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Victoria station in London is a London Underground and National Rail station in the City of Westminster. It is in Travelcard Zone 1.
National Rail The National Rail station is officially named London Victoria, a name that is commonly used outside London, but rarely by Londoners. The eastern side comprising platforms 1–8 is the terminus for services to Kent, and the western side comprising platforms 9–19 is the terminus for lines running from Surrey and Sussex, including Gatwick Airport and Brighton. Although this split is still generally held to, there are various crossovers allowing trains to access any platform. As the western "Brighton" side is the busier of the two, slight disruption on that line sometimes results in some of its suburban services using the eastern "Chatham" station. Victoria also serves as the London terminus for the Venice Simplon Orient Express, from Platform 2, the longest platform in the station. Early history Victoria station is a main line terminal station in the West End of London. Its origins lie with the Great Exhibition of 1851, when a railway called the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway came into existence, serving the site of the exhibition halls which had been transferred to Sydenham from Hyde Park. The terminus of that railway was at Stewarts Lane in Battersea on the south side of the river. In 1858, a joint enterprise was set up to take trains over the river: it was entitled the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway; and was 1.25 miles (2km) in length. The railway was owned by four railway companies: the Great Western (GWR); London & North Western (LNWR); the London, Brighton and South Coast (LBSCR); and the London, Chatham and Dover Railways (LCDR). It was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1858. The station was built in two parts: those on the western side, opened in 1862, with six platforms, ten tracks and a hotel (the 300-bedroom Grosvenor) were occupied by the Brighton company; whilst adjacent, and in the same year, the Chatham company were to occupy a less imposing wooden-fronted building. The latter's station had nine tracks and was shared by broad-gauge trains of the GWR, whose trains arrived from Southall via the West London Extension Joint Railway through Chelsea. The GWR remained part owner of the station until 1932, although its trains had long since ceased to use it. Each side of the station had its own entrance and a separate station master; a wall between the two sections effectively emphasised that fact. Rebuilding At the start of the 20th century both parts of the station were rebuilt. It now had a decent frontage and forecourt, but not as yet a unified existence. Work on the Brighton side was completed in 1908 and was carried out in red brick; the Grosvenor Hotel was rebuilt at the same time. The Chatham side, in an Edwardian style with baroque elements, designed by Alfred Bloomfield, was completed a year later. The two sections were eventually connected in 1924 by removing part of a screen wall, when the platforms were renumbered as an entity. The station was redeveloped internally in the 1980s, with the addition of shops within the concourse, and above the western platforms (the "Victoria Place" shopping centre). The station was now serving boat trains, and during World War I it became the hub of trains carrying soldiers to and from France, many of them wounded. After the war the Continental steamer traffic became concentrated there, including the most famous of those trains, the Golden Arrow. The area around the station also became a site for other forms of transport: a bus station in the forecourt; a coach terminal to the south; and it is now the terminal for trains serving Gatwick Airport. On February 18, 1991 an IRA bomb exploded in a litter bin at Victoria Station, killing one man, David Corner , and injuring 38. The warning given by the terrorists was insufficient to evacuate the station. London Underground The London Underground station lies to the north of the mainline station concourse. There are two ticket halls. The hall closer to the mainline station serves the Victoria Line. The other, further north along a tunnel, serves the District and Circle Lines. History The sub-surface Circle and District Lines opened on December 24, 1868; and the Victoria Line line came to Victoria Station with the third phase of construction of the line - the station's platforms were opened on March 7, 1969, six months after the Victoria line had started running in north London. Coach station Victoria Coach Station is half a mile south-west of the railway stations. It is the main London coach terminal and serves all parts of the UK, as well as mainland Europe. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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