Knightsbridge tube station

Knightsbridge is an underground station of the London Underground in the urban district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is located in the Travelcard Zone 1 on Brompton Road, next to the famous department store, Harrods. In the year 2011 there were 20.7 million passengers these from the Piccadilly Line station.

History

Was opened the station on 15 December 1906 as part of the first section of the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway ( predecessor company of Piccadilly Line). In the early years of the access to the platforms via four lifts and an emergency staircase was. The original, designed by Leslie Green station building was located on Brompton Road, at the junction with Knights and Sloane Street.

From the beginning the station was very well frequented, due to the proximity to Harrods and other exclusive shops on Brompton Road. This was a stark contrast to the nearby station Brompton Road, where the frequencies were so low that many trains went by without stopping. In 1934 it was decided to close the station Brompton Road and instead to build with escalators an additional input in Knightsbridge. However, the station from the southern entrance could only be achieved through a long, narrow pedestrian tunnel; the ticket counter were hardly any space.

The continued rise in popularity of Harrods led over time to capacity constraints. The problem was solved in 2004 by the generous expansion of the input. The staircase has now led to an open space in the middle of the street. At the same time, as the southern entrance was opened, was at the northern end of a replacement for the once single input. Under the junction of Sloane Street, Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, a new pedestrian underpass was built. Access to the platforms was here now also on escalators. The pedestrian tunnel from the oldest entrance was closed and now serves as a ventilation shaft.