London’s ‘abandoned’ tube station that features in a lot of Hollywood movies

London Underground, carrying up to five million passengers daily and over 543 trains running through the network during peak hours, is a vital part of any working Londoner’s routine.

However, two tunnels in an abandoned subway station see no trains or visitors, despite their frequent appearances on TV screens and cinemas.

Aldwych Station, located in the City of Westminster, first opened as Strand Station in 1907, serving as the terminus of the Piccadilly Short Line from Holborn.

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Despite talk of extending the tunnels to Waterloo, the station and branch have been repeatedly considered for closure due to low ridership. Services were eventually provided only during peak weekday hours from 1962 until the station closed completely in 1994.

Like many tube stations in central London, Aldwych was used as a bomb shelter during the Second World War. Its original design featured two parallel tunnels, but by 1914, only one platform and one tunnel were ever used.

Today, Aldwych station has been revived by the London Transport Museum, offering guided tours of its disused platforms and tunnels, and has also served as the backdrop for major Hollywood films.

The station, having retained all its original features, quickly became a filmmaker’s dream – especially for films and dramas reflecting the war period. In the dystopian political action film V for Vendetta, the climax sees an Aldwych tube train loaded with explosives and driven under the Houses of Parliament, destroying it entirely.

In Luther: The Fallen Sun, an early fight scene between Luther and the villain David Robey was filmed at the abandoned station.

28 Weeks Later, a post-apocalyptic horror film about the spread of a virus, uses the tunnels of Aldwych to film some scary scenes, while in the award-winning Atonement, starring James McAvoy and Kiera Knightly, Aldwych tube station is used to recreate a time of war. disaster that occurred at Balham station and saw a bomb explode on the tracks.

Other films and TV shows filmed at Aldwych Station include:

The Gentle Gunman (1952)

Battle of Britain (1969)

Deep End (1970)

Death Row (1972)

Take It Or Leave It (1981)

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1986)

The Krays (1990)

Patriot Games (1992)

Creep (2004)

The Good Shepherd (2006)

The Bank Job (2008)

The Edge of Love (2008)

Mr. Selfridge (2013)

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Sherlock (2014)

Darkest Hour (2017)

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