93-637: Miles from London Liverpool Street The Gainsborough line is the current marketing name of the Sudbury branch line , a railway branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line in the east of England , that links Marks Tey in Essex with Sudbury in Suffolk . It is 11 miles 53 chains (18.77 km) in length and single-track throughout. The line's Engineer's Line Reference
186-783: A loading gauge of W6, and a maximum speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Unlike other branches in the area, such as the Braintree branch line and Mayflower line to Harwich Town , the Gainsborough line is not electrified . New Class 755 bi-mode trains started operating on the line in January 2020. The following table summarises the line's four stations, their distance measured from London Liverpool Street , and estimated number of passenger entries/exits in 2018–19: London Liverpool Street railway station Liverpool Street station , also known as London Liverpool Street ,
279-478: A 10-acre (4.0 ha) site previously occupied by the Bethlem Royal Hospital , adjacent to Broad Street station , west of Bishopsgate and facing onto Liverpool Street to the south. The development land was compulsorily purchased , displacing around 3,000 residents of the parish of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate . Around 7,000 people living in tenements around Shoreditch were evicted to complete
372-517: A British railway station until its replacement in November 2007. In 1991, an additional entrance was constructed on the east side of Bishopsgate with a subway under the road. The station was "twinned" with Amsterdam Centraal railway station on 2 December 1993, with a plaque marking this close to the entrance to the Underground station. The station was badly damaged on 24 April 1993 by
465-534: A bus interchange in the south west corner. The Broadgate development was constructed between 1985 and 1991, with 330,000 m (3,600,000 sq ft) of office space on the site of the former Broad Street station and above the Liverpool Street tracks. Proceeds from the Broadgate development were used to help fund the station modernisation. In 1988, The Arcade above the underground station on
558-404: A carriage on a train about to depart, another hit carriages used by army doctors; the death toll at the station itself was 16 dead and 15 injured. It was the deadliest single raid on Britain during the war. Over 1,000 GER employees who died during the war were honoured on a large marble memorial installed in the booking hall, unveiled on 22 June 1922 by Sir Henry Wilson . On his return home from
651-580: A connection with the Dutchflyer ferry to Hook of Holland . Stansted Express trains provide a link to Stansted Airport and Southend Victoria-bound services stop at Southend Airport . Most passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line are operated by Greater Anglia . Since 2015, the Shenfield stopping service has been operated by Transport for London (first under the TfL Rail brand, now
744-603: A flat fare of 1/- (£4.29 as of 2023). These were suspended during World War II . All stations except Fenchurch Street and Blackfriars provided integrated taxi services on opening. These originally had dedicated access roads to the station platforms when cabs were horse-drawn, while later purpose-built roads were built for road traffic. In the early 20th century, stations were expanded and upgraded to fit demand. Six terminal stations (Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Cannon Street, Blackfriars and London Bridge) have been completely rebuilt and London Bridge has seen multiple rebuilds. Although
837-654: A journey from Brighton cannot use a "London Terminals" ticket to travel to Euston or Paddington, as there is no permitted route to them using National Rail services alone. The concept of permitted routes did not exist until the National Routeing Guide was introduced: British Rail used the term "reasonable route", and in respect of the London station group merely stated that journeys between the origin station and London were "subject to normal route availabilities". The first London terminal stations were built in
930-488: A main central station at Farringdon , which would connect out to all branch lines. In 1846, the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini was established to see if it was appropriate to bring the terminal stations any further and possibly connect with each other, as per Pearson's plans. The report concluded this was unnecessary, a single terminal was undesirable as it would create too much congestion and it
1023-606: A plaque commemorating mariner Charles Fryatt who was executed in 1916 for ramming a German U-boat with the GER steamer SS Brussels . By the early 1900s, the success of deep-bore electric trains on the Underground suggested that local services out of London could also be electrified. Following the war, the GER needed more capacity out of Liverpool Street as it was at capacity (serving almost 230,000 passengers daily in 1921), but they could not afford electrification. They considered high-powered and high-tractive steam locomotives including
