Oct 14, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
Covent Garden is visited by millions each week and many get there by going through this station, by what is the history down on those Platforms? Join us to tell you more....
Covent Garden is a London Underground station serving Covent Garden and its surrounding area in the West End of London.
It's on the Piccadilly line between Leicester Square and Holborn stations and is in the main zone fare one.
The station is located at the corner of Long Acre and James' Street, and the street-level concourse is a Grade 2 listed building.
The station was planned by the Great Northern and Strand Railway, GN&SR, which had received parliamentary approval for a route from Wood Green Station, now Alexandra Palace, to Strand in 1899.
After the GN&SR was taken over by the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway, B&PCR, in September 1901, the two companies came under the control of Charles Yerkes's Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company before becoming transferred to his new holding company, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, UERL, in June 1902.
To connect the two companies' planned routes, the UERL attained permission for new tunnels between Piccadilly Circus and Holborn.
The companies were formally merged as the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway following parliamentary approval in November 1902.
The station was opened by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway on the 11th of April 1907, four months after services on the rest of the line began operating on the 15th of December 1906.
In 1929, Covent Garden was suggested for closure in connection with the extension of the Piccadilly line.
The elimination of less busy stations in the central area would improve both reliability and journey times for long-distance commuters, though the closure did not proceed.
In 2011, English Heritage gave the station frontage Grade 2 listed status on the account of it being a good example of Leslie Green's architecture.
Like the rest of the GNP and BR stations, the street-level station building and platform tiling were designed by Leslie Green in the modern style, British Art Nouveau style.
The platform wall was tiled with two shades of yellow and white tiling, which gave formed geometric shapes along the three blank spaces to incorporate the station name.
As part of the Transport for London's investment program, the aging tiling dating back from the station's opening was replaced in 2010 in a like-for-like basis, retaining the look and the feel of the platforms.
The stations along the central part of the Piccadilly line, as well as some of the sections of the Northern line, were financed by Charles Yerkes and were famous for the Leslie Green-designed red station buildings and distinctive platform tiling.
Each station had its own unique tile pattern and colors.
Covent Garden Station is one of only a few stations in central London for which platform access is only by lift or an emergency spiral staircase with 193 steps.
There are four lifts that give access to street level, although a final flight of stairs from the lifts to the platforms means that the station is wheelchair inaccessible.
At the bottom of the staircase, numerous posters warning users of the long climb ahead suggest that they may make the use of the station's lifts instead.
The Piccadilly line journey between Leicester Square and Covent Garden measures 260 meters, the shortest distance between any two adjacent stations on the network.
Posters at the station give details of the alternative methods of getting to and from Covent Garden using surrounding stations.
Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every three to seven minutes in both directions.
Covent Garden is a London Underground station serving Covent Garden and its surrounding area in the West End of London.
It's on the Piccadilly line between Leicester Square and Holborn stations and is in the main zone fare one.
The station is located at the corner of Long Acre and James' Street, and the street-level concourse is a Grade 2 listed building.
The station was planned by the Great Northern and Strand Railway, GN&SR, which had received parliamentary approval for a route from Wood Green Station, now Alexandra Palace, to Strand in 1899.
After the GN&SR was taken over by the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway, B&PCR, in September 1901, the two companies came under the control of Charles Yerkes's Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company before becoming transferred to his new holding company, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, UERL, in June 1902.
To connect the two companies' planned routes, the UERL attained permission for new tunnels between Piccadilly Circus and Holborn.
The companies were formally merged as the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway following parliamentary approval in November 1902.
The station was opened by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway on the 11th of April 1907, four months after services on the rest of the line began operating on the 15th of December 1906.
In 1929, Covent Garden was suggested for closure in connection with the extension of the Piccadilly line.
The elimination of less busy stations in the central area would improve both reliability and journey times for long-distance commuters, though the closure did not proceed.
In 2011, English Heritage gave the station frontage Grade 2 listed status on the account of it being a good example of Leslie Green's architecture.
Like the rest of the GNP and BR stations, the street-level station building and platform tiling were designed by Leslie Green in the modern style, British Art Nouveau style.
The platform wall was tiled with two shades of yellow and white tiling, which gave formed geometric shapes along the three blank spaces to incorporate the station name.
As part of the Transport for London's investment program, the aging tiling dating back from the station's opening was replaced in 2010 in a like-for-like basis, retaining the look and the feel of the platforms.
The stations along the central part of the Piccadilly line, as well as some of the sections of the Northern line, were financed by Charles Yerkes and were famous for the Leslie Green-designed red station buildings and distinctive platform tiling.
Each station had its own unique tile pattern and colors.
Covent Garden Station is one of only a few stations in central London for which platform access is only by lift or an emergency spiral staircase with 193 steps.
There are four lifts that give access to street level, although a final flight of stairs from the lifts to the platforms means that the station is wheelchair inaccessible.
At the bottom of the staircase, numerous posters warning users of the long climb ahead suggest that they may make the use of the station's lifts instead.
The Piccadilly line journey between Leicester Square and Covent Garden measures 260 meters, the shortest distance between any two adjacent stations on the network.
Posters at the station give details of the alternative methods of getting to and from Covent Garden using surrounding stations.
Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every three to seven minutes in both directions.
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