Farringdon

Looking across the station in 2009 from the footbridge over the London Underground lines.
Farringdon Location of Farringdon in Central London
Location	Farringdon
Local authority	London Borough of Islington
Managed by	London Underground
Station code	ZFD
Number of platforms	4
Fare zone	1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2009	15.675 million[1]
2010	16.810 million[2]
2011	19.02 million[3]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2007–08	1.706 million[4]
2008–09	1.173 million[4]
2009–10	1.492 million[4]
2010–11	4.632 million[4]
10 January 1863	Opened as Farringdon Street
23 December 1865	Station relocated
26 January 1922	Renamed as Farringdon and High Holborn
21 April 1936	Renamed as Farringdon
1 July 1936	Goods yard closed[5]
December 2009	Moorgate branch severed
Listed feature	LUL station
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1298047[6]
Added to list	17 May 1994
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°31′12″N 0°06′19″W / 51.520°N 0.1053°W / 51.520; -0.1053

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. It is currently one of the less important mainline central London stations, but that will change significantly when it becomes an important interchange station between the two largest transport infrastructure programmes currently under way in London, the Thameslink Programme and Crossrail, both of which are scheduled for completion in 2018.

History [edit]

The station was opened on 10 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 a short distance from today's building. The line ran from Farringdon to Paddington, a distance of 4 mi (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.^[7]

The Metropolitan Railway's second Farringdon station, 1866.

The station frontage carrying the name 'Farringdon and High Holborn', 1989.

The lines from Farringdon to London King's Cross station run alongside the now culverted Fleet River, which was above ground 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 façade) and other indications of the Metropolitan Railway's original main-line style operation, with a sign for a "Parcel Office" surviving on the exterior wall.

After the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed in March 2009, Southeastern services that previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town, St Albans, Luton or Bedford, calling at this station.^[8] First Capital Connect trains to Moorgate ceased at the same time. Trains south of Blackfriars are operated by Southeastern, north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect.

Current developments [edit]

There are currently two major rail development projects in progress that involve Farringdon. Crossrail is an entirely new east-west railway, scheduled to open in 2018; the Thameslink programme is a major upgrade to the existing north-south Thameslink route, enabling longer and more frequent trains, scheduled to be completed in 2018.

After the completion of Crossrail, Farringdon will be one of the country's busiest stations by number of trains passing through.^[9] It will be the only station where passengers can change between Crossrail and Thameslink. A new building, housing a dedicated ticket hall, has been constructed to serve these extra passengers. The new building is to the immediate south of the current station, which itself has been upgraded as part of the programme.

An additional entrance has also been built at the north end of the current station, serving Turnmill Street.

Thameslink upgrade [edit]

First Capital Connect unit 319447 heads south from Farringdon. On the left is the blocked-off branch to Moorgate, closed as part of the Thameslink upgrade.

Farringdon Station has been rebuilt^[10] to accommodate longer Thameslink trains and to make other improvements to the station.^[11] The existing station building has been refurbished with a new roof canopy covering the north end of all four platforms and a permanent new entrance and concourse facing Turnmill Street. An additional ticket hall has been built on the south side of Cowcross Street providing access to the Thameslink platforms, which have been extended southwards underneath this building, allowing the station to handle 240m (12-car) trains. Platforms have been widened to accommodate increased passenger numbers. This process required the bridge that formed Cowcross Street to be demolished and rebuilt.^[12] Cowcross Street will be pedestrianised.^[13] Lifts have been provided throughout.

The existing listed ticket hall and concourse have been remodelled, for use by London Underground and Thameslink passengers.^[14] Interchange within the station has been improved by removing the interchange bridge and installing new stairs and lifts with access to all four platforms, allowing passengers with impaired mobility to use the station.^[15]

It was necessary to build the Thameslink platform extensions to the south, since there is a sharp gradient to the immediate north of the station. This has resulted in the two-station branch to Moorgate being permanently closed.^[16] The platform extensions cross the former Moorgate line and reach within a few metres of the entrance of the Snow Hill Tunnel.^[17] The alternative of realigning both the Thameslink and Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines was impractical as the latter crosses over the former on a bridge almost immediately to the north of the station.^[17]

Crossrail development [edit]