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#17327908579481116-614: A replacement for Bishopsgate station as the Great Eastern Railway 's main London terminus. By 1895, it had the most platforms of any London terminal station. During the First World War , an air raid on the station killed 16 on site, and 146 others in nearby areas. In the build-up to the Second World War , the station served as the entry point for thousands of child refugees arriving in London as part of
1209-519: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic , Liverpool Street was the third-busiest railway station in the United Kingdom, after London Waterloo and London Victoria , with an estimated 66 million passenger entries and exits. Patronage fell by 83% in the 12 months to 31 March 2021, to 11.2 million entries and exits, as a result of the pandemic. In 2022 / 2023, it was ranked as the busiest station in
1302-422: A specialised glass case with original objects and a bronze sculpture of a girl, a direct descendant of a child rescued by Nicholas Winton , who unveiled the work. The objects included in the sculpture began to deteriorate in bad weather, and a replacement bronze memorial, Kindertransport – The Arrival by Frank Meisler was installed as a replacement at the main entrance in November 2006. The child statue from
1395-477: A ticket to take a train to several different London terminals, including London Bridge , London Charing Cross , London Cannon Street , Victoria , Blackfriars , City Thameslink or Waterloo via Clapham Junction . The ticket cannot be used to travel to any station using any non-National Rail modes of transport, including the London Underground , Docklands Light Railway or London Buses . Therefore,
1488-682: Is SUD. Prior to the Beeching cuts initiated in the 1960s, the line, then known as the Stour Valley Railway , continued beyond Sudbury to Shelford in Cambridgeshire. Today the line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7 , SRS 07.10, and is classified as a rural line. As of December 2016 the stations and all trains serving them are operated by Greater Anglia . The typical service frequency
1581-698: Is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London , in the ward of Bishopsgate Without . It is the terminus of the West Anglia Main Line to Cambridge , the Great Eastern Main Line to Norwich , commuter trains serving east London and destinations in the East of England , and the Stansted Express service to Stansted Airport . The station opened in 1874, as
1674-483: Is in fare zone 1. There is no wheelchair access to the tube lines, except from the eastbound Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, which have a ramp leading to the platform. Liverpool Street had been designed to integrate with the expanding London Underground network, and served as a new terminus for the Metropolitan Railway (MR) which extended east from Moorgate . From 1874 to 1875,
1767-489: Is one train per hour in each direction, with a timetabled journey time between one terminus and the other of 19 minutes. The Stour Valley Railway opened on 9 August 1865, linking Shelford near Cambridge with Marks Tey in Essex, with 13 intermediate stations along the line. The section between Shelford and Sudbury was closed on 6 March 1967 following the Beeching cuts , leaving Bures and Chappel & Wakes Colne as
1860-604: The Kindertransport rescue mission. The station was damaged by the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing and, during the 7 July 2005 bombing , seven passengers were killed when a bomb exploded aboard an Underground train, just after it had departed from Liverpool Street. New platforms for the Elizabeth line opened in 2022 as part of the Crossrail project. Liverpool Street was built as a dual-level station, with provision for
1953-521: The A10 ). The main train shed was to be a two-span wood construction with a central void providing light and ventilation to the lower station, and the station buildings were to be in an Italianate style to the designs of the GER's architect. The line and station construction were authorised by the Great Eastern Railway (Metropolitan Station and Railways) Act 1864. The station was built on
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#17327908579482046-518: The Bishopsgate bombing and was temporarily closed as a result. About £250,000 of damage was caused to the station, primarily to the glass roof. The station re-opened on 26 April 1993. In 2013, during excavation work for the Crossrail project, a 2-acre (0.8 ha) mass burial ground dating from the 17th century was uncovered a few feet beneath the surface at Liverpool Street, the so-called Bedlam burial ground or New Churchyard . It contained
2139-543: The Elizabeth line ), and the Lea Valley Lines to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford are operated by London Overground . A small number of late-evening and weekend services operated by c2c run via Barking . The station is split into two “halves”: the "west" side for the Lea Valley Lines services and the "east" side for services via Shenfield. Trains on the central section of
