[24] The second extension took the line south-west from South Kensington, viaFulham Road, to connect to the DR's line south of Walham Green station (nowFulham Broadway). The bill also included provisions for the B&PCR to take over responsibility for construction of the section of the DR's deep-level line from South Kensington to Earl's Court, and for a further extension of time.[23]
The opening of the CLR on 30 July 1900 had stimulated interest in underground railways, and the B&PCR's bill was submitted to Parliament at the same time as a large number of other bills for tube lines in the capital.[note 7] To review these bills, Parliament established a joint committee underLord Windsor.[26] Only the part of B&PCR's first extension as far as Museum Street was considered by the committee. The section to The Angel was held back, pending the findings of a separate committee which was investigating problems of vibration experienced on the CLR.[24][note 8] The extension to Fulham was not discussed.[24] By the time the committee had produced its report, the parliamentary session was almost over so the promoters of the bills were asked to resubmit them for the following 1902 session.[28]
In November 1901, the B&PCR published details of its bill for the 1902 session. The extension to The Angel was dropped, and a different route eastwards from Piccadilly Circus was planned. Once again this ran to Cranbourn Street, but it continued underLong Acre andGreat Queen Street to meet and connect to the GN&SR's tunnels at Little Queen Street (now the northern part of Kingsway) just south of the GN&SR's planned Holborn station. The B&PCR planned stations atWardour Street, Cranbourn Street andCovent Garden.
At Wardour Street station a branch was to leave the main route and head south-east, to connect to the DR's deep-level line east of its station at Charing Cross. Wardour Street station was planned to have platforms on both branches.[29] The south-west extension to Walham Green was retained with minor alterations. The new route was to branch from the original route east of Brompton Road station, which was to have platforms on both routes. Stations were planned along Fulham Road at its junctions with College Street (now Elystan Street), Neville Street,Drayton Gardens, Redcliffe Gardens, Stamford Bridge and Maxwell Road. The route would interchange with the DR at Walham Green before coming to the surface and running parallel with the DR as far asParsons Green, beyond which the line was to connect to the DR. The requests for an extension of time and for the powers to build the DR deep-level line from South Kensington to Earl's Court were re-presented. As the B&PCR and the GN&SR were now in common ownership, the bill also sought powers to enable the companies to merge and for the B&PCR to change its name.[30]
At the same time, the GN&SR published details of its bill for the 1902 session. The GN&SR sought powers for a short extension of about 350 metres (1,148 ft) from its southern terminus, toTemple station on the DR's existing sub-surface line where an interchange was planned. The GN&SR also sought permission to abandon the section of its route north of Finsbury Park,[note 9] and to transfer its powers and obligations to the B&PCR as part of the merger.[32] The DR also announced a bill for 1902 which included provisions to transfer responsibility for part or all of its deep-level line to the B&PCR.[33]
The B&PCR bill was again examined by a joint committee under Lord Windsor. The GN&SR bill was examined by a separate committee underLord Ribblesdale.[note 10] The B&PCR's eastward extension to Holborn to connect to the GN&SR was permitted, but the extension to Parsons Green was rejected following objections from hospitals in the Fulham Road, which were concerned that vibrations from trains might affect their patients. The B&PCR link from Piccadilly Circus to Charing Cross was rejected on the grounds that it involved sharp turns and steep gradients to avoid public buildings in the area. The merger with the GN&SR and name change were permitted.[29] The GN&SR's extension to Temple was rejected following objections from theDuke of Norfolk who owned the land under which it would have run. The abandonment of the route north of Finsbury Park was permitted.[31]
| Great Northern and Strand Railway Act 1902 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to authorise the alteration of the railways of the Great Northern and Strand Railway Company and the transfer of their undertaking and powers to the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Company and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 2 Edw. 7. c. ccxxxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 8 August 1902 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Act 1902 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further powers on the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Company for the construction of new railways and works and for the use of part of the Metropolitan District Railway to extend the time for compulsory purchase of land and completion of works and to authorise working and other agreements with other companies and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 2 Edw. 7. c. cclix |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 18 November 1902 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The bills received royal assent as theGreat Northern and Strand Railway Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. ccxxxv) and theMetropolitan District Railway Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. ccxx) on 8 August 1902, and as theBrompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. cclix) on 18 November 1902.[35][36]
In November 1902, the newly merged company announced two bills for the 1903 parliamentary session under the GNP&BR name.[37][38] The first bill requested minor powers which included the purchase of additional land for stations, and sought minor amendments to previous Acts.
