West Finchley tube station

History

The station was opened by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) on 1 March 1933 on its line to High Barnet. It opened to serve new housing developing in the area and was built with only modest station structures from the outset. Many fittings were taken from stations in the north of England. It has been written that the footbridge came from Wintersett and Ryhill on the Barnsley Coal Railway in Yorkshire, which had closed in 1930. However, that footbridge looks different and Jago Hazzard speculates that it actually came from the next station on that line, Notton and Royston.

The section of the High Barnet branch north of East Finchley was incorporated into the London Underground network through the Northern Heights project begun in the late 1930s. West Finchley station was first served by Northern line trains on 14 April 1940 and, after a period where the station was serviced by both operators, LNER services ended in 1941.

Local information

The main entrance is in Nether Street; there is a small front garden between the pavement and the building containing the booking office, though it is not accessible to the public (there are high fences on each side of the path). Access to the northbound platform by wheelchair and with push-chair is straightforward, though it is necessary to cross a footbridge to reach the southbound platform. Although there is an entrance directly onto the south-bound platform, it is only open during the morning rush hour. This small entrance was closed for security reasons during the weeks following the 7 July 2005 London bombings although it has now reopened.

Services

West Finchley station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line between Woodside Park to the north and Finchley Central to the south. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–7 minutes between 06:09 and 00:13 in both directions.

Connections

London Bus routes 13, 125, 221, 326, 460, 683 and night route N20 serve locations near the station.

Gallery

File:Northbound train leaving West Finchley.jpg|Northbound platform looking north with a Northern line train leaving the station File:West Finchley (4).jpg|Original waiting room shelter on the southbound platform File:West Finchley station 2020.jpg|The modern entrance building

References

References

1. {{citation step free tube map
2. {{cite map/Standard Tube Map
3. [http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/northern.html#dates Clive's Underground Line Guides – Northern Line, Dates]
4. (2002). "London: North". Yale University Press.
5. "West Finchley, the Secondhand Station?".
6. Rose, Douglas. (1999). "The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History". Douglas Rose/Capital Transport.
7. "Northern line timetable: From West Finchley Underground Station to Woodside Park Underground Station".
8. "Northern line timetable: From West Finchley Underground Station to Finchley Central Underground Station".
9. (January 2013). "Buses from West Finchley". [[Transport for London]].