Aldgate Station

Address: Aldgate High St,
London EC3N 1AH
Opened: 18th November 1876
Station Code: ALD
Fare Zone: 1

London Underground Line(s) Served:

Circle Line, Metropolitan Line

Service Pattern(s):

Circle Line – 6 trains per hour in each direction

Metropolitan Line –

2 trains per hour to Amersham
2 trains per hour to Chesham
8 trains per hour to Uxbridge
12 trains terminating here

OSI:

Aldgate East (280 Metres) for District and Hammersmith & City Lines
Tower Gateway (500 Metres) for Docklands Light Railway
Fenchurch Street (400 Metres) for National Rail

Station History

Aldgate Station was opened as their new terminus by the Metropolitan Railway on 18th November 1876. The construction and opening of the station had been delayed due to the discovery of a plague pit during the excavation of the site, reportedly containing up to 1000 bodies.

The station itself only remained as a terminus for just under six years, when the Metropolitan extended their line to a temporary terminus at Tower Hill, opening on 25th September 1882.

Due to the resolution of a conflict between the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways, a joint station was constructed at Tower Hill and the Inner Circle Line was completed. This led to an increase in services through Aldgate.

With this increase, the station facilities were found to be inadequate, and a new station building designed by the Metropolitan Railway’s chief architect, Charles Walter Clark was constructed and opened in 1926.

Following the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board on July 1st 1933, the new entity took control of all the stations and services of the London Underground. In 1941, Metropolitan Line services, which had until now run through to the East London Line, were truncated to terminate at Aldgate while Circle Line services continued to pass through.

Nothing of note occurred at the station in the following decades until, on 7th July 2005 a terrorist attack on London saw a device detonated on a train approaching Aldgate Station. Seven passengers lost their lives on that day and the damage caused led to all trains terminating at Moorgate until repairs were completed.