Farringdon Crossrail station is being built between Farringdon and Barbican underground (tube) stations and it will have interchanges with both of them.^[18] Access at the Farringdon end will be via the new Thameslink ticket hall. Work is anticipated to be complete in 2018.^[19][20] Crossrail will link Farringdon to two more London airports (City and Heathrow), the Olympic Park in Stratford, Canary Wharf, Bond Street/Oxford Street and Maidenhead. The station will also be a hub for cross-London travel, being the only station to be on both the north-south Thameslink service and the east-west Crossrail service.^[21]

Dual traction current supply [edit]

Warning to drivers heading south from Farringdon in August 2012

Farringdon station is notable because First Capital Connect trains switch between the 25 kV AC overhead supply used to the north of London and the 750 V DC third rail supply used to the south while standing at the platform. The trains that formerly ran to Moorgate used 25 kV AC throughout their journeys.

Until the start of the Thameslink Programme southbound trains that were unable to switch to DC were taken out of service at Farringdon and stabled at Moorgate to prevent them from blocking the core section of the Thameslink route. As this option is no longer possible the catenary has been extended to City Thameslink to enable these trains to continue to the southbound platform ^[22] at City Thameslink using AC and then return northwards using the new crossover in Snow Hill Tunnel.^[23] The pantograph on southbound trains is normally lowered at Farringdon.

Underground trains serving Farringdon use the four-rail 630 V DC system.

Nearest places [edit]

Farringdon (LUL) station in 2000

• Clerkenwell
• Smithfield
• Barbican Estate
• Finsbury Estate
• Holborn
• Old Street
• Shoreditch

Services [edit]

Farringdon is served by the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines of the London Underground.

Farringdon is in the core of the Thameslink network, and is served by First Capital Connect. These Class 377 Electrostar units operate over the Bedford to Brighton route, whilst Class 319 units operate the remaining services.

The London Underground part of the station is served by the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines, the stations on either side being King's Cross St. Pancras and Barbican.

Farringdon is also served by First Capital Connect trains from Brighton to Bedford, calling at Gatwick Airport, or from Luton to Sutton or Wimbledon. The stations on either side are City Thameslink and St Pancras International.

Until 20 March 2009, some First Capital Connect weekday peak-hour trains ran into Moorgate and terminated there rather than continuing south to Blackfriars and beyond. These services were withdrawn to allow the junction at the south end of the station to be removed so that the platforms could be extended to take 12-coach trains.

Passengers can still travel from Farringdon to Barbican and Moorgate using the London Underground service.

Farringdon is in Transport for London's Travelcard Zone 1.

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
King's Cross St. Pancras towards Hammersmith		Circle line		Barbican towards Edgware Road (via Aldgate)
		Hammersmith & City line		Barbican towards Barking
King's Cross St. Pancras towards Amersham, Chesham, Uxbridge or Watford		Metropolitan line		Barbican towards Aldgate
	National Rail
St Pancras International		First Capital Connect Thameslink		City Thameslink Blackfriars on Sundays
St Pancras International		First Capital Connect Bedford-Sevenoaks		City Thameslink Blackfriars on Sundays
	Disused railways
King's Cross Thameslink (before December 2007)		First Capital Connect Thameslink (Moorgate Branch)		Barbican
King's Cross Metropolitan or King's Cross York Road		British Rail Eastern Region City Widened Lines		Barbican
		Future Development
Preceding station		Crossrail		Following station
Tottenham Court Road towards Maidenhead or Heathrow Airport		Crossrail Line 1		Liverpool Street towards Abbey Wood or Shenfield

Transport links [edit]

London bus routes 63 and night route N63.

References in popular culture [edit]

In stream of consciousness lyrics, the electronica group Underworld refer to the station as the "tubehole on Farringdon Street" (sic) in their 1993 track Dirty Epic.^[24]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Farringdon station