2232-643: The GER Class A55 as a possible alternative, but these were rejected because of high track loadings. An alternative scheme was introduced, using a combination of automatic signalling and modifications to the layout at Liverpool Street. The station introduced coaling, watering, and other maintenance facilities directly at the station, as well as separate engine bays and a modified track and station layout that reduced turnaround times and increased productivity. Services began on 2 July 1920 with trains to Chingford and Enfield running every 10 minutes. The cost of
2325-485: The Great Eastern Railway and North London Railway with Liverpool Street and Broad Street respectively. The only main railway line built across Central London was the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) line connecting Blackfriars to Farringdon via Snow Hill Tunnel in 1866. Railway construction in London reached a peak between the mid-1850s and 1870s, where an estimated £40 million (£4,691 million as of 2023)
2418-680: The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) as part of the reorganisation of railway companies in 1923 . Liverpool Street came under ownership of the LNER, and suffered from a general lack of attention and neglect throughout the 1930s. The station master in 1935 was H C R Calver and he had 395 staff under him with his direct reports, including ticket office, parcels staff, signalmen, platform inspectors and porters. Of this number, 75 were passed for fogging duties for when additional staff were required for safe operation of trains in foggy conditions. In addition to this there were many other staff employed at
2511-673: The Tory Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool in 1829) was to be built for the use of the GER and of the East London Railway on two levels, with the underground East London line around 37 ft (11 m) below this, and the GER tracks supported on brick arches. The station was planned to be around 630 by 200 ft (192 by 61 m) in area, with its main façade onto Liverpool Street and an additional entrance on Bishopsgate-Street (now called Bishopsgate and forming part of
2604-656: The Underground . A tube station opened in 1875 for the Metropolitan Railway ; the tube station is now served by the Central , Circle , Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines . It is in fare zone 1 and is managed directly by Network Rail . With 94.5 million passengers between April 2023 and March 2024, it was the busiest station in the United Kingdom, according to the Office of Rail and Road. The new London Overground line names and colours were introduced across
2697-543: The Abercon Rooms was built in 1901, designed by Colonel Robert William Edis . The hotel includes the Hamilton Rooms, named after former GER chairman Lord Claud Hamilton . Although initially viewed as an expensive white elephant , within 10 years the station was working at capacity (about 600 trains per day) and the GER was acquiring land to the east of the station for expansion. An Act of Parliament
2790-509: The Arcade at the time. In 1989, the first visual display unit-controlled signalling operation on British Rail (known as an Integrated Electronic Control Centre ) became operational at Liverpool Street. The redeveloped Liverpool Street was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 5 December 1991. At that time a giant departures board was installed above the concourse; it was one of the last remaining mechanical 'flapper' display boards at
2883-624: The Broadgate development, with links to the existing Underground station, and a pedestrian link via the new platforms to the ticket hall of Moorgate , providing direct access to London Underground's Northern line and the National Rail Northern City Line at Moorgate. Thus, Liverpool Street appears on the Tube map as an interchange with Moorgate, similarly to Bank and Monument . In the 12 months to 31 March 2020, immediately before travel restrictions were introduced as
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2976-737: The Elizabeth line run west towards Paddington and east to Abbey Wood in south-east London. The typical off-peak weekday service pattern from Liverpool Street is: Liverpool Street Underground station is served by the Central , Circle , Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines , and is the sixth-busiest on the London Underground network. On the Central line it is between Bank and Bethnal Green stations, on Circle and Metropolitan lines between Aldgate and Moorgate and, on Hammersmith and City, between Aldgate East and Moorgate. In common with other tube stations serving Central London termini, it
3069-401: The GER (still a railway office in 1935) was adjacent to Liverpool Street and some departments in that building also had roles in the operation of the station. Further to that the newspaper companies provided their own staff to load newspaper trains. In 1935 the approaches to Liverpool Street and the station itself, were controlled by seven signal boxes, which fell under the responsibility of
3162-508: The Kent memorial was re-erected separately in 2011. During the war, the station's structure sustained damage from a nearby bomb, particularly the Gothic tower at the main entrance on Liverpool Street and its glass roof. As a precautionary measure the large and weighty West Side hanging clock was brought down to platform level and served as an enquiry office for the duration of the war. After
