Aldgate East tube station

Not to be confused with Aldgate tube station.

Aldgate East is a London Underground station on Whitechapel High Street in Whitechapel, in London, England. It takes its name from the City of London ward of Aldgate, the station lying to the east of the ward (and the City). It is on the Hammersmith & City line between Liverpool Street and Whitechapel, and on the District line between Tower Hill and Whitechapel, in Travelcard Zone 1.

Aldgate East
Aldgate East Location of Aldgate East in Central London
Location	Whitechapel
Local authority	London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Managed by	London Underground
Owner	Transport for London
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	1
OSI	Aldgate
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	14.15 million
2020	3.14 million
2021	5.61 million
2022	10.23 million
2023	10.95 million
Key dates
6 October 1884 (6 October 1884)	Opened
31 October 1938	resited
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51.5152°N 0.0722°W / 51.5152; -0.0722
London transport portal

History

Original station

The original Aldgate East station

The original Aldgate East station opened on 6 October 1884 as part of an eastern extension to the District Railway (now the District line). It was 500 feet (150 m) to the west of the current station, close to the Metropolitan Railway's Aldgate station. The curved link to the Metropolitan Railway had to be particularly sharp owing to the location of Aldgate East station.

Resited station

The resited Aldgate East station, showing its modernist, simple appearance

As part of the London Passenger Transport Board's 1935–1940 New Works Programme, the triangular junction at Aldgate was enlarged to allow for a much gentler curve and to ensure trains that were held on any leg of the triangle did not foul any signals or points elsewhere. The new Aldgate East platforms were sited almost immediately to the east of their predecessors with one exit facing west toward the original location and another at the eastern end of the new platforms.

The new station opened on 31 October 1938 and the earlier station closed permanently the previous night. It was designed to be completely subterranean providing a much-needed pedestrian underpass for the road above.

The reconstruction of Aldgate East station in progress. To lower the track level, the trackbed has been excavated with an interim support of timber trestles. With the tracks attached to chains from the ceiling, the trestle was then dismantled and the tracks lowered to the new lower track level.

In order to accommodate the space needed for the underpass, the existing track needed to be lowered by more than seven feet (2 m). To achieve this task whilst still keeping the track open during the day, the bed underneath the track was excavated and the track held up by a timber trestle framework. Once excavation was complete and the new station had been constructed around the site, an army of over 900 workmen lowered the whole track simultaneously in one night using overhead hooks to suspend the track when necessary. The hooks still remain.

A second view of reconstruction under the tracks, showing them ready to be lowered to their new level

The eastern exit of the new station was now close enough to St Mary's (Whitechapel Road), the next station along the line, that this could also be closed. This reduced operational overheads and journey times because the new Aldgate East had effectively replaced two other stations.

Past proposals

A campaign was launched by a local councillor in a bid to change the name of the station to Brick Lane tube station by 2012, but this had no official support and was not successful. The same councillor has also campaigned to have Shoreditch High Street railway station renamed "Banglatown".

The station today

The station has no surface buildings. A canopy was constructed in the 2000s and in 2013–14, the high-rise Aldgate Tower, was built above it. As of March 2022, when there was a fire in the building, the tower also contained apartments. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms.

District and Hammersmith & City line trains run into Aldgate East from Liverpool Street and Tower Hill along two sides of the above triangle and pass through the site of the earlier station, most of which has been obliterated by the current junction alignment although the extensive width and height and irregular shape of the tunnel can be observed.

The platforms have a particularly high headroom and this, combined with the late-1930s style of tiling, typical of the stations of the then London Passenger Transport Board, gives the platforms a particularly airy appearance, unusual on the Underground at the time of construction. The tiling contains relief tiles showing devices pertinent to London Transport and the area it served; these were designed by Harold Stabler and made by the Poole Pottery.

Station improvements

The station was Metronet's first (and show-piece) station refurbished in 'heritage' style. Work began at platform level in 2007. On 9 March 2007, it was noted that every other platform bullseye and its associated blue enamel "Way Out" plate below had been removed on both platforms marking the end of the only sub-surface 'New Works' station. By 14 March, all the roundels had been removed and temporary signs substituted. The north-east entrance was closed from 10 March 2007 until 2009. As of 23 May 2007, the tiling had been removed from the eastbound platform and the walls were rough cemented but the tiles remained on the westbound one. The new framework for lighting and cabling had been installed.

Services and connections

District line

This is the general off-peak frequency. During peak times trains also operate to Wimbledon. During off-peak times, 3 trains per hour from Wimbledon terminate at Barking (as of December 2014).

• 12 tph eastbound to Upminster (On Sundays alternate trains run to Barking only)
• 3 tph eastbound to Barking
• 6 tph westbound to Ealing Broadway
• 6 tph westbound to Richmond
• 3 tph westbound to Wimbledon

Hammersmith & City line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 6 tph eastbound to Barking
• 6 tph westbound to Hammersmith

It is not a regular service but before 6am, two Circle line trains run from Barking to Edgware Road via Victoria (as of February 2015).

Buses

London Buses routes 15, 25, 115, 135, 205, 242, 254 and night routes N15, N25, N205, N253 and N550 serve the station.

Nearby tourist attractions

• Whitechapel Art Gallery
• Petticoat Lane Market
• Brick Lane
• Spitalfields Market
• Hamish Mackie's public artwork of six galloping horses

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

• London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Aldgate East

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Tower Hill towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		Whitechapel towards Upminster
Liverpool Street towards Hammersmith		Hammersmith & City line		Whitechapel towards Barking
Former services
Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Tower Hill towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line (1884–1938)		St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road) towards Upminster
Mark Lane towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line (1884–1967)		Whitechapel towards Upminster
Liverpool Street towards Hammersmith		Metropolitan line Hammersmith branch (1884–1938)		St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road) towards Barking
		Metropolitan line Hammersmith branch (1938–1990)		Whitechapel towards Barking