City Road tube station

City Road
The station remains in 2004
City Road
Location of City Road in Central London
Location City Road
Local authority Islington
Owner City & South London Railway
Number of platforms 2
Key dates
17 November 1901 (1901-11-17) Opened
8 August 1922 (1922-08-08) Closed
Other information
Lists of stations
WGS84 Coordinates: 51°31′47″N 0°05′51″W / 51.52972°N 0.09750°W / 51.52972; -0.09750
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City Road is a disused London Underground station in Islington, north London. It was opened in 1901 as part of the City & South London Railway's extension from Moorgate Street to Angel. City Road was situated between Old Street and Angel. The railway is now part of the Northern line.

The station was closed in 1922 due to low passenger usage. It remained derelict until demolition in the 1960s which left only the structure around the original lift shaft, at street level, at City Road's junction with Moreland Street, while the underground tunnels remain at track level.

History

The rear entrance to the remains of City Road tube station

From the start, City Road station was little used, and discussions of its closure were held as early as 1908: less than seven years after it was opened.[1] The station was located in close proximity to both Old Street and Angel, and was in a deprived area of Islington. However, City Road remained until 8 August 1922 when the City & South London Railway's northern section between Euston and Moorgate Street was closed to enable the diameter of the tunnels to be increased from 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) to the Underground's standard diameter of 3.56 m (11 ft 8¼ in), so that larger and longer Standard Stock trains could be operated.

Low passenger usage meant that the required expansion of the platform tunnels and upgrading of the station could not be justified on financial grounds, and City Road remained closed when the line was reopened on 20 April 1924. The platforms were removed and the lift shaft was converted for use as a ventilation shaft. City Road was the only twin tunnel station on the line not to be reconstructed. During the Second World War the station was converted for use as an air-raid shelter.[1]

The station building, built to a design by T. Phillips Figgis (who had also designed Angel), remained until the 1960s, when all but the structure immediately around the original lift shaft was demolished.[1] Today, little remains to indicate the site of the disused station. At track level, the short platform tunnels remain visible from trains passing through.

Accidents

On 26 August 1916 one passenger was killed when a guard signalled for a train to depart before all of the passengers had alighted.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Connor, J.E. (1999). "City Road". London's Disused Underground Stations. Capital Transport. p. 20. ISBN 1-85414-250-X.
  2. ↑ Nick Catford (2008). "Site Name: City Road Station". subbrit.org.uk. Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  Former Route  
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
towards Euston
Northern line
(1901-22)
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