3255-540: The LCDR's line via Blackfriars and Farringdon almost bankrupted the company and left it in financial ruin for the rest of its existence. The 1864 Joint Committee on Railway Schemes (Metropolis) decided that, following the success of the underground Metropolitan Railway , that a circular railway should be built to connect the terminals, which eventually became the Circle line , though it was not completed until 1884. By 1870,
3348-459: The Liverpool Street station master. The boxes were: Thousands of Jewish refugee children arrived at Liverpool Street in the late 1930s as part of the Kindertransport rescue mission to save them in the run up to the Second World War . The Für Das Kind Kindertransport Memorial sculpture by artist Flor Kent was installed at the station in September 2003 commemorating this event. It consisted of
3441-569: The Liverpool Street-Shenfield stopping "metro" service from 2015. At the same time, services on the Lea Valley Lines out of Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford transferred to London Overground . The central section of the Elizabeth line opened on 24 May 2022 between Paddington and Abbey Wood. The Elizabeth line platforms are to the south-west of the existing tube station building. A new ticket hall with step-free access opened next to
3534-401: The London rail network in November 2024 Liverpool Street station was built as the new London terminus of the Great Eastern Railway (GER) which served Norwich and King's Lynn . The GER had been formed from the merger of several railway companies, inheriting Bishopsgate as its London terminus. Bishopsgate was inadequate for the company's passenger traffic; its Shoreditch location was in
3627-467: The MR used the Liverpool Street main line station as a terminus; the company opened its own station on 12 July 1875, initially named Bishopsgate . Subsurface platforms 1 and 2 were opened in 1875. A west-facing bay platform, platform 3, was formerly located to the south of platform 2; this was used by terminating Metropolitan line trains from the west. It was in use by 1896, and was still in use in 1974, but
3720-629: The UK, with 80.4 million entries and exits, the increase being attributed to the opening of the Elizabeth line in May 2022. Trains depart from the main line station for destinations across the east of England , including Norwich , Southminster , Ipswich , Clacton-on-Sea , Colchester , Chelmsford , Southend Victoria , Cambridge , Harlow Town , Hertford East , Broxbourne and many suburban stations in north and east London, Essex and Hertfordshire . A few daily express trains to Harwich International provide
3813-404: The areas around them. Both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations have been modernised in the 21st century, and are now better regarded. Many goods sheds have been removed, and the area surrounding the stations includes a natural swimming pool, and numerous new apartments. The four former London and North Eastern Railway terminals (King's Cross, Marylebone, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street) are
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3906-542: The boom in building London terminals had finished. The final one to open was the Great Central Railway 's Marylebone , in 1899. By this time, around 776 acres (1.21 square miles; 3.14 square kilometres), or 5.4% of land in the central zone of London was owned by railway companies, more than the Corporation of London . The problem of connecting the various London terminals was ultimately resolved by
3999-465: The city authorities did not permit the more southerly location. By 1865, plans changed to include a circa 1-mile (1.6 km) long line branching from the main line east of the company's existing terminus in Shoreditch, and a new station at Liverpool Street as the main terminus, with Bishopsgate station to be used for freight traffic. The station at Liverpool Street (the street had been named after
4092-426: The corner of Liverpool Street and Old Broad Street was due to be completely demolished by London Regional Transport and MEPC, who wanted to develop the site into a five-storey block of offices and shops. More than 6,000 people signed a petition to "Save the Arcade", and the historic Victorian building still stands today. The campaign against the development was led by Graham Horwood, who owned an employment agency within
4185-412: The development of the Underground. The Metropolitan Railway, which opened in 1863, was designed to connect Paddington with King's Cross. The Circle Line was designed specifically to connect the London terminals together. All terminal stations had at least one underground connection by 1913, except Fenchurch Street , Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct . As an alternative to the tube, buses have connected
4278-424: The eastern main lines, and 450 ft (140 m) long over the local platforms; the station had 10 platforms, two of which were used for main-line trains and the remainder for suburban trains. The station was built with a connection to the sub-surface Metropolitan Railway , with the platform sunk below ground level; consequently there are considerable gradients leaving the station. The Metropolitan Railway used
