History
During the 1860s and 1870s, Ludgate Hill had begun to struggle with increasing numbers of trains. At the time, the LCDR was suffering financial problems, and so was unable to raise capital to expand the station. So, a separate company was set up to construct a 330-yard (300 m) branch from the Ludgate-Farringdon line that would terminate at a new station located on Holborn Viaduct, which would have a new hotel forming its frontage.
Holborn Viaduct opened on 2 March 1874 with the intention that it be used as a terminus for main line and continental trains: these services were intended to operate to both the City and the West End. Trains would travel as far as Herne Hill where they would split, with one portion going to Holborn Viaduct and the other to Victoria. Local services carried on through the Snow Hill Tunnel to join the Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon, with a pair of low-level platforms just north of Holborn Viaduct to allow interchange with the main line services. Opened on 1st August 1874, these platforms were named Snow Hill, before being briefly renamed Holborn Viaduct Low Level in 1912.
Passenger traffic through the Snow Hill tunnel ceased in 1916, which saw the low-level platforms closed, and Holborn Viaduct become a terminus for passenger services from the south of London into the City. The short distance between Holborn Viaduct and Blackfriars (660 yards (600 m)) also led to the intermediate station at Ludgate Hill being closed in 1929. The route was electrified in 1925 for services from Shortlands and Orpington.
Following the end of the Second World War, services to Holborn Viaduct began to be withdrawn. The electrification of the Kent Coast route led to two basic services operating all day from the station: to Sevenoaks and West Croydon, with peak time services to a number of other destinations. In 1963 the hotel, which had been heavily damaged during the Second World War, was demolished and redeveloped, a new 10-storey office building replacing it.
In the mid 1980s, Snow Hill tunnel was restored as a north-south rail link through central London. Services to and from Holborn Viaduct were gradually run down as part of this plan. In 1988, passenger trains began running through the Snow Hill Tunnel again, and Holborn Viaduct was reduced to operating only Monday-Friday during peak hours. The Thameslink plan was to build a new underground station in the vicinity, to be called St Paul's Thameslink. Its construction required the demolition of the bridge to Holborn Viaduct from Ludgate Hill. Holborn Viaduct eventually closed on 26 January 1990. The frontage of the station buildings were incorporated into the new City Thameslink station, which formed part of a new development funded by a commercial property company.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | London, Chatham & Dover Railway |
Ludgate Hill | ||
| Terminus | British Rail Southern Region |
Blackfriars | ||
Read more about this topic: Holborn Viaduct Railway Station
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