Broad Street Station
Broad Street was a major train station in the British capital, London . It was on the northern edge of the City of London , right next to Liverpool Street Station and served as the terminus of the North London Railway . It was demolished in 1986 and is the only terminated terminus in central London that has not been replaced.
history
Broad Street Station opened in 1865 and served as the terminus of a larger network of suburban railroad lines that connected the east and west of the city to the city center via the North London Line . It had nine platforms and was the busiest station in London after Liverpool Street and Victoria . At the beginning of the 20th century there was a departure or an arrival practically every minute during rush hour. In 1902 alone the station had 27 million passengers. For a number of years the Great Northern Railway also ran to Broad Street, complementing its own King's Cross station a few miles further west.
However, over time, the North London Line lost most of its passengers to the expanding networks of buses, trams and underground trains ; the station was used less and less. It was badly damaged during the Second World War and never fully repaired afterwards. Suburban traffic towards Poplar in Docklands was discontinued during the war and not resumed afterwards.
The main building was closed in 1956, and passengers had to buy their tickets in a makeshift facility at the head of the platforms. In 1963, the final closure was planned, but local interest groups convinced the government to give the station a final reprieve. However, nothing was invested in the maintenance and the offer was gradually reduced.
In 1967 most of the roof had to be removed because of the risk of collapse. In 1969 four of the nine platforms and the freight yard were permanently closed. After the Northern City Line opened in 1976, local trains to the eastern suburbs ceased to operate during rush hour. The station was falling into disrepair; Even trees grew between the unused platforms.
In 1985, only 6,000 passengers a week were using the station, and just 300 arrived here during the morning rush hour. With the timetable change in May 1985, the trains to Richmond dropped out, so that only a few trains to Watford Junction remained. These departed from the outer end of the only platform still in use, because demolition of the main building began in November of this year. The last platform was in operation until June 28, 1986 when the station was finally closed.
The large office and shopping center Broadgate was built on the site of the former train station . Nothing remains of the station itself. With the exception of the short southernmost section, the viaduct, which led from the North London Line to Broad Street, has been used by the extended East London Line since 2010 .
Paul McCartney immortalized the crumbling train station in 1984 on the album Give My Regards to Broad Street and in the accompanying film Broad Street .
WG Sebald describes the demolition work in Austerlitz and the remains of the burial and bleaching fields that came to light (p. 188ff).
Web links
- London Destruction, Broad Street Station (memory of the station Broad Street) ( en ) Accessed November 29 of 2009.
- Disused Stations: Broad Street (accessed November 12, 2017)
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 8 ″ N , 0 ° 5 ′ 2 ″ W.