4371-457: The end of each day is extended to Colchester . The line runs across the Chappel viaduct , which has 30 arches each with a 35-foot (11 m) span, with a maximum height of 75 feet (23 m), and was the longest viaduct on the Great Eastern Railway . The East Anglian Railway Museum is located alongside the station at Chappel & Wakes Colne . The line is single track throughout, has
4464-494: The formation of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, work to electrify the line from Liverpool Street to Shenfield began in association with the LNER. Progress had been halted by the war but work resumed after the end of hostilities. The line between Liverpool Street and Stratford was electrified from 3 December 1946, and the full electrification of the Shenfield line at 1500 V DC
4557-581: The group fall within London fare zone 1 . A ticket marked "London Terminals" allows travel to any station in the group via any permitted route, as determined by the National Routeing Guide . Most London terminal stations were developed in the mid-19th century during the initial boom of rail transport. Many stations were built around the edge of central London, stopping at what is now the London Inner Ring Road , because it
4650-632: The group includes four stations ( City Thameslink , Old Street , Vauxhall and Waterloo East ) that are not technically terminals but are used enough as a destination by National Rail to be considered appropriate as a "London Terminal" for ticketing purposes. The composition of the group has changed several times since 1983, when 18 stations were included: Blackfriars, Broad Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Euston, Fenchurch Street, Holborn Viaduct, Kings Cross, Kings Cross Midland City, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Marylebone, Moorgate, Paddington, St Pancras, Vauxhall, Victoria and Waterloo. Waterloo East
4743-463: The heart of one of the poorest slums in London and hence badly situated for the City of London commuters the company wanted to attract. Consequently, the GER planned a more central station. The original intention was to build a terminus which reached as far south as the road London Wall , and which would be as tall as the Broad Street station which was being planned at the same time, however
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#17327908579484836-424: The initial First World War biplane air raid on London, took place on 13 June 1917, when 20 Gotha G.IV bombers attacked the capital. The raid struck a number of sites including Liverpool Street. Seven tons of explosives were dropped on the capital, killing 162 people and injuring 432. Three bombs hit the station, of which two exploded, having fallen through the train shed roof, near to two trains. One of these hit
4929-531: The late 1830s (starting with London Bridge in 1836) and the early to mid 1840s. Those north of the Thames came up to the edge of richly-developed property that was too expensive to demolish, while property south of the river contained slums and cheap property, making it easier to have terminal stations close to the City and West End, both the main desired areas. The solicitor and railway planner Charles Pearson proposed
5022-531: The line towards Liverpool Street, while the City of London Theatre and City of London Gasworks were both demolished. To manage the disruption caused by rehousing, the company was required by the 1864 Act to run daily low-cost workmen's trains from the station. The station was designed by GER engineer Edward Wilson and built by Lucas Brothers ; the roof was designed and constructed by the Fairburn Engineering Company. The overall design
5115-642: The line was designated as a community railway by the transport minister and is part of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership. The current name of the line commemorates the painter Thomas Gainsborough , who was born in Sudbury; the previous name was the Lovejoy line, after the television series Lovejoy , which was filmed in the Sudbury area. All passenger services on the line are currently operated by Greater Anglia , which runs an hourly service in each direction. The last departure from Sudbury at
5208-631: The local people forced entry, others that staff decided to open the gates to everyone without asking for tickets, something which would have been technically illegal. London station group The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London , England. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, and 4 other through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in
5301-488: The modern concept of listed buildings had been introduced with the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act 1947 , stations were not high priority to be listed. While some had impressive facades and entrances, Victorian stations were not looked upon favourably in the 1960s and had become gradually neglected. One of the most significant examples was the demolition of the Euston Arch in 1962 as part of modernisation works to
