In 2013, I spent several months exploring the London Underground network from end-to-end. The project documents the last station on each of the lines, from the quiet, rural town of Chesham (northern Metropolitan Line) to the hustle and bustle of Brixton's markets (southern Victoria Line) and out into deepest Essex, to the town of Upminster, at the end of the District Line.
The London Underground is a vast network with over 270 stations and lines covering hundreds of miles in total. Each of the 11 underground lines has at least two termini, with the majority having many more. Most people only experience this world-famous underground railway system within the confines of central London, where they feed the tourist sites and businesses that fuel London.
To the uninitiated, it can seem far bigger than it is in some areas (mainly Zone 1), and far smaller in others (Zone 7). This is partly thanks to Harry Beck's geography-defying map which makes the network easy to navigate and understand, but often results in thousands of unnecessary journeys (Leicester Square to Covent Garden being the most infamous of these).
Venture farther afield, and you see the types of passenger change, the numbers dwindle, the tunnels open out into vast suburbs or rolling fields and hills; and experience the strange sensation of reaching the point at which the train can go no further. It is here that this project takes place; spending roughly one hour exploring the square mile around the station. One hour may not sound like much time, nor one square mile (roughly) sound like a huge area, but the purpose of this decision is to contrast it with the termination of the train's journey. The train spends most of its day rushing between stations, so when it finally comes to a halt, it seems only fitting to carry on that rushed attitude on foot. Besides, even out in the distant suburbs of Greater London, a lot happens within one hour and one square mile.
There is also a logistical aspect to limiting my time to one hour and a reasonably small distance: the volume of images. With so many destinations, it would quickly become overwhelming to spend indefinite amounts of time at each terminus. One hour limits my picture-taking to a specific time-frame, meaning I capture a small glimpse of life at the terminus, and preserve it in images.
Obviously, there are drawbacks to this approach, such as missing events or arriving somewhere when something unusual happens to be taking place, but at the same time doing this helps to focus the project. The authenticity and realism of the images will not be diminished by the time-scale in which they were produced.
The termini and lines I will eventually have covered are:
Metropolitan Line: Amersham, Chesham, Watford, Uxbridge, Aldgate
Bakerloo Line: Harrow & Wealdstone, Elephant & Castle
Jubilee Line: Stanmore, Stratford
Northern Line: Edgware, Mill Hill East, High Barnet, Morden
Piccadilly Line: Cockfosters, Heathrow Terminal 5, Uxbridge (shared with Metropolitan Line)
Victoria Line: Walthamstow Central, Brixton
Central Line: Epping, Ealing Broadway (shared with District Line), West Ruislip
District Line: Upminster, Wimbledon, Kensington Olympia, Richmond, Ealing Broadway (shared with Central Line), Edgware Road (shared with Circle Line)
Hammersmith & City Line: Hammersmith (shared with Circle Line), Barking
Waterloo & City Line: Bank, Waterloo
Circle Line: Edgware Road (shared with District Line), Hammersmith (shared with Hammersmith & City Line)
I've highlighted which stations have overlapping termini. These were treated as a single terminus and the images captured there represent each line in the project.
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