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Kingsland Viaduct is a railway viaduct about 2 miles (3 km) in length from Shoreditch to Dalston, wholly within the present London Borough of Hackney in east and north-east part of London. It was built in the 1860s, but was disused from 1986 until it was reopened to carry the London Overground in 2010. The viaduct is owned by Transport for London. Since then it has carried East London Line services between Shoreditch High Street and Dalston.
It was built as the main part of the North London City Extension, providing a more direct link from the North London Railway to the City of London (the City) at Broad Street, next door to the site that became Liverpool Street station.
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. 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 (City Branch) Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. cxcvi) 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 seven platforms, extended to eight in 1891 and nine in 1913. The lines were electrified with two conductor rails at 600 V DC, with services beginning on 1 October 1916, using Oerlikon rolling stock. However, only the western five platforms at Broad Street served electrified lines, the remaining lines being unelectrified. Electric services to Watford did not begin until 10 July 1922.
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's East London Line along it from its Shoreditch terminus to Dalston Junction. [1] [2] 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 [3] but a lack of funding forced the project to be delayed in 1997. [4]
However, in 2007 the London Overground was created, which included the North London Line (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.
There were four stations on and adjacent to the viaduct:
As of 2010, the new stations on the extended viaduct, or adjacent, are;
The East London line is part of the London Overground, running north to south through the East, Docklands and South areas of London. It was previously a line of the London Underground.
Dalston is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is four miles northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas including Kingsland and Shacklewell, all three of which being part of the Ancient Parish of Hackney.
Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north-east of the border with the City of London and is considered to be a part of London's East End.
The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and north-east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a rough semicircle.
Shadwell is a London Overground station in Shadwell in East London. It was formerly a London Underground station on the East London line until 2007. The station is between Whitechapel to the north and Wapping to the south. It is located near to Shadwell DLR station. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2.
Whitechapel is an interchange station in Whitechapel, East London for London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line services. The station is located behind a street market of the same name and opposite Tower Hamlets Town Hall. It lies between Aldgate East and Stepney Green stations on the District and Hammersmith & City lines, and between Shoreditch High Street and Shadwell stations on the East London Line. To the West of Whitechapel, on the Elizabeth Line, is Liverpool Street; to the East the line splits, with one branch going to Stratford and the other to Canary Wharf. It is in Travelcard Zone 2.
Broad Street was a major rail terminal in the City of London, adjacent to Liverpool Street station. It served as the main terminus of the North London Railway (NLR) network, running from 1865 to 1986. During its lifetime, it catered for mainly local suburban services around London, and over time struggled to compete with other modes of transport, leading to its closure.
The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disuse but were later revived as part of the Docklands Light Railway, and London Overground's East London Line. The company was originally called the East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway (E&WID&BJR) from its start in 1850, until 1853. In 1909, it entered into an agreement with the London and North Western Railway which introduced common management, and the NLR was taken over completely by the LNWR in 1922. The LNWR itself became part of the LMS from the start of 1923. The railways were nationalised in 1948 and most LMS lines, including the North London route, then came under the control of the London Midland Region of British Railways.
Dalston Kingsland railway station is a railway station on the North London Line in London, England. It is in the Dalston area of the London Borough of Hackney, on the western side of Kingsland High Street and opposite Ridley Road Market. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. Kingsland railway station was first opened on the site in 1850, but was replaced by Dalston Junction in 1865. The current station was opened by British Rail in 1983. Ticket barriers are in operation. The station straddles the boundary with the London Borough of Islington, with part of the platforms falling within Islington.
Shoreditch was a railway station on the North London Railway (NLR) in Shoreditch, London, that was in use from 1865 to 1940. It was situated on a viaduct between Haggerston and Broad Street stations. It should not be confused with Shoreditch Underground station (1869–2006) on the London Underground, situated about half a mile further south. It was also not the first main line railway station to possess the Shoreditch name; Bishopsgate (1840–1875) was originally given that name.
Hackney Central is a London Overground station on the North London line in the London Borough of Hackney.
Dalston Junction is an inter-modal rail and bus transport interchange in Dalston, London. It is located at the crossroads of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. The station served by London Overground East London line and is in Zone 2. The station is located in a short section of cut and cover tunnel north of the Kingsland Viaduct.
Kingsland was a small road-side settlement centred on Kingsland High Street on the Old North Road, around the junction with Dalston Lane. It is no longer discernable as a separate settlement, though the historic street pattern remains. Since the opening of Dalston Junction station in 1865, the area has become known as Dalston, which was originally a separate hamlet further east. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, the area is within the London Borough of Hackney.
Shoreditch High Street is a London Overground station located on Bethnal Green Road in Shoreditch in East London. It is served by the East London Line between Whitechapel and Hoxton with services running either to Dalston Junction, Highbury & Islington or New Cross, New Cross Gate, West Croydon, Crystal Palace, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.
Hoxton is a station on the East London line in the London Borough of Hackney, Greater London. It is on the Kingsland Viaduct and served by London Overground. The station entrance is on Geffrye Street near Dunloe Street and Cremer Street, behind the Museum of the Home.
Haggerston is a London Overground station in Haggerston, London, England, served by the East London line. It lies between Hoxton and Dalston Junction stations, is in Travelcard Zone 2, and is open 24 hours on a Friday and Saturday as part of the London Overground Night Service service. The station was rebuilt as part of the East London line extension.
London Overground is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greater London as well as Hertfordshire, with 113 stations on the six lines that make up the network.
The Cross London Route Utilisation Strategy (CLRUS) was the second of the route utilisation strategies (RUS) published by Network Rail (NR), in August 2006. It was included in a map published by the Office of Rail Regulation as established in May 2007.
The East London line extension (ELLX) project was a British railway engineering project in London, managed by Transport for London. The project involved extending the East London Line and making it part of the mainline London Overground network. This was done by re-opening sections of disused railway line and by converting track electrified by the third-rail system, signalling, lineside signage and communication systems, etc. to mainline standards. New rolling stock was introduced and four new stations built along the route, with a fifth scheduled to be added in the future at New Bermondsey.
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.