5394-599: The modifications was £80,000 compared to an estimated £3 million for electrification. The service was officially called the Intensive Service (as it allowed a 50% increase in capacity on peak services), but became popularly known as the Jazz Service. It lasted until the General Strike of 1926, following which services generally declined. The GER amalgamated with several other railways to form
5487-517: The name "LONDON BRIT RAIL" was adopted. After the privatisation of British Rail , the name "LONDON" on its own was used from the end of 1997 until April 1998, when the present designation "LONDON TERMINALS" was introduced. All stations in the London group are in London fare zone 1 and most are at the end of a railway line. This includes major national terminals such as Waterloo , Paddington , Euston and King's Cross , and local commuter terminals such as Cannon Street and Moorgate . In addition,
5580-517: The network; the first London terminal, London Bridge has been rebuilt and expanded on numerous occasions, and of the major 19th century terminals, only Broad Street and Holborn Viaduct have closed. The latter was replaced by the nearby City Thameslink . The London terminals had a significant impact on the local area. Originally, the demolition of poor properties, particularly south of the River Thames , caused blight and deprived areas around
5673-536: The office development, known as Broadgate , began. Railway work included the construction of a short link from the North London Line to the Cambridge main line, allowing trains that had previously used Broad Street to terminate at Liverpool Street. The station was reconstructed with a single concourse at the head of the station platforms, and entrances from Bishopsgate and Liverpool Street, as well as
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#17327908579485766-419: The only stops between the termini. In 2005 the line received around £3 million of investment, which saw around 5 miles (8 km) of old jointed track replaced with new continuous welded rail. Further investment was made in 2006 to replace around 6 miles (10 km) of track, leaving just the Chappel viaduct and Lamarsh to Sudbury sections in need of modernisation. This work was completed in 2007. In 2006
5859-429: The parish boundary with Bishopsgate-Street Without. A new roof was built over the new construction. The outer wall was constructed with Staffordshire blue brick and Ruabon bricks . The four train shed roofs were carried out by Messrs. Handyside and Co. , supervised by a Mr Sherlock, the resident engineer; all the foundations, earthwork and brickwork were carried out by Mowlem & Co . Electric power (for lighting)
5952-476: The remains of several hundred people and it is thought that the interments were of a wide variety of people, including plague victims, prisoners and unclaimed corpses. A 16th-century gold coin, thought to have been used as a sequin or pendant, was also found. In early 2015 full scale excavation of the burials began, then estimated at 3,000 interments. In advance of the full opening of the Elizabeth line , precursor operator TfL Rail took over from Greater Anglia
6045-408: The site. Liverpool Street had a number of design and access issues, many of which derived from the 1890 extension which had effectively created two stations on one site, with two concourses linked by walkways, booking halls, and inefficient traffic flows within the station. Additionally the rail infrastructure presented limitations; only seven of the platforms could accommodate 12-carriage trains, and
6138-444: The standard supply of 25 kV AC. The inquiry recommended that the western (1875) train shed roof should be retained in new development; consequently it was repaired and reinforced between 1982 and 1984, followed by repairs to the main roof completed in 1987. Initial plans included adding two additional tracks, with 22 platforms in a layout similar to that of Waterloo station ; the combined Broad Street and Liverpool Street station
6231-492: The station as a terminus from 1 February 1875 until 11 July 1875; their own underground station opened on 12 July 1875, and the Metropolitan Railway connection was closed in 1904. Local trains began serving the partially completed station from 2 October 1874, and it was fully opened on 1 November 1875, at a final cost of over £2 million. The original City terminus at Bishopsgate closed to passengers and
6324-404: The station on a variety of duties including policemen (uniformed and plain clothes), locomotive staff, permanent way staff, carriage and wagon examiners, steam heat examiners, electric and gas examiners, telegraph staff, linemen, signal fitters, Goods Manager's Despatch Office staff, outside porters, hotel porters, staff from the continental office and GPO staff. The former headquarters building of
6417-499: The station, while the area around Kings Cross became run-down. An important exception was the Victorian Gothic structure of St Pancras , which became a Grade I listed building in 1967 after being threatened with demolition. Similarly, King's Cross and Paddington became Grade I listed in 1954 and 1961 respectively. In 1986, Broad Street, which had been a major London terminal for local and commuter services, closed. It
