Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London, and is operated by Victoria Coach Station Ltd., an arm of Transport for London.

It serves long distance coach services, and should not be confused with the Victoria bus station, which serves London Buses. The station is also used as the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London.

History

Victoria Coach Station was opened at its present site in Buckingham Palace Road, London, in 1932, by London Coastal Coaches Limited, an association of coach operators. In 1968, this became a subsidiary of the National Bus Company (NBC). The building is in a distinctive Art Deco style, the architects for which were Wallis, Gilbert and Partners. During the 1970s, Victoria Coach Station became the responsibility of the NBC subsidiary, National Travel (South East) Limited. In 1978, London Coastal Coaches Company was brought back to life and renamed Victoria Coach Station Limited. In 1988, following the privatisation of the NBC companies, ownership of Victoria Coach Station Limited was transferred to London Transport, and in 2000 ownership passed to Transport for London.

Operation

Victoria Coach Station has separate arrivals and departures terminals, located on the opposite sides of Elizabeth Street. The main departures building includes food outlets, shops, left luggage facilities, and ticketing. The combined area of the two terminals is about three acres (12,000 m²). The coach station accommodates mostly National Express, Eurolines, Oxford Espress and Megabus services.

There are 22 gates in the departure terminal.

Nearby is the Green Line Coach Station which accommodates Green Line Coaches, Greyhound UK, and several other coach operators.

Gallery

Image:Victoria Coach Station 1.jpg|Victoria Coach Station, exteriorImage:Victoria Coach Station 2.jpg|Coach boarding baysImage:National Express route A6.jpg|A National Express coach on route A6 at Victoria Coach Station.

External links

• Official site
• Photo gallery