3 Tube stations that have secret 'hidden' names

A little-known fact that might surprise many Londoners is that three of the 272 stations on the London Underground actually have longer 'hidden' names than those displayed on the Tube map.

This revolves around the full, extended versions of station names which are displayed on the official London Underground signs (known as roundels) on each Tube platform.

At these three particular stations, the station name is provided on the sign along with a suffix enclosed in parentheses.

These suffixes serve as additional titles for stations, used either to differentiate them from other stations with similar names or to append an extra reference point to the station name, such as a nearby significant location.

Such practices are commonplace in other parts of Europe, especially where station sponsors can effectively purchase a station name. For instance, Sol on the Madrid Metro was once known as 'Vodafone Sol' for nearly three years.

In Paris, it's common to find stations named after everything in their vicinity, like 'Villers-le-Bel-Gonesse-Arnouville' or 'Bobigny-Pantin-Raymond Queneau'.

However, here in London, in a bid to keep the Tube map simple and easy to navigate and to avoid lengthy station names, Transport for London (TfL) has not explicitly, but effectively prohibited them by excluding the suffixes from the Tube map.

Nevertheless, the signs on platforms have remained intact, making it possible to discover the hidden second names of these stations.

Hillingdon station, originally located about 200 metres north of its current spot, was moved to its present location in 1992 as part of a project to widen the A40 road between West London and the M40 motorway. Despite receiving a new ticket office, glass ceiling, lifts and platforms, the official London Underground roundels still bear the words Hillingdon (Swakeley's).

This is despite the front entrance, all Tube maps and the published Metropolitan line timetable by London Underground only referring to it as Hillingdon. The suffix Swakeley's refers to a nearby park and manor house, as well as a girls school south of the station.

South Woodford station is named after George Lane, a road that used to cross the Central line at the site of the station.

The late 1930s saw the full integration and electrification of a line into the London Transport Underground network, resulting in a complete cut-off of the road. This was due to engineers' reluctance to have a level crossing over electrified tracks on the Tube.

Today, only one such crossing remains on the Underground. As a result, the station's original name, George Lane, was changed to South Woodford (George Lane) in 1937.

By 1947, the suffix was dropped, leaving the station with the shortened name, South Woodford. Some original signs still exist at the station, preserving the hidden double name.

Ladbroke Grove (for Portobello Road) is another station with a somewhat self-important suffix. While Portobello Road market is also near Westbourne Park and Notting Hill Gate station, it features on the Hammersmith and City and Circle line platform roundels.

Despite whether the market is open or not, Portobello Road remains a favourite tourist spot. Local residents even campaigned unsuccessfully to change the station name to Portobello Road entirely.

Did you know there were once plans to build another station on the soon-to-be-opened Elizabeth line, named 'Kensal'?

This would have provided an extra gateway to the area after National Rail services at the neighbouring Westbourne Park station on the same line stopped in March 1992.

It's also worth mentioning Kensington (Olympia), now more commonly known without the brackets as simply 'Kensington Olympia' or even just 'Olympia'.

This station doesn't regularly see London Underground trains due to the increase in London Overground services since 2008. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, only a handful of passengers get off the few District line trains per day that travel to the station, typically on weekends and exhibition days.

We're also expecting the 'Emirates' prefix to be dropped from London's two cable car stations in the coming year as the airline ends its sponsorship deal with TfL, who operate the transport-mode-turned-social-media-sensation between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks.

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