Aldwych tube station

Aldwych
Main entrance to Aldwych station (formerly Strand station)
Aldwych Location of Aldwych in Central London
Location	Aldwych
Local authority	City of Westminster
Owner	Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway
Number of platforms	2 (1907–1917) 1 (1917–1994)
Key dates
1907 (1907)	Opened
1940	Closed
1946	Reopened
1994	Closed
Listed status
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1401034
Added to list	20 July 2011
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°30′44″N 0°06′57″W / 51.51215°N 0.11595°W / 51.51215; -0.11595Coordinates: 51°30′44″N 0°06′57″W / 51.51215°N 0.11595°W / 51.51215; -0.11595

Aldwych is a closed station on the London Underground, located in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located, and was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The station building is close to the Strand's junction with Surrey Street, near Aldwych. During its lifetime, the branch was the subject of a number of unrealised extension proposals that would have seen the tunnels through the station extended southwards, usually to Waterloo.

Served mostly by a shuttle train and having low passenger numbers, the station and branch were considered for closure several times. Service was offered only during weekday peak hours from 1962 and discontinued in 1994, when the cost of replacing the lifts was considered too high for the income generated.

Disused parts of the station and the running tunnels were used during both world wars to shelter artworks from London's public galleries and museums from bombing. The station has long been popular as a filming location and has appeared as itself and as other London Underground stations in a number of films. In recognition of its historical significance, the station is a Grade II listed building.

The Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) first proposed a station in the Strand area in a private bill presented to Parliament in November 1898. The station was to be the southern terminus of an underground railway line planned to run from Wood Green station (now Alexandra Palace) via Finsbury Park and King's Cross and was originally to be located at the corner of Stanhope Street and Holles Street, north of the Strand. When the two streets were scheduled for demolition as part of the London County Council's plans for the construction of Kingsway and Aldwych, the GN&SR moved the location to the junction of the two new roads.Royal Assent to the bill was given and the Great Northern and Strand Railway Act 1899 was enacted on 1 August.