| London Blackfriars | |
 Station entrance to Queen Victoria Street |
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  Blackfriars
Location of Blackfriars in Central London |
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| Location | Blackfriars |
|---|---|
| Local authority | City of London |
| Managed by | First Capital Connect |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Station code | BFR |
| Platforms in use | 2 |
| Fare zone | 1 |
| NR 2004/5 usage | 7.783 million[1] |
| NR 2005/6 usage | 8.259 million[1] |
| NR 2006/7 usage | 11.852 million[1] |
| NR 2007/8 usage | 13.342 million[1] |
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| 10 May 1886 | Opened |
| 20 March 2009 | Terminal platforms closed |
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| List of stations | Underground · National Rail |
| External links | Departures • Facilities |
Coordinates: 51°30′42″N 0°06′11″W / 51.5116°N 0.103°W
Blackfriars station, also known as London Blackfriars,[2] is a London Underground and National Rail station in the City of London, England. It is adjacent to Blackfriars Bridge at the junction of New Bridge Street and Queen Victoria Street and is in Travelcard Zone 1. The Underground station is closed to all passengers until 2011 while refurbishment and major engineering works take place.
Contents |
National Rail
Services
This station is currently served by through services on the Thameslink route operated by First Capital Connect and Southeastern. This includes trains from Bedford, St Albans and Luton in the north; and Brighton, Sutton and Sevenoaks in the south.[3] Trains travelling south from the station run via London Bridge or Elephant & Castle and trains to the north next call at City Thameslink. Before March 2009 some services from the south terminated at three bay platforms, which have been removed in renovation works.
History
The mainline railway station was opened as St Paul's by the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) on 10 May 1886 when it opened the St Pauls Railway Bridge across the River Thames.
The St Paul's bridge was constructed to supplement the LC&DR's existing Blackfriars railway bridge, which had opened in 1864. This carried trains on the LC&DR's busy City Line from south London into the LC&DR stations at Ludgate Hill, Holborn Viaduct and, via the Snow Hill tunnel and a connection to the Metropolitan Railway near Farringdon, on to King's Cross and St Pancras stations.
Before the opening of St Paul's station, the earlier LC&DR Blackfriars Bridge station on the south side of the river was closed to passenger traffic on 1 October 1885 and became a goods-only station.
St Paul's station was renamed Blackfriars on 1 February 1937. Gradually, the structure of the original Blackfriars railway bridge deteriorated until it was unsound. The bridge deck was removed in 1985 and only the piers in the river and the orange bridge abutments remain.
The station was rebuilt along with the Underground station in the mid 1970s and was formally reopened on 30 November 1977. A part of the stonework elevation from the 1886 LC&DR station has been preserved at platform level in the mainline station indicating many destinations in the south-east of England and in Europe. St Paul's Bridge is now known as the Blackfriars Railway Bridge.
Former stations
Immediately across the river on the same line was Blackfriars Bridge railway station, which accepted passengers from 1864 to 1885 and goods up to 1964. The station has been demolished but the entrance driveway remains. Further down Blackfriars Road is the entrance to an earlier Blackfriars station which operated from 1864 to 1868 as part of the competing South Eastern Railway. The bricked up entrance and preserved engraved station name can be seen under the railway bridge carrying the railway between London Bridge and Waterloo East over Blackfriars Road. At track level the space occupied by the platforms can be seen.
Future
Blackfriars station will be rebuilt and the office building above it demolished and replaced. The Underground station at Blackfriars is closed while the works take place (the mainline station will remain open). While the station was originally planned to close for 24 months[4] this was later extended to up to 36 months. The station closed on 2 March 2009 and is provisionally due to reopen on 4 September 2011.[5]
The platform layout will be altered by closing the old terminus platforms on the east side of the station and building new ones on the west side.[6] This means trains between City Thameslink and London Bridge will no longer have to cross the lines that lead to the terminus platforms. After the closure of the existing terminus platforms in March 2009, the through platforms will be extended along Blackfriars Railway Bridge over the River Thames to accommodate twelve-car trains (in place of eight today).
