Kentish Town station
Encyclopedia
Kentish Town station is a London Underground
and National Rail
station in Kentish Town
in the London Borough of Camden
. It is at the junction of Kentish Town Road (A400) and Leighton Road. It is in Travelcard Zone 2
.
The station is served by the High Barnet branch of the London Underground Northern line
, and by First Capital Connect
Thameslink
trains on the National Rail Midland Main Line
. It is between Camden Town
and Tufnell Park
on the Northern line and between and St. Pancras International
stations on the main line.
It is the only station on the High Barnet branch with a direct interchange with a National Rail line, additionally an Out of Station Interchange (OSI) with is permitted.
There are four National Rail surface platforms and two London Underground underground platforms. National Rail trains are operated by First Capital Connect
and Southeastern
, with northbound trains running to Luton
and southbound to Sutton
, Orpington
and Sevenoaks
, via London St. Pancras and Blackfriars. At weekends, there is no southbound service. East Midlands Trains
InterCity services from Leeds
, Sheffield
and Leicester
pass through but do not stop.
in 1868 on the extension to its new London terminal at . Prior to that, Midland Railway trains used the London and North Western Railway
lines to or the Great Northern Railway
lines to King's Cross. Until the St. Pancras extension was complete, and for some time afterwards, some trains exchanged the locomotive at Kentish Town for one fitted with condensing apparatus and continued to Moorgate station
, then named Moorgate Street station. For some years trains ran from Kentish Town to Victoria station on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
.
The second largest motive power depot
and repair facility on the Midland Rail was north of the station. In 1861 a collision
occurred at a siding near the station in which sixteen people were killed and 317 were injured.
From May 1878 to September 1880 the MR Super Outer Circle service ran through the station, from St. Pancras to Earl's Court
Underground station via and .
The main line station was rebuilt in 1983, nothing of the original station building remains. The separate London Underground station was opened on 22 June 1907 by the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway
(CCE&HR), a precursor of the Northern line. The station was designed by Leslie Green
with the ox-blood red glazed terracotta
facade and the semi-circular windows at first floor level common to most of the original stations on the CCE&HR and its two associated railways, the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway
and Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway
which opened the previous year. When Kentish Town station opened the next CCE&HR station south was South Kentish Town
but that station closed in 1924 due to low usage. station on the North London Line
opened in 1860 as "Kentish Town" but was given its present name in 1867 when the North London Line opened .
It was the junction of services to Barking until 1981 when services were diverted to terminate and start from Gospel Oak. The spur line to Junction Road Junction was then closed, the track was removed and the trackbed has been sold for industrial use.
special, Rumpole's Return, used the Underground station for a scene with a fatal stabbing on the northbound platform.
Trains from south of the River Thames
on the extended Thameslink network may call at the station from 2018, when the present Sutton Loop trains will terminate at London Blackfriars.
After the bay platforms at Blackfriars station closed in March 2009, Southeastern
services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town (off-peak), or St Albans, Luton or Bedford (peak hours).
A major upgrading of the whole Thameslink line infrastructure is underway, for expected completion by 2018. However, the four platforms at Kentish Town station are not being extended from 8 to 12 carriages because of road bridges at each end which cannot be relocated, so only services that continue to be served by 8-car trains will be able to call there. The only other Thameslink stations north of the River Thames
remaining with 8-car platform lengths will be and , which are sited either side of a possible new Thameslink station at Brent Cross
.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
station in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
in the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
. It is at the junction of Kentish Town Road (A400) and Leighton Road. It is in Travelcard Zone 2
Travelcard Zone 2
Fare zone 2 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services.-Background:...
.
The station is served by the High Barnet branch of the London Underground Northern line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
, and by First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
Thameslink
Thameslink
Thameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
trains on the National Rail Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
. It is between Camden Town
Camden Town tube station
Camden Town tube station is a major junction on the Northern Line and one of the busiest stations on the London Underground network...
and Tufnell Park
Tufnell Park tube station
Tufnell Park tube station is a London Underground station in Islington close to its boundary with Camden . It is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, between Archway and Kentish Town, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It has distinctive Edwardian red tiling and has two lifts between the street...
on the Northern line and between and St. Pancras International
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
stations on the main line.
It is the only station on the High Barnet branch with a direct interchange with a National Rail line, additionally an Out of Station Interchange (OSI) with is permitted.