The second bill sought permission for extensions east and west from the approved route. The eastern extension was to diverge from the main route immediately west of Piccadilly Circus station, which was to be expanded to have east and westbound platforms on both lines. The extension was then to pass underLeicester Square to a station at Charing Cross. Continuing eastwards underStrand, the tunnels were to cross under the branch from Holborn, with an interchange at Strand station. The line was then to continue underFleet Street toLudgate Circus, where a station was to be constructed to interchange with theLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway'sLudgate Hill station (since demolished). It would then proceed south under New Bridge Street, and east underQueen Victoria Street, to connect to the DR's proposed deep-level line west of Mansion House station.[39] The western extension was to diverge from the approved route at Albert Gate, east of Knightsbridge station. This station was to have additional platforms on the new branch line which would head west underKnightsbridge,Kensington Road andKensington High Street, with stations at theRoyal Albert Hall, the DR'sHigh Street Kensington station andAddison Road. The tunnels were then to followHammersmith Road to the DR'sHammersmith station. There they would turn north under Hammersmith Grove and east under Goldhawk Road, to terminate on the south side ofShepherd's Bush Green near to the CLR'sShepherd's Bush terminus.[39]
The DR also publicised two further bills for the 1903 session.[40][41] The first included provisions to formalise the agreement for the GNP&BR to build the section of the deep-level line between South Kensington and West Kensington, including the deep-level platforms at Earl's Court.[39] The second bill sought permission to extend the deep-level line from its eastern end at Mansion House by following beneath the existing sub-surface tracks toWhitechapel, where the line would connect to the existing sub-surface lines toMile End.[42]
| Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (Various Powers) Act 1903 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further powers on the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway Company and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 3 Edw. 7. c. clxxxvi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 August 1903 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Neither extension bill was debated. In February 1903, Parliament had established theRoyal Commission on London Traffic to assess the manner in which transport in London should be developed. While the Commission deliberated, any review of bills for new lines and extensions was postponed. Both bills were later withdrawn by their promoters. The powers bills were approved as theMetropolitan District Railway Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7. c. cxxvi) on 21 July 1903 and theGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (Various Powers) Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7. c. clxxxvi) on 11 August 1903.[43][44]
The royal commission investigations continued from 1903 to early 1905, concluding with the issue of a report in June 1905.[45] No bills were submitted for the 1904 parliamentary session, but in November 1904 the GNP&BR announced two bills for the 1905 session.[46][47]
| Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (Various Powers) Act 1905 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confer further powers on the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway Company. |
| Citation | 5 Edw. 7. c. clxiii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 4 August 1905 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The first dealt with the Strand branch: it confirmed the layout of the junction between the branch and the main route at Holborn, and sought powers to extend the branch south under theRiver Thames to theLondon and South Western Railway's (L&SWR's) terminus atWaterloo station. The extension included moving Strand station to the corner of Surrey Street, and constructing a single tunnel from there to the BS&WR'sWaterloo station which would be provided with additional lifts to serve the GNP&BR's platforms. The branch was to be operated as a shuttle with trains passing at Strand station.[48] The junction layout and short extension to re-site Strand station were permitted, but not the extension to Waterloo.[49] The bill received royal assent on 4 August 1905 as theGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (Various Powers) Act 1905 (5 Edw. 7. c. clxiii).[50]
The second bill again proposed extensions to the east and west, modifying the 1903 plans. In the east, the route was the same as the previous proposal as far as Ludgate Circus. Then, instead of heading south under New Bridge Street and east into Queen Victoria Street to connect to the DR deep level route, the 1905 proposal followed under Carter Lane andCannon Street to a station at the junction of Queen Street and Watling Street, a short distance north-east of the DR's Mansion House station. The route then followed Queen Victoria Street toLombard Street where an interchange was to be provided with the C&SLR and the CLR atBank station. The route continued underCornhill andLeadenhall Street to end atAldgate High Street, adjacent to the DR'sAldgate station.[51]
