Shoreditch’s famous disused tube trains, which have spent decades serving as private workspaces, are going to be opened to the public as a rooftop bar.

The four former Jubilee line carriages sit high above Holywell Lane on a surviving stretch of the railway viaduct that once carried trains into the old Broad Street station before its closure in the 1980s. For the past 20 years, the carriages, alongside a pair of shipping containers, have been used as studio and workspace units for artists and creatives at Village Underground.

However, as I was told on a previous visit, the tube carriages are a cool working space, but maybe too cool in winter, and too hot in summer

Now the site is being reworked to create a more flexible rooftop venue that combines creative workspace with a public food-and-drink space. As part of the redevelopment, two of the train carriages were removed earlier this year to make way for a new covered pergola area and expanded outdoor seating. The remaining two Tube carriages will stay in place and continue to serve as flexible artist workspaces during the day before switching over to support the evening venue.

The terrace will include a central bar and space to gather throughout the summer, with National Pizza of the Year UK award winner Bad Boy Pizza Society confirmed as food partner, bringing its 12” New York-inspired pizzas to the terrace.

The rooftop bar at Village Underground will open on Friday 3rd July, and then be open from Wed to Sun.

Details here.

Auro Foxcroft, Founder / CEO of Village Underground says, “For nearly 20 years, we’ve had this suntrap spot on the Shoreditch skyline to ourselves, so it’s exciting to finally be able to share it with our audiences and the local community. The train carriages have been part of how we’ve used the space day to day – from working to interviewing artists – and this feels like the natural next step, opening them up and making them part of the space for everyone to enjoy.”

The rooftop terrace, designed by MOBO Works, has a capacity of 300 people and is also available for private hire.