 The station was planned by the Great Northern and Strand Railway ( GN & SR ) , which had received parliamentary approval for a route from Wood Green station ( now Alexandra Palace ) to Strand in 1899 . After the GN & SR was taken over by the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway ( B & PCR ) in September 1901 , the two companies came under the control of Charles Yerkes ' Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company before being transferred to his new holding company , the Underground Electric Railways Company of London ( UERL ) in June 1902 . To connect the two companies ' planned routes , the UERL obtained permission for new tunnels between Piccadilly Circus and Holborn . The companies were formally merged as the Great Northern , Piccadilly and Brompton Railway following parliamentary approval in November 1902 . 