To the west, the 1903 proposed extension from Knightsbridge to Hammersmith via Kensington High Street remained, but it was to continue beyond Hammersmith under King Street, the final station being at the junction of King Street, Goldhawk Road andChiswick High Road. The tunnels were to continue beyond the final station for a further 350 metres (1,148 ft) under Chiswick High Road, to end at the junction with Homefield Road. The loop north from Hammersmith to Shepherd's Bush was dropped; instead a more direct route to Shepherd's Bush was proposed as a branch from the Hammersmith extension at Addison Road. It was to run under Holland Road to Shepherd's Bush Green, with a station being constructed opposite the CLR station there. It would then continue west underUxbridge Road toActon Vale, where a depot was to be built on the surface between Agnes Road and Davis Road.[49] To cover the cost of the proposed extensions, powers to raise further capital of £4.2 million were sought. The review of the bill in Parliament was delayed as the Royal Commission was still sitting during the first half of 1905; the bill was withdrawn by the GNP&BR in July 1905, as insufficient time then remained for completion the parliamentary process before the end of the session.[49]
With the funds available from the UERL, construction began in July 1902 at Knightsbridge, before the formal approval of the merger of the B&PCR and GN&SR.[52] Messrs Walker, Price & Reeves was the main contractor appointed for the line's construction, with the exception of Messrs Walter Scott & Middleton in charge of the portal at Barons Court.[53] Work proceeded quickly, enabling the UERL to record in its annual report in October 1904 that 80 per cent of the tunnels had been completed and that track laying was about to begin.[54] Stations were provided with surface buildings designed by architectLeslie Green in the UERL house-style.[55] This consisted of two-storey steel-framed buildings faced with darkoxblood red glazedterracotta blocks, with wide semi-circular windows on the upper floor.[note 11] Except for Finsbury Park, where the platforms were close enough to the surface to be accessed by stairs, and Gillespie Road where a long ramp was used, each of the stations with platforms in tube tunnels was provided with between two and fourlifts and an emergency spiral staircase in a separate shaft.[note 12]
The existing DR section between West Kensington and Hammersmith was widened in 1905 to accommodate the new tracks for the GNP&BR.[53] Works on the main route were largely complete by the Autumn of 1906,[52] and after a period of test running the railway was ready to open in December 1906. As a result of the electrification and resignalling of the DR's surface and sub-surface tracks in 1905, the capacity of the existing route was sufficiently increased that the construction of deep-level tunnels east of South Kensington was unnecessary, and the powers were allowed to lapse.[59]
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The official opening of the GNP&BR byDavid Lloyd George,President of the Board of Trade, took place on 15 December 1906.[52] Progress on the Strand branch was delayed, and it opened in November 1907.[60] From its opening, the GNP&BR was generally known by the abbreviated namesPiccadilly Tube orPiccadilly Railway, and the names appeared on the station buildings and on contemporary maps of the tube lines.[61][62]
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The railway had stations at:
The service was provided by a fleet ofcarriages manufactured for the UERL in France and Hungary.[56] These carriages were built to the same design used for the BS&WR and the CCE&HR, and operated aselectric multiple unit trains without the need for separate locomotives. Passengers boarded and left the trains through folding lattice gates at each end of cars; these gates were operated by Gate-men who rode on an outside platform and announced station names as trains arrived. The design became known on the Underground as the1906 stock orGate stock. Trains for the line were stabled at theLillie Bridge Depot in West Kensington.[note 13]
Despite the UERL's success in financing and constructing the railway in only seven years, its opening did not bring the financial success that had been expected. In the Piccadilly Tube's first twelve months of operation it carried 26 million passengers, less than half of the 60 million that had been predicted during the planning of the line.[64] The UERL's pre-opening predictions of passenger numbers for its other new lines proved to be similarly over-optimistic, as did the projected figures for the newly electrified DR – in each case, numbers achieved only around fifty per cent of their targets.[note 14]
The lower than expected passenger numbers were partly due to competition between the tube and sub-surface railway companies, but the introduction of electric trams and motor buses, replacing slower, horse-drawn road transport, took a large number of passengers away from the trains. The problem was not limited to the UERL; all of London's seven tube lines and the sub-surface DR and Metropolitan Railway were affected to some degree. The reduced revenues generated from the lower passenger numbers made it difficult for the UERL and the other railways to pay back the capital borrowed, or to pay dividends to shareholders.[65]
From 1907, in an effort to improve their finances, the UERL, the C&SLR, the CLR and the GN&CR began to introduce fare agreements. From 1908, they began to present themselves through common branding as theUnderground.[65] The W&CR was the only tube railway that did not participate in the arrangement as it was owned by the mainline L&SWR.
