Angel tube station
Northern line · Zone 1 · Islington
About Angel station
Riding up from Angel’s platforms is a long journey: the escalators here rise 90 ft over a length of 200 ft, the longest on the Underground and in the United Kingdom. They are a product of the 1989–92 rebuild. The City & South London Railway had opened the station on 17 November 1901 as the end of its extension from Moorgate, in a building by Sydney Smith at the corner of City Road and Torrens Street, and it stayed a terminus until trains continued to Euston on 12 May 1907. Passengers reached the trains by lift and waited on a single island platform only 12 feet wide between two tracks in one tunnel, a layout that overcrowding turned into a serious safety worry.
The rebuild dug a new tunnel for a fresh northbound platform and turned the whole 30-foot original tunnel into the southbound platform, wider than most deep-level platforms on the system. A new ticket hall opened on 10 August 1992 inside the Angel Square offices on Islington High Street, so far from the platforms that two flights of escalators set roughly at right angles were needed; the enlarged southbound platform followed on 17 September. The old surface building is closed to the public but still houses ventilation equipment. In the ticket hall stands a sculpture of an angel made by Kevin Boys Blacksmiths in 1996.
First and last trains from Angel
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern towards Morden | 05:52 – 00:32 | 05:52 – 00:32 | 05:52 – 00:32 | 07:25 – 23:41 |
| Northern towards Edgware, High Barnet or Mill Hill East | 05:51 – 00:40 to High Barnet | 05:51 – 00:40 to High Barnet | 05:51 – 00:40 to High Barnet | 07:32 to High Barnet – 23:45 to High Barnet |
Times are TfL’s published timetable departures from this station; on Saturday the list follows TfL’s “Saturdays and public holidays” timetable.
At the busiest hour on a weekday there are up to 25 Northern trains an hour per direction from Angel, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Angel
Running times between Angel and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Northern | King's Cross St Pancras | 2.2 min |
| Northern | Old Street | 2.5 min |
Connections
Angel is served by the Northern line only; there is no interchange with other rail lines here.
Station facilities
What is near Angel station
Angel is the station for Islington’s theatres and markets. The Old Red Lion Theatre is about 60 m from the entrance, Sadler’s Wells about 260 m, and the King’s Head and Almeida theatres are also reached from here. Chapel Market is about 250 m away and the antiques dealers of Camden Passage are close by, as is City University’s main campus. Within a few hundred metres are the Crafts Council Gallery (about 140 m), Duncan Terrace Gardens (190 m), the Angel Central shopping centre (260 m), Vue Islington (280 m) and Claremont Square (290 m).
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Old Red Lion Theatre | 60 m |
| Chapel Market | 250 m |
| Sadler's Wells | 260 m |
| Claremont Square | 290 m |
| Crafts Council Gallery | 140 m |
| Paris Dauphine University - London Campus | 170 m |
| Marks & Spencer | 170 m |
| Owens Field | 170 m |
Frequently asked questions
Angel’s escalators have a vertical rise of 90 ft (27 m) and a length of 200 ft (61 m), making them the longest on the Underground and in the United Kingdom. Angel is one of the stations where the platforms are reached only by escalator.
Until 1992 both directions shared one narrow island platform, just 12 feet wide, inside a single 30-foot tunnel. During the 1989–92 rebuild a new tunnel was dug for the northbound trains and the southbound platform was extended across the full width of the old tunnel, opening on 17 September 1992.