Farringdon station

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 smaller central London stations with mainline services, but it will become more important in the future as it is at the intersection of the two largest transport infrastructure programmes underway in London, the Thameslink Programme and Crossrail, which are scheduled for completion in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Services
The London Underground part of the station is served by Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle Line services, the stations on either side being and.

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 These services were withdrawn to allow the junction at the south end of the station to be removed so that the platforms could be extended to take 12-coach trains. There is insufficient room for the platforms to be only be extended on the north side because the tracks leave the station on an increasing downward gradient.

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

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

History
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 located a short distance from today's building. The line ran from Farringdon to, a distance of 4 miles (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.

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 facade) and other indications of the Metropolitan Railway's original operation like the main line companies, with a sign for a "Parcel Office" surviving on the exterior wall.

After the bay platforms at London closed in March 2009, Southeastern services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to, St Albans, Luton or Bedford, calling at this station. Through First Capital Connect services to Moorgate ceased at the same time. Train services south of Blackfriars services are operated by Southeastern, north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect.

There are plans to increase the station's passenger capacity as part of the Thameslink Programme. Work on replacing the footbridge started during late 2008. The new Turnmill Street entrance/exit opened on Monday 23 March 2009. It is an exit-only for the morning peak and entrance-only for the evening peak.

Current developments
Farringdon will, from 2018, be one of the country's busiest stations (if not the busiest station) by number of trains passing through, being served by both Crossrail and the upgraded Thameslink route, as well as the existing Underground lines.

Thameslink upgrade
Farringdon station is being refurbished to accommodate longer Thameslink trains and to make other improvements to the station. The existing station building will be 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 will be built on the south side of Cowcross Street providing access to the Thameslink platforms which will be extended southwards underneath this building, allowing the station to handle 240m (12-car) trains. Platforms will be widened to accommodate increased patronage which will require the Cowcross Street bridge abutments to be shifted. The bridge will be demolished and rebuilt once the abutments have been shifted. Cowcross Street will be pedestrianised. Lifts will be provided throughout.

The existing listed ticket hall and concourse will be remodelled, but it will be used exclusively by LUL passengers. Interchange within the station will be improved by means of removing the existing interchange bridge and installing new stairs and lifts with access to all four platforms, thereby allowing passengers with impaired mobility to use the station.

Extensions towards the north are not planned mainly due to the steep gradient (1 in 27) of the Thameslink line immediately north of Farringdon. Northward platform extensions therefore would not comply with safety standards, which leaves the alternative of realigning both the Thameslink and Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines, given that the latter crosses over the former on a bridge. This has been deemed impractical due to lack of space. The platforms will therefore be extended southwards, severing the two-station branch to Moorgate.

The new station is being commissioned from architects firm Aukett Fitzroy Robinson. By December 2009 there was considerable activity on the site with the construction of a new permanent entrance in Turnmill Street, a new footbridge has been installed and Cardinal Tower, on the site of Crossrail’s station, was nearing complete demolition by March 2009. The Moorgate branch was decommissioned during a Christmas 2009 possession.

Crossrail development
A "Farringdon" Crossrail station is being built between Farringdon and underground (tube) stations and it will have interchanges with both of them. Access at the Farringdon end will be via the new Thameslink ticket hall. Work is not anticipated to be complete until 2018.

Dual supply
Farringdon Station is also notable because the First Capital Connect trains, whilst standing at the platform, 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. The trains that formerly ran to Moorgate used 25 kV AC throughout their journeys.

Until the start of the Thameslink Programme southbound trains which experienced a fault preventing them from switching to DC would be taken out of service at Farringdon and stabled at Moorgate to prevent them from blocking the central 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 southwards and use the new crossover in Snow Hill tunnel to reach the northbound platform at City Thameslink using AC and then return northwards.

The Underground trains serving Farringdon use the four-rail DC system which is currently 630 V.

Nearest places

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

Transport links
London bus routes 63 and night route N63.

London Underground
Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines