Redbridge tube station is a London Underground station in Redbridge, on the Hainault Loop of the Central line, in Zone 4. It is on the Eastern Avenue.
The station was opened on 14 December 1947. Construction had begun in the 1930s but was delayed by the onset of World War 2. During the war, the completed train tunnels at Redbridge were used by the Plessey company as an aircraft parts factory. The station building was designed by renowned Tube architect, Charles Holden, who also designed other stations on the same branch. Originally, the station was to have been named "West Ilford", then this changed to "Red House", before the final decision was made on "Redbridge" (also given in the plans as "Red Bridge".)
Since the station was built, a large roundabout has been constructed next to it, being a junction between the A406 (originally the terminal section of the M11), and the A12.
Redbridge is often described as the shallowest deep level (as opposed to cut and cover) station on the network, as it is only 5.2 metres (17 ft) beneath the surface. However, this is misleading as the station tunnel was constructed by the cut and cover method, with the running lines descending into genuine tube tunnels at either end of the platforms - similar to the Central Line platforms at Mile End.
In July 2011 it was granted Grade II listed building status by English Heritage.
It was also mentioned in the Department S episode The Last Train To Redbridge, although the actual station does not appear in it.
Read more about Redbridge Tube Station: Image Gallery, Transports Links
Famous quotes containing the words tube and/or station:
“The last best hope of earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at a flickering cathode-ray tube as Ollie “answers” questions on TV while the press, resolutely irrelevant as ever, asks politicians if they have committed adultery. From V-J Day 1945 to this has been, my fellow countrymen, a perfect nightmare.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)
“[T]here is no situation so deplorable ... as that of a gentlewoman in real poverty.... Birth, family, and education become misfortunes when we cannot attain some means of supporting ourselves in the station they throw us into. Our friends and former acquaintances look on it as a disgrace to own us.... If we were to attempt getting our living by any trade, people in that station would think we were endeavoring to take their bread out of their mouths.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)