HomeNorthern LineOld north London Tube station helping to warm a school

Old north London Tube station helping to warm a school

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Little remains visible above street level to indicate where a defunct Tube station once operated in north London.

The City Road station first welcomed passengers in 1901, serving as an active stop along what was then called the City and South London Railway, positioned between Moorgate and Angel stations.

A devastating incident occurred in August 1916 when a railway guard gave the signal for a train to leave before all travelers had exited the carriage, resulting in one fatality.

Talks about the station’s future commenced as early as 1908, with officials noting the location sat in a disadvantaged, deteriorating section of Islington and attracted minimal ridership.

When 1922 brought the necessity to expand tunnels to accommodate longer train carriages, the expense required to lengthen the station’s platforms proved impossible to justify.

Consequently, upon the line’s resumption of service on April 20, 1924, City Road remained shuttered.

Similar to Kentish Town South, another station with insufficient usage, the underground passageways situated 65 feet beneath the surface served as an emergency air-raid shelter during World War II bombing raids. Improvements included a newly constructed staircase within the former elevator shaft, restroom facilities, a cafeteria, and a first aid station.

By 1970, the decaying brick structure positioned at the intersection of City Road and Moreland Road had been dismantled, leaving only the original elevator shaft protruding above ground.

In 2009, the then-London mayor Boris Johnson fielded inquiries regarding the potential revival of dormant Tube stations amid the city’s expanding population. The response indicated no intentions to restore City Road, citing its closure stemming from minimal passenger numbers and emphasizing that local inhabitants had convenient access to neighboring Angel and Old Street stations plus regular bus services.

Islington Council subsequently proposed in 2015 a project to provide heating for the King Square council housing development and Moreland Primary School by harvesting discarded thermal energy from Northern line tunnels.

The remnants of the station were subsequently cleared and substituted with The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre, which began operations in 2020.

Presently, commuters traveling between Old Street and Angel might catch sight of the white ceramic tiles still affixed to the abandoned platforms at the former City Road station.

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