The UERL's three tube railway companies were still legally separate entities, with their own management, shareholder and dividend structures. There was duplicated administration between the three companies and, to streamline the management and reduce expenditure, the UERL announced a bill in November 1909 that would merge the Piccadilly, the Hampstead and the Bakerloo Tubes into a single entity, theLondon Electric Railway (LER), although the lines retained their own individual branding.[66][note 15] The bill received royal assent on 26 July 1910 as theLondon Electric Railway Amalgamation Act 1910 (10 Edw. 7. & 1 Geo. 5. c. xxxii).[67] This took effect on 1 July that year.[68]
In October 1911, the Piccadilly tube platforms at Earl's Court station became the first on the Underground network to be served byescalators when a link between the District and Piccadilly platforms was created.[69][note 16]
In November 1912, a bill was publicised under the LER name that included a plan to extend the Piccadilly tube tracks westwards from Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR'sRichmond branch tracks.[70] The District line already ran trains over this route, and the Piccadilly tube service would provide additional connections. The bill received assent as theLondon Electric Railway Act 1913 (3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. xcvii) on 15 August 1913.[71] The advent ofWorld War I prevented work on the extension starting. Post-war, a shortage of funds and other priorities meant that the extension was postponed until the early 1930s.
Despite improvements made to other parts of the network,[note 17] the Underground railways continued to struggle financially. The UERL's ownership of the highly profitableLondon General Omnibus Company (LGOC) since 1912 had enabled the UERL group, through the pooling of revenues, to use profits from the bus company to subsidise the less profitable railways.[note 18] However, competition from numerous small bus companies during the early 1920s eroded the profitability of the LGOC and had a negative impact on the profitability of the whole UERL group.
In an effort to protect the UERL group's income, its chairmanLord Ashfieldlobbied the government for regulation of transport services in the London area. Starting in 1923, a series of legislative initiatives were made in this direction, with Ashfield andLabourLondon County Councillor (laterMP andMinister of Transport)Herbert Morrison, at the forefront of debates as to the level of regulation and public control under which transport services should be brought. Ashfield aimed for regulation that would give the UERL group protection from competition and allow it to take substantive control of theLCC's tram system; Morrison preferred full public ownership.[74] After seven years of false starts, a bill was announced at the end of 1930 for the formation of theLondon Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), a public corporation that would take control of the UERL, the Metropolitan Railway and all bus and tram operators within an area designated as theLondon Passenger Transport Area.[75] The Board was a compromise – public ownership but not fullnationalisation – and came into existence on 1 July 1933. On this date, the LER and the other Underground companies wereliquidated.[76]
The original GNP&BR route was extended at both ends in the early 1930s. In the north, a new route was constructed toWood Green,Southgate andCockfosters. In the west, the extension from Hammersmith approved in 1913 was finally carried out. The extension paralleled the District line's route toActon andHounslow, and took over the District line's route toUxbridge. In 1977, the Hounslow branch was extended toHeathrow Airport. The Strand branch was closed in 1994.[63] Today, the GNP&BR's tunnels form the core of the Piccadilly line's 73.97-kilometre (45.96 mi) route.[1]
York Road, Down Street and Brompton Road stations were closed in the early 1930s due to low usage,[77] but in the lead-up to World War II the underground passageways at Down Street and Brompton Road were considered useful as protected deep shelters for critical government and military operations. Down Street was fitted out for use by theRailway Executive Committee and theWar Cabinet.[78] Brompton Road was used as a control centre for anti-aircraft operations, and after the war was used by theTerritorial Army.[79] Between September 1940 and July 1946, the Strand branch was temporarily closed, its tunnels used to store exhibits from the British Museum as well as serving as an air-raid shelter.[80]
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