Farringdon station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Farringdon | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Clerkenwell |
| Local authority | London Borough of Islington |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Owned by | London Underground |
| Platforms in use | 4 |
| National Rail | |
| Station code | ZFD |
| Transport for London | |
| Zone | 1 |
| Annual entry/exit | 14.392 million † |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1863 |
| Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail |
|
| † Data from Transport for London [1] | |
Farringdon station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Clerkenwell, just north of the City of London in the London Borough of Islington.
Contents |
[edit] Services
It is on the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines, between King's Cross St. Pancras and Barbican. The station serves First Capital Connect trains which run from Brighton to Bedford, calling en route at Gatwick Airport, or from Luton to Sutton. Some First Capital Connect trains also run into Moorgate and terminate there rather than continuing south via City Thameslink. Farringdon is in Transport for London's Travelcard Zone 1.
[edit] History
The station was opened on 9 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 located 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 King's Cross stations run alongside the culverted Fleet River, which was located 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 facade) and other indications of the Metropolitan Railway's ambitions to be like the main line companies, with a sign for a "Parcel Office" surviving on the exterior wall.
[edit] Plans
The station drastically requires expansion, however, and is very busy at peak times. There have been plans to increase the station's passenger capacity for several years, as part of the Thameslink 2000 project, though these have yet to come to fruition. If, as is planned, Crossrail line 1 calls here, substantial upgrade works may be required.
The station is due to become one of the most important transport interchanges in central London, when the Crossrail 1 project is developed. Under current plans, the Crossrail station will be located between Farringdon Road and Charterhouse Square, south of the existing ticket hall. The Farringdon ticket hall will be located at the junction of Farringdon Road and Cowcross Street. The area between the current and new stations is intended to be pedestrianised. A further ticket hall will be located to provide an additional interchange with Barbican tube station[1].
Authority to build Crossrail is still before Parliament, but is anticipated to become law in 2007. Completion is not anticipated until 2012[2].
[edit] Dual supply
Farringdon Station is also notable because the First Capital Connect trains, whilst standing at the platform, switch between the 25kV AC overhead supply used to the north of London, and the 750V DC third rail supply used to the south, though the trains travelling to Moorgate use 25kV AC throughout.
Of course, the Underground trains use the four rail DC system.
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] Gallery
 The station was named Farringdon & High Holborn from 1922-36 [3] |
 Platforms |
 View from north |
[edit] References
- ^ Crossrail - Farringdon (PDF). 28 October 2006
- ^ Crossrail website accessed 14 Dec 2006
- ^ Rose, D., The London Underground: A diagrammatic history, (1999)
[edit] External links
- Train times and station information for Farringdon station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Farringdon station from Multimap.com
-
- Satellite image from WikiMapia or Google Map
- Street map from Multimap or GlobalGuide
- Aerial image from TerraServer
| Previous station | London Underground | Next station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
toward Baker Street
|
Circle Line |
toward Tower Hill
|
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|
toward Hammersmith
|
Hammersmith & City Line |
toward Barking
|
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| Metropolitan Line |
toward Aldgate
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| National Rail | ||||
| King's Cross Thameslink |
First Capital Connect Thameslink Monday-Friday peak hours only |
Barbican (Eastbound services only) |
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| First Capital Connect Thameslink |
City Thameslink London Blackfriars on Sundays |
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| Railway stations of London Central area | Greater London |
|---|
| Managed by Network Rail: Cannon Street • Charing Cross • Euston • Fenchurch Street • King's Cross • Liverpool Street • London Bridge • Paddington • Victoria • Waterloo |
| Managed by train operator: Blackfriars • Marylebone • Moorgate • St Pancras |
| UK railway stations |
|---|
