| Summary : Underground railway station. In 1970 the Greater London Coucil and the Government approved the extension of the Piccadilly Line from Hounslow West to Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Central station was built in a giant concrete box, 400ft long, 80ft wide and 50-60ft deep, constructed in the open air and later covered over. Two tracks served each side of a wide island platform, connected to the ticket hall by four escalators. From the ticket hall, separate travolators in mainly horizontal subways took airline passengers directly to Terminals 1, 2 or 3, and two escalators and a fixed stairway led to a modest surface-level building adjoining the bus station. Limited space restricted the architectural possibilities, and the surface structure - in its cramped location - was little more than an enclosure for escalators and the head of a ventilation plant - hence the smooth band of louvres in the rounded box form. A port-cochere outside the station narrowly misses the end of an unfinished footbridge. For the first time on London Underground, internationally recognised pictograms were included in signage. Piers were faced with extra durable, bright-orange tiles. The travolator wall murals are by Minale Tattersfield. At rail level the suspended ceiling was curved down to finish at the platform edge. A further feature carried over from the Victoria line was the provision of murals for the seat recesses, and Tom Eckersley produced a design based on the tailfins of 'Concorde'. The station was opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 16th December 1977. Heathrow Central station was renamed Heathrow Central Terminals 123 from 3rd September 1983, and the 'Central' was deleted from 12th April 1986. |