There are four National Rail surface platforms and two London Underground underground platforms. National Rail trains are operated by First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
and Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
, with northbound trains running to Luton
Luton railway station
Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect.-History:...
and southbound to Sutton
Sutton railway station
Sutton railway station is in the London Borough of Sutton in south London. It is the main station for Sutton town. It is served by First Capital Connect and Southern trains. It is in Travelcard Zone 5....
, Orpington
Orpington railway station
Orpington railway station serves the town of Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, and is in Travelcard Zone 6. Located in Crofton Road, the station is a 500m west of the southern end of Orpington High Street....
and Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks railway station
Sevenoaks railway station serves the town of Sevenoaks in Kent. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street , Waterloo East and London Charing Cross via Orpington, to London Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford, and southbound to...
, via London St. Pancras and Blackfriars. At weekends, there is no southbound service. East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
InterCity services from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
pass through but do not stop.
History
The National Rail station was opened by the Midland RailwayMidland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
in 1868 on the extension to its new London terminal at . Prior to that, Midland Railway trains used the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
lines to or the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
lines to King's Cross. Until the St. Pancras extension was complete, and for some time afterwards, some trains exchanged the locomotive at Kentish Town for one fitted with condensing apparatus and continued to Moorgate station
Moorgate station
Moorgate station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station on Moorgate in the City of London; it provides National Rail services by First Capital Connect for Hertford, Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth and also serves the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Lines and...
, then named Moorgate Street station. For some years trains ran from Kentish Town to Victoria station on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
.
The second largest motive power depot
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
and repair facility on the Midland Rail was north of the station. In 1861 a collision
Kentish Town rail accident
On 2 September 1861, near Kentish Town station in London, 16 people were killed and 317 injured, when an excursion train operated by the North London Railway collided with a freight train operated by the London and North Western Railway....
occurred at a siding near the station in which sixteen people were killed and 317 were injured.
From May 1878 to September 1880 the MR Super Outer Circle service ran through the station, from St. Pancras to Earl's Court
Earl's Court tube station
Earl's Court tube station is a London Underground station in Earls Court. The station is located between Earls Court Road and Warwick Road . It is on the boundary of Travelcard Zone 1 and 2 and is in both zones....
Underground station via and .
The main line station was rebuilt in 1983, nothing of the original station building remains. The separate London Underground station was opened on 22 June 1907 by the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway
Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway
The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway , also known as the Hampstead tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for more than a decade whilst funding was sought...
(CCE&HR), a precursor of the Northern line. The station was designed by Leslie Green
Leslie Green
Leslie William Green was an English architect known especially for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20th century....
with the ox-blood red glazed terracotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
facade and the semi-circular windows at first floor level common to most of the original stations on the CCE&HR and its two associated railways, the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway
Bakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...
and Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
which opened the previous year. When Kentish Town station opened the next CCE&HR station south was South Kentish Town
South Kentish Town tube station
South Kentish Town tube station is a disused London Underground station which was on the Northern Line between Camden Town and Kentish Town. The surface building still exists on Kentish Town Road, close to the junction with Castle Road, and is currently a retail unit occupied by the Cash Converters...
but that station closed in 1924 due to low usage. station on the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
opened in 1860 as "Kentish Town" but was given its present name in 1867 when the North London Line opened .
It was the junction of services to Barking until 1981 when services were diverted to terminate and start from Gospel Oak. The spur line to Junction Road Junction was then closed, the track was removed and the trackbed has been sold for industrial use.
In popular culture
The 1980 TV Rumpole of the BaileyRumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
special, Rumpole's Return, used the Underground station for a scene with a fatal stabbing on the northbound platform.
Development
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
on the extended Thameslink network may call at the station from 2018, when the present Sutton Loop trains will terminate at London Blackfriars.
After the bay platforms at Blackfriars station closed in March 2009, Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town (off-peak), or St Albans, Luton or Bedford (peak hours).
A major upgrading of the whole Thameslink line infrastructure is underway, for expected completion by 2018. However, the four platforms at Kentish Town station are not being extended from 8 to 12 carriages because of road bridges at each end which cannot be relocated, so only services that continue to be served by 8-car trains will be able to call there. The only other Thameslink stations north of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
remaining with 8-car platform lengths will be and , which are sited either side of a possible new Thameslink station at Brent Cross
Brent Cross
Brent Cross is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located near the A41 Brent Cross Flyover over the A406 North Circular Road. Brent Cross is best known for its shopping centre and the proposed Brent Cross Cricklewood development....
.