Southfields is a
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
station in
Southfields in the
London Borough of Wandsworth. The station is on the
District line
The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
between and stations. The station is located on Wimbledon Park Road at the junction with Augustus Road and Replingham Road. It is in
Travelcard Zone 3
Fare zone 3 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail
Nationa ...
.
Southfields is the most convenient station from which to reach the
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...
, venue of the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
; station is slightly closer as the crow flies but requires a longer walk. During the tournament, more than three times the usual numbers of passengers pass through the station.
History
The station was opened by the
District Railway (DR, now the District line) on 3 June 1889 on an extension from
Putney Bridge
Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. The bridge has medieval parish churches beside its abutments: St Mary's Church, Putney is built on the so ...
station to . The extension was built by the
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
(L&SWR) which, starting on 1 July 1889, ran its own trains over the line from a connection at East Putney to its to line.
The section of the District line from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon was the last part of the line to be converted from steam operation to electric. Electric trains began running on 27 August 1905.
Main line services through Southfields were ended by the
Southern Railway (successor to the L&SWR) on 4 May 1941, although the line remained in
British Rail ownership until 1 April 1994 when it was transferred to London Underground. Until the transfer, the station was branded as a British Rail station.
![Southfields station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Southfields_station.jpg)
The route from Wimbledon to Wandsworth Town (Point Pleasant Junction) is still used by
South Western Railway for empty stock movements and occasional service train diversions, as well as three daily SWR services which run to and from Waterloo via the route in the early hours of the morning without stopping at Southfields. There are very infrequent movements of Network Rail engineering trains and light engine movements through the station as well.
It was once planned that the potential
Chelsea–Hackney line would call at Southfields, by supplementing or replacing the existing District line service. These plans have since been superseded by the planned
Crossrail 2
Crossrail 2 is a proposed hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the ...
line, which would serve Wimbledon.
Station upgrade
The station was upgraded in the early 2010s, with a new lift providing step free access. This work was done in preparation for the
2012 Olympic Games, when the Olympic Tennis Tournament was held at the
All England Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...
. The upgrade will also improve access to the annual
Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Overall refurbishment and extension works to the station started in March 2009, and finished in late 2010. The shops formerly located on the eastern side of the street-level building were demolished and the site used for a new ticket office, relocated from the western side of the booking hall. A lift runs from the booking hall to platform level, making the station step free. A new standard Underground ticket gateline was also installed.
Design changes
Southfields Station and station are of almost identical original design, although a mirror image of one another, but both stations have since been altered. Southfields Station has changed the most due to high passenger traffic during
Wimbledon Tennis
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...
. The left side of the staircase at Southfields was widened (with the extension being built out of wood rather than brick construction) the pillar in the left side of the staircase was originally an external feature. A second doorway was opened up to the west of the original doorway into the ticket office area and a short footbridge was built from the top of the staircase over the railway to Wimbledon Park Road. (In recent times the footbridge had been closed and used as a storage area but after London Underground took over the station they reopened it as an exit.) The southern end of the waiting room on the platform has been converted into a kiosk and the rest of the building is used for LUL staff accommodation. There is therefore no enclosed public waiting facility on the platform.
After Southfields Station was transferred from British Rail to London Underground in 1994 a temporary ticket office was built to the west of the station on a heavy steel frame above the track and the parapet wall of the bridge was removed to allow public access to the ticket office from the pavement whilst extensive alterations were carried out to the booking hall area. The temporary ticket office was taken down once no longer required and the brick parapet wall reinstated, but the steelwork was retained for several years and used to support a number of temporary structures in connection with later station refurbishment works before finally being dismantled in June 2013.
The station platform undergoes a makeover each year to coincide with the tournament, funded by a particular company for advertising purposes. For instance, in 2006, the station platform was covered in red flooring, as were the benches, because of
American Express's advertising campaign for a
credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
that supports an
AIDS charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* C ...
. In 2005, Televisions were installed and played non-stop adverts, also for
American Express. In 2009, the makeover was funded by
HSBC. In 2010 it was funded by
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
and advertised their
strawberries.
Connections
*
London Buses routes
39,
493
Year 493 ( CDXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Eusebius (or, less frequently, year 1246 ''Ab urbe c ...
(which has a bus stop at the AELTC) and
639 serve the station.
*During the two weeks of
Wimbledon Tennis
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...
a shuttle bus runs from Southfields Station to the tennis courts. Travelcards and bus passes are not accepted on this bus.
Automated train announcements state that Southfields is the station at which to alight for the "Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club" (rather than the club's actual name, the
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...
) as it is an easy 10–15 minutes' walk along a main road to the club and Southfields is better set up for large crowds than Wimbledon Park station.
References
External links
London Transport Museum Photographic Archive**
**
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southfields Tube Station
District line stations
Proposed Chelsea-Hackney Line stations
Tube stations in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Former London and South Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1889
1889 establishments in England