{{BS-header|Changes in 1990}}
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{{BS-header|Changes in 1990}}
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Holborn ViaductHolborn Viaduct was a railway terminus in central London.-History:During the 1860s and 1870s, 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...
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City Thameslink|}}
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Ludgate HillLudgate Hill railway station was a station in the City of London opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway as its City terminus on 1 June 1865...
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{{Railways around South Bank RDT}}
City Thameslink is a
National RailNational Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
station in the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, England. The platforms are underground, with a southern entrance on
Ludgate HillLudgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three...
just off Ludgate Circus, and a northern entrance on Holborn Viaduct. It is in
Zone 1Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. For most tickets, travel through the zone is charged...
, between {{LUL stations|station=Blackfriars}} and {{LUL stations|station=Farringdon}}, on the
ThameslinkThameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
route. It was the intended location of {{LUL stations|station=Ludgate Circus}} station on the Fleet Line (now
Jubilee LineThe Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
) until that project was abandoned in the late 1970s. Although a through station, for ticketing purposes it is considered a central London railway terminus for journeys to and from the south.
History
The station opened on 29 May 1990 as
St Paul's Thameslink. The name was changed in 1991, apparently to avoid confusion with {{LUL stations|station=St. Paul's}}
London UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station (Central Line), which is several hundred yards away on the other side of
St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
.
When Thameslink first opened, trains used the approach viaduct for
Holborn Viaduct stationHolborn Viaduct was a railway terminus in central London.-History:During the 1860s and 1870s, 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...
to reach the
Snow Hill tunnelSnow Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the northern edge of the City of London between City Thameslink and Farringdon stations. The tunnel runs beneath the Smithfield meat market and was constructed using the cut and cover method immediately prior to the building of the market...
. In preparation for that station's closure on 26 January 1990, a new line between Blackfriars station and the tunnel was constructed, this time on a different alignment slightly to the west and at a lower elevation, allowing buildings to be constructed on top. City Thameslink was built on the line as a replacement for Holborn Viaduct station.
Due to the planned routing of the Fleet Line under the site, part of the station was built to allow a future interchange. This can be seen in the wide spaces on the Ludgate end of the station, where large doors open on to a corridor intended to lead to escalators to a Underground concourse level. It is still known today as the LUL corridor by staff.
When the Thameslink franchise was taken over by First Capital Connect on 1 April 2006 the name "Thameslink" was dropped from the branding of this group of services, but the name of City Thameslink station was not changed. Following criticism of the loss of a useful and distinctive name, FCC has somewhat relented and now refers to this group of services as its "Thameslink route".
As part of the
Thameslink ProgrammeThe Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, is a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London without requiring passengers to change...
, an upgrade of City Thameslink station was completed in October 2010. The platforms were made ready for future 12-car trains, and the passenger information system improved. New lighting and ticket gates were installed.
Services
The station is served by trains on the
ThameslinkThameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
route, whose franchise has been operated by
First Capital ConnectFirst Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
since 2006. There are two main service patterns: fast trains on the
BrightonBrighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. The station master is Mark Epsom...
to
Bedford service, and stopping trains between
St AlbansSt Albans railway station can refer to one of four stations:* Two railway stations in St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom:**St Albans City railway station - Services operated by First Capital Connect...
or
LutonLuton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect.-History:...
and {{LUL stations|station=Wimbledon}} or Sutton. All trains in both categories call at all stations on the central cross-London core of the Thameslink route, including City Thameslink. (However, at present there are no services on most weekends.)
There are also a few terminating peak-hour services from Kent provided by
SoutheasternLondon & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
and these are turned round in Smithfield sidings just north of the station. This practice will cease once the new Blackfriars station is completed under the Thameslink Programme.
After the bay platforms at London {{LUL stations|station=Blackfriars}} closed in March 2009
SoutheasternLondon & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford and call at this station. Train services south of Blackfriars are operated by Southeastern, north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect. Both Southeastern and FCC drivers work the route between Sevenoaks and Bedford. This station is now served by 10 trains per hour in each direction throughout the off-peak, instead of the previous eight.
Transport connections
London BusesLondon Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
routes
4London Buses route 4 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metroline.-History:...
,
11London Buses route 11 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
,
15London Buses route 15 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The regular service on route 15 is currently contracted to Stagecoach London and operated with modern double-decker buses...
,
17London Buses route 17 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metroline.-History:...
,
23London Buses route 23 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest....
,
26London Buses route 26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Capital.-History:...
, 76, 100, 172 and night bus routes N11, N15, N21, N26, N47 and N76 serve the Ludgate Hill entrance to the station. Routes
8London Buses route 8 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:...
,
25London Buses route 25 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Capital.-History:...
, 242,
521London Buses route 521 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:Service 521 is one of two Red Arrow routes, the other being route 507, that survived into 2009....
and night bus route N8 serve the Holborn Viaduct entrance. {{clear}}
Service patterns
{{rail start}}
{{s-rail-national|previous=Farringdon|next=London Blackfriars|toc=First Capital Connect|route=
ThameslinkThameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
|col=F400A1}}
{{s-rail-national|previous=Farringdon|next=London Blackfriars|toc=First Capital Connect|route=Bedford-Sevenoaks}}
{{s-rail-national|next=London Blackfriars|toc=Southeastern|route=City Thameslink-Sevenoaks}}
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Future
There are occasionally suggestions to link the station to the Tube network by providing pedestrian links to an existing station or even a new {{LUL stations|station=Ludgate Circus}} station on a potential extension to the
Docklands Light RailwayThe Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
from Bank station to {{LUL stations|station=Charing Cross}} via {{LUL stations|station=Aldwych}}. If built, this extension would be entirely underground and would run along part of the originally intended route of the
Jubilee lineThe Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
when it was known as the Fleet Line.
Gallery
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{{Transport in London}}
{{Major railway stations in Britain}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:City Thameslink Railway Station}}