• Tube departure board for Farringdon station
• Thameslink Programme: Farringdon station

v t e Circle line Stations Aldgate Baker Street Barbican Bayswater Blackfriars Cannon Street Edgware Road Embankment Euston Square Farringdon Goldhawk Road Gloucester Road Great Portland Street Hammersmith High Street Kensington King's Cross St. Pancras Ladbroke Grove Latimer Road Liverpool Street Mansion House Monument ( Bank) Moorgate Notting Hill Gate Paddington Royal Oak Shepherd's Bush Market Sloane Square South Kensington St. James's Park Temple Tower Hill ( Tower Gateway) Victoria Westbourne Park Westminster Wood Lane Click to enlarge Rolling stock C Stock History Former railways Metropolitan Railway District Railway Metropolitan line (1933-88) History of the District line Former Rolling stock Metropolitan Railway steam locomotives District Railway steam locomotives Metropolitan Railway electric multiple units District Railway electric multiple units Circle Stock O and P Stock Associated circle lines Middle Circle Outer Circle Super Outer Circle Future proposals Future rolling stock S7 Stock See also District line Hammersmith & City line Metropolitan line London Underground Transport for London London Transport portal

v t e Hammersmith & City line Stations Aldgate East Baker Street Barbican Barking Bow Road Bromley-by-Bow East Ham Edgware Road Euston Square Farringdon Goldhawk Road Great Portland Street Hammersmith King's Cross St. Pancras Ladbroke Grove Latimer Road Liverpool Street Mile End Moorgate Paddington Plaistow Royal Oak Shepherd's Bush Market Stepney Green Upton Park West Ham Westbourne Park Whitechapel Wood Lane Click to enlarge Rolling stock C Stock S7 Stock Former railways Metropolitan Railway District Railway Metropolitan line (1933-88) Former rolling stock A and B Class steam locomotives Electric multiple units O and P Stock District line Circle line Metropolitan line London Underground Transport for London London Transport portal

v t e Metropolitan line Stations Central London section Aldgate Barbican Euston Square Farringdon Great Portland Street King's Cross St. Pancras Liverpool Street Moorgate Core section Baker Street Finchley Road Harrow-on-the-Hill Northwick Park Preston Road Wembley Park Uxbridge branch Eastcote Hillingdon West Harrow Ickenham Rayners Lane Ruislip Ruislip Manor Uxbridge Outer section & branches Amersham Chalfont & Latimer Chesham Chorleywood Croxley Moor Park North Harrow Northwood Northwood Hills Pinner Rickmansworth Watford Click to enlarge Rolling stock Present rolling stock S8 Stock History Former lines Brill Tramway Metropolitan Railway Metropolitan line (1933-88) Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Closed stations Brill Granborough Road Hammersmith (Grove Road) Lord's Marlborough Road Quainton Road Swiss Cottage Uxbridge Road Verney Junction Waddesdon Waddesdon Road Westcott Winslow Road Wood Lane Wood Siding Wotton Former stations Aylesbury Dollis Hill Great Missenden Gunnersbury Kensington (Olympia) Kew Gardens Kilburn Kingsbury Neasden Queensbury Ravenscourt Park Richmond Stamford Brook Stanmore Stoke Mandeville Turnham Green Wendover West Hampstead Willesden Green Transferred lines Aylesbury Line East London Line Hammersmith & City line Jubilee line Great Northern & City Railway Former rolling stock Metropolitan Railway electric multiple units GN&C Stock S Stock T Stock Circle Stock O/P/CP/CO/P1 Stock F Stock Main Line Stock A60 and A62 Stock Former locomotives A Class B Class C Class D Class E Class F Class G Class H Class K Class Metropolitan Railway electric locomotives Metropolitan departmental ex GWR Wotton Tramway Metro-Land Metro-land Metro-land (TV) Future proposals Croxley Rail link Croxley Rail Link Ascot Road Watford General Hospital Watford High Street Watford Junction Other West Hampstead interchange London Underground Transport for London London Transport portal

v t e Crossrail Planned stations Abbey Wood Acton Main Line Bond Street Brentwood Burnham Canary Wharf Chadwell Heath Custom House Ealing Broadway Farringdon Forest Gate Gidea Park Goodmayes Hanwell Harold Wood Hayes & Harlington Heathrow Central Heathrow T4 Ilford Iver Langley Liverpool Street Maidenhead Manor Park Maryland Paddington Romford Seven Kings Shenfield Slough Southall Stratford Taplow Tottenham Court Road West Drayton West Ealing Whitechapel Woolwich click to enlarge Proposed stations Kensal Old Oak Common Reading Silvertown Twyford Future rolling stock Class 345 Related routes Great Western Main Line Paddington to Heathrow Great Eastern Main Line Chelsea–Hackney line Transport for London London Transport portal