The works will involve making use of the disused piers which lie west of the existing railway bridge. The number of terminating platforms will be reduced from three to two in the process, but some terminating services will become through services, and the increased length will allow longer trains to terminate at Blackfriars. In addition there will be an additional station entrance on the South Bank and the ticket offices for National Rail and LUL services will be combined.[6]
Service patterns
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Thameslink Farringdon on Sundays |
First Capital Connect Thameslink Bedford-Brighton |
London Bridge | ||
| First Capital Connect Thameslink Sutton Loop |
Elephant & Castle | |||
| City Thameslink | First Capital Connect Northbound |
Elephant & Castle | ||
| Southeastern Southbound Bedford-Sevenoaks |
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| Disused railways | ||||
| Ludgate Hill | London, Chatham & Dover Railway City Branch |
Blackfriars Bridge | ||
London Underground
 Platforms closed in 2009 |
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| Location | Blackfriars |
|---|---|
| Local authority | City of London |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Platforms in use | 2 |
| Fare zone | 1 |
| LUL 2005 usage | 11.309 million[7] |
| LUL 2007 usage | 12.621 million[7] |
| LUL 2008 usage | 13.14 million[7] |
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| 1870 | Opened (MDR) |
| 1871 | Extended east (MDR) |
| 1872 | Started "Outer Circle" (NLR) |
| 1872 | Started "Middle Circle" (H&CR/MDR) |
| 1900 | Ended "Middle Circle" |
| 1908 | Ended "Outer Circle" |
| 1949 | Started (Circle line) |
| 2009 | Closed for refurbishment |
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| List of stations | Underground · National Rail |
The London Underground station is on the Circle and District lines, between Temple and Mansion House. It pre-dates the mainline station by 16 years. It is closed from 2 March 2009 until late 2011[8].
History
The station was opened on 30 May 1870 by the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR; now the District and Circle lines) as the railway's new eastern terminus when the line was extended from Westminster. The construction of the new section of the MDR was planned in conjunction with the building of the Victoria Embankment and was achieved by the cut and cover method of roofing over a shallow trench.
The MDR connected to the Metropolitan Railway (MR, later the Metropolitan Line) at South Kensington and, although the two companies were rivals, each company operated its trains over the other's tracks in a joint service known as the "Inner Circle".
On 3 July 1871 the MDR was extended eastwards to a new terminus at Mansion House.
On 1 February 1872, the MDR opened a northwards branch from Earl's Court to connect to the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line), which it connected to at Addison Road (now Kensington (Olympia)). From that date the "Outer Circle" service began running over the MDR's tracks. The service was run by the North London Railway (NLR) from its terminus at Broad Street (now demolished) in the City of London via the North London Line to Willesden Junction, then the West London Line to Addison Road and the MDR to Mansion House.
From 1 August 1872, the "Middle Circle" service began operations through the station, running from Moorgate along the MR's tracks on the north side of the Inner Circle to Paddington then over the Hammersmith & City Railway (H&CR) track to Latimer Road then, via a now demolished link, to the West London Line to Addison Road and the MDR to Mansion House. The service was operated jointly by the H&CR and the MDR.
On 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House and on 31 December 1908, the Outer Circle service was withdrawn from the MDR tracks.
In 1949, the Metropolitan Line operated Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the tube map as the Circle Line.
The Cambridge Buskers started here.
Waterloo & City Line
The Waterloo & City Line, between Waterloo and Bank, runs almost directly under Blackfriars station and there have been suggestions to construct an interchange station for the line at Blackfriars. The Department for Transport considers this to have "no significant transport benefit" [9].
| Preceding station |  London Underground |
Following station | ||
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| Closed 2009-2011 | ||||
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towards High Street Kensington
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Circle line |
towards Aldgate
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| District line |
towards Upminster
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River connections
The station is located on the north bank of the River Thames. The platforms for the Thameslink rail services extend out over the River Thames on to Blackfriars Railway Bridge. Blackfriars Bridge runs parallel to the rail bridge.
Because of its proximity to the river, interchange with London River Services commuter boats is possible from Blackfriars Millennium Pier. Services from this pier include boats to Putney, operated by Thames Executive Charters, and services between Embankment and Woolwich Arsenal, operated by Thames Clippers.
References
- ^ a b c d Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Blackfriars station from Office of Rail Regulation statistics
- ^ "Station Codes". National Rail. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/codes/. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ "Train times 22 March - 16 May 2009 Thameslink route". First Capital Connect. http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/content/doc/timetables/tttl_book_pdf_ontime_final_ver.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ Department for Transport [see paragraph 35] (2006-10-18). "Thameslink - 2006 Transport and Works Act Decision Letter". http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/twa/dl/thameslink/thameslink2006transportandwo1036?page=3. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ^ "Blackfriars Underground station to close for redevelopment". Transport for London. 2008-08-05. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/8944.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- ^ a b alwaystouchout.com (2006-10-28). "Thameslink Programme (Thameslink 2000)". http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/23. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
- ^ a b c Transport for London - London Underground performance update
- ^ "Blackfriars". Transport for London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/11207.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ "Thameslink 2000 Inspector's Report 2006, section 17.2.7". 2006-10-18. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/twa/ir/thameslinkreport/thameslink2000inspectorsrepo1034?page=31. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
External links
- London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive
- Disused stations - Blackfriars station
- Blackfriars and the City Line
- Train times and station information for Blackfriars station from National RailCoordinates: 51°30′42″N 0°06′11″W / 51.5116°N 0.103°W
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