Kingsland Viaduct
Encyclopedia
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
about 2 miles (3 km) in length, almost wholly within the present London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
in the north-east part of Inner London
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. The area was first officially defined in 1965 and for purposes such as statistics, the definition has changed over time. The terms Inner London and Central...
. It was built in the 1860s but closed in the 1980s until it was reopened to carry the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
in 2010. Since then it has carried East London Line
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
services between Shoreditch High Street
Shoreditch High Street railway station
Shoreditch High Street is a railway station in Shoreditch, London. The station is located on Bethnal Green Road close to Shoreditch High Street and is served by London Overground services running on the extended East London Line under the control of the London Rail division of Transport for London...
and Dalston
Dalston Junction railway station
Dalston Junction railway station is in the Dalston area of the London Borough of Hackney at the crossroad of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road...
.
Initial operation
It was built as the main part of the North London City ExtensionNorth London Line City Branch
The City Branch was a short spur of the North London Line allowing direct access from the east-west main route of the North London Railway to the terminus at Broad Street in the City of London.-History:...
, providing a more direct link from the North London Railway
North London Railway
The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...
to the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
(the City) at Broad Street, next door to the site that became Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
.
Previously the North London Line's access from west of Dalston to the City was by a circuitous route via Hackney, Homerton, Bow and Stepney to Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street railway station
Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the south eastern corner of the City of London, England. The station is one of the smallest terminals in London in terms of platforms and one of the most intensively operated...
. The extension, originally with three lines, shortened this considerably by providing a direct route from Dalston over the Kingsland Viaduct. It was authorised by the North London Railway Act of 22 July 1861. It is said to have cost £1 million and displaced 4,500 people.
The extension was accessed by a triangular junction, accessible from both the west and east directions on the North London Railway.
Passenger traffic into Broad Street began on 1 November 1865, and was said to have doubled the number of passengers to 14 million in 1868. Initially, there were services at fifteen-minute intervals to both Hampstead and Bow.
A fourth line was added to the extension in 1874. Broad Street originally had 7 platforms, extended to 8 in 1891 and 9 in 1913. The lines were electrified with two conductor rails at 600V DC, with services beginning on 1 October 1916, using Oerlikon rolling stock. However, only the western 5 platforms at Broad Street served electrified lines, the remaining lines being unelectrified. Electric services to Watford did not begin until 10 July 1922.
Reopening
The last scheduled train over the viaduct was on 27 June 1986, after which the line and its remaining stations were all closed.After that there were proposals in 1993 to extend London Underground
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...
's East London Line
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
along it from its Shoreditch
Shoreditch tube station
Shoreditch tube station was a London Underground station in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It was in Travelcard Zone 2. The station closed permanently at the end of traffic on 9 June 2006....
terminus to Dalston Junction. The plan received the support of a public inquiry in 1994 and it was envisaged that the construction of the extension and the station itself would begin in 1996, to be completed by 1998. The project was finally approved by the Government in 1996 but a lack of funding forced the project to be delayed in 1997.
However, in 2007 the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
was created, which included 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...
(the North London railway to which the viaduct connects at Dalston), and the East London Line was transferred to the London Overground to be extended south and to the north to meet the North London Line. To do this it followed the 1993 route along the Kingsland Viaduct. Work was complete in 2010 and on 27 April 2010 the first services began along the viaduct for the first time in over two decades.
To facilitate this the viaduct has been refurbished, and many bridges over roads replaced; a remnant of the brick viaduct between New Inn Yard and Holywell Lane was demolished to make way for a connecting concrete viaduct to the new bridge over Shoreditch High Street.
The southern end of the viaduct, from the old Broad Street/Liverpool Street terminus and where the East London Line crosses onto the viaduct at Hollywell Lane, has been given over to development, including the Broadgate Tower
Broadgate Tower
The Broadgate Tower is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London. It was constructed from 2005 to 2009 and is currently the fourth tallest building in the City of London....
.
Stations
There were four stations on and adjacent to the viaduct:- Dalston JunctionDalston Junction railway stationDalston Junction railway station is in the Dalston area of the London Borough of Hackney at the crossroad of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road...
was at the bottom of the incline to the north of the viaduct, at the apex of the triangular junction, actually below street level. - HaggerstonHaggerston railway stationHaggerston railway station is in the London Borough of Hackney, in London. The station is located on the Kingsland Viaduct in the Haggerston district at the junction of Arbutus Street and Frederick Terrace, near Kingsland Road. The main entrance is in Lee Street...
, not to be confused with the earlier NLR station on a slightly different site - ShoreditchShoreditch railway stationShoreditch railway station was a station on the North London Railway in London, United Kingdom. It was situated on a viaduct between Haggerston and Broad Street stations....
, straddling Old Street and parallel to Shoreditch High Street, not to be confused with the former (now closed) London Underground stationShoreditch tube stationShoreditch tube station was a London Underground station in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It was in Travelcard Zone 2. The station closed permanently at the end of traffic on 9 June 2006....
of the same name, some distance to the east - Broad Street, at the southern end of the viaduct, which had suburban services throughout its existence, and limited main line services.
As of 2010, the new stations on the viaduct are;
- A rebuilt Dalston JunctionDalston Junction railway stationDalston Junction railway station is in the Dalston area of the London Borough of Hackney at the crossroad of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road...
on the same site as before. - A rebuilt Haggerston stationHaggerston railway stationHaggerston railway station is in the London Borough of Hackney, in London. The station is located on the Kingsland Viaduct in the Haggerston district at the junction of Arbutus Street and Frederick Terrace, near Kingsland Road. The main entrance is in Lee Street...
slightly to the north. - And HoxtonHoxton railway stationHoxton railway station is in the Hoxton district of the London Borough of Hackney. The station is located on the Kingsland Viaduct and is served by London Overground trains on the extended East London Line, under the control of the London Rail division of Transport for London...
, a completely new station.
Sources
- White, Henry Patrick (1987) A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 3 - Greater London, Newton Abbott : David St John Thomas, 237p
- Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith (1997) North London line : Broad Street to Willesden Jn. via Hampstead Heath, Midhurst : Middleton Press, 96p