B is for Bank

The theme for my A-Z posts this year is London Underground Stations.  I've chosen a station for each letter and at the end of each post I've listed the other stations for that letter with their Wikipedia entries.  I've tried to visit each station and take my own photos.

Bank Station opened in February 1900 and is close to the Bank of England in the heart of the financial district of London.  It is served by the Central, Northern and DLR lines plus the unique Waterloo and City Line.  The Waterloo and City Line connects the busy main line terminus of Waterloo with Bank.  This line is referred to as the drain and was built to provide a fast link for commuters to reach the City of London area.  Bank station also has an interchange with the nearby Monument station which is served by the District and Circle lines.

Bank is the third busiest underground stations and in 2013 in a YouGov pole was voted the “most disliked” tube station on the underground.  This situation will not have been improved by the current works that are taking place causing disruption to passengers.  Works will lead to improvements to passenger interchanges and a new station entrance which will increase the station’s capacity by 40%.  Hopefully this will reduce the number of station closures due to overcrowding and trains not stopping at the station for the same reason.  The works are not due to be fully completed until 2021 and although the station will remain open at that time, passengers will  find interchanging at the station more difficult and take longer.

The ticket office for Bank station is underground.  There are a number of ways to reach this from the busy road junction above but one that caught my eye when I visited was this one - the only clue to it being the station entrance is the word "Underground" above the doorway:

Bank Station entrance on Threadneedle Street

Leading down to the station ticket office and trains

  

It’s not exactly conspicuous and is on a corner of the Bank of England building.  The Bank of England is a huge building that is surrounded by Threadneedle Street, Princes Street, Lothbury and Bartholomew Lane.  My pictures don’t do it justice.  But there are just huge walls the whole way around.  

Bank of England

Bank of England

 Just across the road is the Royal Exchange building that was built in the 16^th Century to provide a centre for commerce in the City of London.  

Royal Exchange Building

The actual City of London dates back to the original settlement and is often referred to as the “Square Mile” as that is roughly the area it covers. Today London covers a much larger area divided into 32 boroughs.  The Royal Exchange is now a mixture of office space, shops and restaurants.  I’m digressing, as usual.  (Yes digress is a posh word for waffle :;) If you want to digress and read about the development of Bank Station you can find more here.

Other “B” stations are:

Baker Street

Balham

Barbican

Barking

Barkingside

Barons Court

Bayswater

Becontree

Belsize Park

Bermondsey

Bethnal Green

Blackfriars

Blackhorse Road

Bond Street

Borough

Boston Manor

Bounds Green

Bow Road

Brent Cross

Brixton

Bromley-by-Bow

Buckhurst Hill

Burnt Oak

Next stop C is for ….? Check back tomorrow to find out.