Bethnal Green tube station

Bethnal Green
Southwestern entrance
Bethnal Green Location of Bethnal Green in Greater London
Location	Bethnal Green
Local authority	Tower Hamlets
Managed by	London Underground
Owner	Transport for London
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	2
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	15.06 million
2013	15.27 million
2014	16.08 million
2015	16.16 million
Railway companies
Original company	London Passenger Transport Board
Key dates
4 December 1946	Station opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°31′38″N 0°03′20″W / 51.5272°N 0.0556°W / 51.5272; -0.0556Coordinates: 51°31′38″N 0°03′20″W / 51.5272°N 0.0556°W / 51.5272; -0.0556

Bethnal Green is a London Underground station in Bethnal Green in Greater London, England. The station is situated in the East End of London and is served by the Central line lying between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations. The station was opened as part of the long planned Central line eastern extension on 4 December 1946; before that it was used as an air-raid shelter. On 3 March 1943, 173 people were killed in a crush while attempting to enter the shelter.

The station is an example of the "New Works Programme 1935 – 1940" style adopted by London Transport for its new tube stations. Extensive use is made of pale yellow tiling, originally manufactured by Poole Pottery. This has been replicated during the 2007 modernisation although several panels of original tiling were retained on the platforms. The finishes include relief tiles, showing symbols of London and the area served by the London Passenger Transport Board, designed by Harold Stabler. The station entrances, all in the form of subway access staircases to the subterranean ticket hall, all show the design influences of Charles Holden, the consulting architect for London Transport at this time.

Construction of the Central line's eastern extension was started in the 1930s, and the tunnels were largely complete at the outbreak of the Second World War although rails were not laid. The facilities at Bethnal Green were requisitioned in 1940 at the onset of the first Blitz and administration was assigned to the local authority, the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green, under the supervision of the 'Regional Commissioners', the generic name for London civil defence. Heavy air raids began in October and thousands of people took shelter there, often remaining overnight. However, usage of the shelter dwindled in 1941 as the Luftwaffe was redirected away from London and against the Soviet Union. A relative lull occurred although the number of shelterers rose again when retaliatory bombing in response to Royal Air Force raids was expected.