6510-555: The station. This has changed in the 21st century, where development around the main terminals has been well-received and attracted occupants and businesses. Until 1970, railway tickets to London were issued to a specific named terminal. From April of that year, Southern Region terminals were grouped together as a "notional common station" called "LONDON S.R."; tickets issued to this destination were valid to Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Holborn Viaduct, London Bridge, Vauxhall, Victoria, Waterloo and Waterloo East. The concept
6603-532: The time the station was built, which was eventually cleared away in 1867 when the London and South Western Railway made a compulsory purchase order for the properties and demolished them, to accommodate an expanded station. A significant exception was the later-constructed Marylebone, while Charing Cross was less affected by slum building than neighbouring stations. Around Battersea and New Cross , railway lines and interchanges occupied about 300 acres (120 ha) of available space. The low-income property that
6696-496: The track exit layout was a bottleneck. In 1975 British Railways announced plans to demolish and redevelop both stations. The proposed demolition met considerable public opposition and prompted a campaign led by the Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman , leading to a public inquiry from November 1976 to February 1977. In autumn 1980 conversion of the overhead electrification from 6.25 kV AC to
6789-498: The unveiling ceremony, Wilson was assassinated by two Irish Republican Army members. He was commemorated by a memorial plaque adjoining the GER monument, unveiled one month after his death. The GER memorial was relocated during the modification of the station and now incorporates both the Wilson and Fryatt memorials, as well as a number of railway related architectural elements salvaged from demolished buildings. The station also has
6882-578: The various terminals. In 1928, the Southern Railway , London and North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway began to provide dedicated buses between their terminals for Pullman and Continental trains. These were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) upon its formation in 1933, and replaced with regular bus services. From 1936, the LPTB supplied purpose-build 20-seater coaches for this services, with large luggage boots and
6975-456: The works, with 137 put into existing property and the remaining 600 into tenements constructed at the company's expense. By the turn of the 20th century, Liverpool Street had one of the most extensive suburban rail services in London, including branches to Southend Victoria and Woodford , and was one of the busiest in the world. In 1912, around 200,000 passengers used the station daily on around 1,000 separate trains. Operation Turkenkreuz ,
7068-430: Was approximately Gothic , built using stock bricks and bath stone dressings. The building incorporated booking offices as well as the company offices of the GER, including chairman's, board, committee, secretary and engineers' rooms. The roof was spanned by four wrought iron spans, two central spans of 109 ft (33 m) and outer spans of 46 and 44 ft (14 and 13 m), 730 ft (220 m) in length over
7161-440: Was available, creating slums, and the immediate area around the stations were filled with cheap souvenir shops and prostitutes. Conversely, the middle class moved out into suburbs which now had easy access to Central London via train, and railway traffic increased. Around 76,000 people lost their homes between 1853 and 1901 as a direct result of rail expansion. The area around Waterloo had already become notorious for prostitution by
7254-442: Was completed in September 1949. At the same time, electrification of London Underground services in Essex and in northeast and east London led to the withdrawal of some services from Liverpool Street, being replaced with LU operations. Electrification continued with the line to Chingford electrified by November 1960. In 1960-61 conversion of the 1500 V DC route to Shenfield which had been extended to Southend and Chelmsford
7347-459: Was converted for use as a goods station from 1881. This continued until it was destroyed by fire in 1964. The Great Eastern Hotel adjoining the new Liverpool Street station opened in May 1884. It was designed by Charles Barry Jr. (son of the celebrated architect Charles Barry who designed the Houses of Parliament ). Upon opening, it was the only hotel in the City of London. An extension called
7440-591: Was converted to 6.25 kV AC. In 1973 the British Railways Board , London Transport Executive , Greater London Council and the Department of the Environment produced a report examining the modernisation of London transport. It recommended high priority given to reconstructing Liverpool Street and Broad Street stations and recommended financing this through property development on
7533-401: Was destroyed by building the stations was generally not replaced, and consequently the remaining accommodation became overcrowded. The proliferation of railway lines south of the Thames is why the Underground has more lines north of the river, as it did not have alternative overground services. In contrast to the 19th century impact of stations, newer developments have seen gentrification of
