Bond Street Elizabeth line station brings a modern classical design and thought-provoking artwork

• Striking art installations from renowned British artist Darren Almond

The new Bond Street Elizabeth line station opened yesterday morning (Monday 24 October). It takes its design inspiration from the surrounding urban realm, its historic buildings, art galleries and the vibrant retail scene around the station, and fits seamlessly within the heart of London's iconic West End.

While the station shares a consistent look and feel on the platforms and cross-passage areas with other Elizabeth line central stations, it is in the above ground areas that the design is really inspired by the local area. The station, designed by architects John McAslan + Partners, contains two brand new ticket halls at street level of significant and generous scale. Customers entering the Davies Street entrance will notice the high ceilings while the other ticket hall at Hanover Square is flooded with natural light, and leads passengers down to the platforms, which are the longest platforms of all the newly built stations at 255 metres.

Both entrances feature columns that blur the line between interior and exterior spaces and help the station fit into its surroundings with the choice of materials: red sandstone at Davies Street, and pale Portland stone at Hanover Square.

Wide openings between the columns lead to clear, legible entrances. The unused spaces between columns are filled with glazed window panels and ventilation grilles framed in bronze. The beams of the coffered ceilings align with the lines of the columns, which open out to the new public spaces.

Bronze panels add decorative detail above the escalators as well as providing acoustic absorption. The escalators at Hanover Square are the longest on the Elizabeth line and the second longest on the entire TfL network, measuring 60 metres long. 

The new station contains three artworks by British artist Darren Almond: 'Horizon Line', 'Shadow Line' and 'Time Line'. The artworks resemble the metal nameplates that were affixed to early British locomotives and were made by the same heritage sign company that made many of the boilerplates for locomotives of the past. 'Horizon Line' consists of 144 individual hand-polished tiles echoing paths of travellers as they descend underground whilst 'Shadow Line' and 'Time Line' are train boiler plates bearing poetic phrases 'REFLECT FROM YOUR SHADOW' and 'FROM UNDER THE GLACIER' respectively. The three abstract artworks will be found in and around the western ticket hall of the Elizabeth line station.

Beside the Bond Street station entrance on Hanover Square is Medici Courtyard, which is the first public courtyard to open in Mayfair for more than a century. This area of public realm was transformed by Westminster City Council as part of the Elizabeth line development in collaboration with adjacent property owners and developers, Great Portland Estates (GPE).

Above each of the station entrances, new developments are also being built. At Hanover Square, GPE is also responsible for a new development of office and retail space designed by the architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands (LDS). Above the entrance at 65 Davies Street, Grosvenor is also constructing offices designed by PLP Architecture. Both developments will be key to supporting the London's growth and recovery with new jobs, homes and offices.

Howard Smith, Elizabeth line Director at TfL, said: "Yesterday, we were delighted to open Bond Street Elizabeth line station for our customers. This magnificent,  cavernous station is spectacular, and the artwork fits perfectly within the station and the local community. I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get this fantastic new station over the line."

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries said: "Bond Street is at the heart of London's thriving retail, cultural, hospitality and leisure industries, and the opening of the Elizabeth Line station is a huge boost to the area, helping deliver on the Mayor's commitment to build a better London for everyone. The new station continues London's fantastic tradition of bringing inspiring art to the travelling public. Darren Almond's work beautifully honours the history and heritage we associate with the underground and railway network. I'm so happy Londoners will be able to view them while making their way through the newly opened station."

City of London Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward said: "We're delighted to support the creation of this thought-provoking abstract artwork, which draws inspiration from British railway history while gracing the ultra-modern walls of the final station along the Elizabeth Line. The work leaves a lasting legacy to be enjoyed by the millions of passengers who will pass through Bond Street every year, enhancing the world-class infrastructure which is helping to cement London's status as a global capital." 

John McAslan + Partners' Associate Director Colin Bennie said: "Bond Street Station will be one of the busiest on the Elizabeth Line, providing a significant new gateway for those travelling to London's West End. It was therefore important to create legible entrances while establishing a compelling narrative with the existing physical and cultural character of the area, referencing local material and form.  We also wanted to lift the user experience through the use of daylight, generous linked spaces and the integration of artwork, maximising visibility and creating connections."

Darren Almond, Artist said: "Before you've even physically begun a journey you are already thinking in a numerical language: the first question we all ask ourselves is, 'What time is the train?' So it seemed appropriate to mark the starting point of the journey with a work engaged in a similar language."

Paul Sandilands, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands Director said: "Catalysed by the new Elizabeth Line Bond Street station, the 'Hanover' scheme for our client GPE has completely transformed this part of Mayfair with new shops, restaurants, offices, apartments and Professor Jimmy Choo's first London Fashion Academy. These businesses will thrive on the high footfall brought by the new station. We collaborated closely with the Crossrail team to coordinate the buildings above with the station and its vent shafts below. For the first time, people can stroll from New Bond Street along a handsome new arcade and through a delightful treelined courtyard to the re-landscaped gardens of Hanover Square."

Andrew Keith, Selfridges' Managing Director, says: "It's fantastic to see Bond Street station now open, making accessing the West End easier than ever. As we approach the festive season, this addition to central London's transport line will be vital for bringing visitors from around the world together to experience the Christmas spirit at Selfridges and beyond.  We are proud to have supported Darren Almond's artwork. Unconventional and thought-provoking, much like Selfridges it will create a lasting legacy in the West End for years to come."

From Sunday 6 November, the lines from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield will connect with the central tunnels of the Elizabeth line - opening up new direct journeys across the capital and providing a huge boost to the West End as it continues to recover from the pandemic and gears up for the busy festive period. Customers from Heathrow, Reading and Shenfield will then be able to go directly to Bond Street without having to change trains at Paddington or Liverpool Street mainline stations.

Notes to editors

• The new station is step free from street to train with two lifts to street level, further enhancing accessibility across the TfL network. The station will be able to accommodate nearly 140,000 Elizabeth line passenger journeys daily. This will more than double the number of people currently using Bond Street station to visit the area - providing a welcome boost to the area and easing congestion at nearby stations.
• The artwork at Bond Street station was created by Darren Almond with the support of gallery partner White Cube
• 'Horizon Line' is a large grid of fragmented numbers cast in aluminium which echoes the path of travellers as they descend underground. The 144 individual hand-polished tiles reference daily routines, timetables and schedules, creating a landscape of continual movement and ever-changing subjectivity.
• 'Shadow Line' and 'Time Line' are train boiler plates that bear poetic phrases, recalling both his trainspotting days as well as the golden age of British railways. 'REFLECT FROM YOUR SHADOW' addresses the passenger in transit, poised between journeys, past, present and future. 'FROM UNDER THE GLACIER', which was designed to be viewed when ascending to entrance level, reminds us of a much slower passage of time: how our journey through this network of tunnels has literally cut through geological time itself.
• The delivery phase of Bond Street station, which includes detail design and construction, was led by Costain Skanska with design team Arup and Hawkins\Brown. The latter two worked in direct appointment by Crossrail for the final two years
• Due to industrial action taking place on 3, 5 and 7 November some TfL services, including the Elizabeth line, will be affected. Please check the latest travel information before starting your journey at https://tfl.gov.uk/