History
The station was opened on 10 January 1863 as the terminus of the original Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground metro line. The station, initially named Farringdon Street, was originally a short distance from today's building. The line ran from Farringdon to Paddington, a distance of 4 miles (6 km). The station was relocated on 23 December 1865 when the Metropolitan Railway opened an extension to Moorgate. It was renamed Farringdon and High Holborn on 26 January 1922, and its present name on 21 April 1936.
The lines from Farringdon to London King's Cross station run alongside the now culverted Fleet River, which was above ground here until 1812. The station building is an unusually well-preserved piece of early 20th-century London Underground architecture; it still has its original signage (with the name "Farringdon and High Holborn" on the façade) and other indications of the Metropolitan Railway's original main-line style operation, with a sign for a "Parcel Office" surviving on the exterior wall.
After the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed in March 2009, Southeastern services that previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford, calling at this station. First Capital Connect trains to Moorgate ceased at the same time. Trains south of Blackfriars are operated by Southeastern, north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect.
Read more about this topic: Farringdon Station
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