7626-418: Was extended to the rest of London's terminals with effect from British Rail 's fares update of May 1983, when the London station group was created: "as part of the progress towards simplification of routes and a reduction of [separate fares] ... a common origin/destination of LONDON BR has been adopted for most London fares". Tickets to the London station group were issued to "LONDON BR" until January 1989, when
7719-491: Was feared that Marylebone and St Pancras would follow, but both have been revitalised; the former became an alternative terminal for services to Oxford and Birmingham while the latter is now the main entry point for Eurostar services via the Channel Tunnel . The various terminal stations began to affect their surrounding area once built. Those displaced by the railways crammed into whatever existing accommodation
7812-405: Was included separately from January 1984. Two years later, Moorgate was dropped from the group in favour of Old Street, and Kensington Olympia was included; this was in connection with its upgrade in early 1986 to an InterCity station with regular British Rail services from northwest England to the south coast. Moorgate was reinstated as a member of the group in May 1988, and Kensington Olympia
7905-399: Was obtained in 1888 and work started in 1890 on the eastward expansion of Liverpool Street by adding eight new tracks and platforms. This gave the station the most platforms of any London terminus until Victoria station was expanded in 1908. The main station was extended about 230 ft (70 m) eastwards; additional shops and offices were constructed east of the new train shed up to
7998-623: Was one of the first to use the Moore Vacuum Tube, a new system of lighting that produced three times as much as a normal bulb. The tube station became one of the principal shelters during the Blitz . The station was not initially open to the public as a shelter, but during heavy raids on the East End on 7 September 1940, many sought refuge at the station, which was the safest and most practical shelter for many. Some sources suggest that
8091-400: Was prohibitively expensive to build right into the centre, and because each railway was owned by a private company competing with the others. The creation of the London Underground provided a practical connection to the various terminals, which continues to be the case as of the 21st century. Many of the stations have been upgraded and modernised to provide a greater capacity and connections to
8184-532: Was redundant by 1994. The underground station was renamed Liverpool Street on 1 November 1909. In 1912, after the completion of an extension project from Bank , the underground station became a new terminus of the Central London Railway (CLR). The platforms that are now the deep-level Central line platforms 4 and 5 opened as the eastern terminus of the CLR on 28 July 1912. The tube station
8277-416: Was removed from the list in May 1994 as British Rail decided to make fares to and from the station identical to those of neighbouring station Willesden Junction . Tickets issued to "LONDON TERMINALS" can be used to travel from the station of origin to any London terminal that can be reached via a permitted route as defined by the National Routeing Guide . For example, a journey from Brighton can use such
8370-441: Was spent constructing routes around the capital. The competition between terminals led to increased costs and financial overruns. Around £2 million (£235 million as of 2023) was spent constructing the final approach of the GER main line from the original terminal at Bishopsgate to Liverpool Street, while the extension from London Bridge to Cannon Street and Charing Cross cost £4 million (£469 million as of 2023). The construction of
8463-489: Was supplied from an engine house north of the station. Additional civil works included three iron bridges carrying road traffic over the railway on Skinner, Primrose and Worship Streets. The bridge ironwork was supplied and erected by the Horseley Company . John Wilson was chief engineer, with W. N. Ashbee as architect. As part of the works, the GER was obliged by Parliament to rehouse all tenants displaced by
8556-452: Was to be at the level of the latter, with relatively low-rise office developments. The development was reassessed in 1983/4, when it was decided to retain the existing six-road exit throat and 18-platform layout, in combination with resignalling; this resulted in a station confined to the Liverpool Street site, with ground space released for development. British Railways signed an agreement with developers Rosehaugh Stanhope in 1985, and work on
8649-527: Was too expensive to demolish remaining property in the way. The Royal Commission recommended that no new stations should be built in the West End of London or the city, and that the New Road should be the northern boundary of railway development. This created competition between the individual railway companies, who could promote new terminals with individual financial backers. Exemptions were made for
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