London Victoria station

By 1850, railways serving destinations to the south of London had three termini available – London Bridge, Bricklayers' Arms and Waterloo. All three were inconvenient for Central London as they terminated south of the river Thames, whereas the main centres of population, business and government were north of the river in the City of London, the West End and Westminster.[13]

Victoria Station was designed in a piecemeal fashion to help address this problem for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR). It consisted of two adjacent main line railway stations which, from the viewpoint of passengers, were unconnected.[14]

Victoria Station in 1897, showing the separate Brighton (left) and Chatham (right) stations.

The London and Brighton Railway terminus at London Bridge provided reasonable access to the City of London but was inconvenient for travellers to and from Westminster. As early as 1842 John Urpeth Rastrick had proposed that the railway should build a branch to serve the West End, but his proposal was unsuccessful.[15]

However, the transfer of the Crystal Palace from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill between 1851 and 1854 created a major tourist attraction in the then rural area south of London, and the LB&SCR opened a branch line from the Brighton Main Line at Sydenham to the site in 1854.[16] While this was under construction the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway also planned a line from Crystal Palace, to a new station at Battersea Wharf, at the southern end of the new Chelsea Bridge. Despite its location, the new station was called Pimlico. It opened on 27 March 1858, but was very much regarded as a temporary terminus, composed of a small number of wooden huts, and positioned immediately next to a proposed bridge over the Thames.[13] Shortly afterwards the LB&SCR leased most of the lines of the new railway, and built a further connection from Crystal Palace to the Brighton Main Line at Norwood Junction, thereby providing itself with a route into west London, although it was recognised that a terminus would be needed on the north side of the river.[16]

The approaches to Victoria Station in 1912. The line leading to the station is top right, the 'Brighton line' (shown in green) is bottom left and the 'Chatham line' (pink) bottom right. The connection to the GWR and LNWR (purple) is top left.

During the summer of 1857 a scheme for an independent "Grosvenor Basin Terminus" in the West End of London, "for the use of the Southern Railways of England" was mooted.[17] The station was originally referred to as the "Grosvenor Terminus" but later renamed Victoria as it was sited at the end of Victoria Street.[18] Three other railway companies were also seeking a terminus in Westminster: the Great Western (GWR), the London & North Western (LNWR), and the East Kent Railway (EKR). The first two already had rail access to Battersea through their joint ownership of the West London Line with the LB&SCR. In 1858, the EKR leased the remaining lines of the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway from Shortlands railway station, and also negotiated temporary running powers over the lines recently acquired by the LB&SCR, pending the construction of its own line into west London.[19] On 23 July 1859 these four companies together formed the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR) company, with the object of extending the railway from Stewarts Lane Junction, Battersea across the river to a more convenient location nearer the West End,[20] and the following month the EKR changed its name to the London Chatham and Dover Railway.[21]

The new line followed part of the route of the Grosvenor Canal with Victoria station on the former canal basin. It required the construction of a new bridge over the Thames, originally known as Victoria Bridge and later as Grosvenor Bridge.[21] The bridge was 930 feet (280 m) long, which was required so that it could clear all river traffic. It was designed by John Fowler. The line was built as mixed gauge from Longhedge Junction, Battersea, to cater for GWR trains. It required a 1-in-50 climb and a 15 chains (990 ft; 300 m) turn from the LSWR main line to reach the bridge.[22] The LB&SCR had hoped to amalgamate with the VS&PR, and introduced a parliamentary bill to allow it to do so in 1860. This was opposed by the GWR and LC&DR and rejected.[23] By way of compromise the LB&SCR was permitted to lease Victoria station from the VS&PR, but agreed to accommodate the other railways until a terminus could be built for them on an adjoining site.[22]

Plan of Victoria Station as it was in 1888. The 'Chatham' side was rebuilt in 1906 and the 'Brighton' side in 1898–1908

The LB&SCR side of Victoria station opened on 1 October 1860, the temporary terminus in Battersea having closed the day before. The station was designed by Robert Jacomb Hood.[24] It consisted of six platforms and ten tracks, with an entrance on Victoria Street. The site then covered 8.5 acres (3.4 ha)[25] and was 800 feet (240 m) long and 230 feet (70 m) wide. The roof was built on a set of wrought iron girders, with an additional safety row that would allow the main girders to withstand a train strike.[24] On the northwest corner of the station was the 300-bedroom Grosvenor Hotel. It was designed by J. T. Knowles, and run independently of the station itself. It opened in 1861.[26] The LCDR and GWR opened their own station on 25 August 1862, occupying a less imposing wooden-fronted building with an entrance on Wilton Road.[27] The Chatham line station had eight platforms, five of which were of mixed gauge, shared by broad-gauge trains of the GWR from Windsor via Southall.[28]

Victoria station proved to be unexpectedly popular for both the main companies, and by 1862 there were frequent delays due to congestion at Stewarts Lane Junction. In March 1863 the LB&SCR and the LC&DR jointly funded a new high-level route into Victoria, avoiding Stewarts Lane and requiring the widening of Grosvenor Bridge, including the replacement of the broad-gauge rails with a third LB&SCR line. The work was completed during 1867/8.[29][30] The South Eastern Railway (SER) wanted to use Victoria as a London terminus as it was more convenient than London Bridge, but were advised they would need to pay extensive tolls and expenses to do so. Consequently, the SER constructed a station at Charing Cross instead.[31]

The GWR began services on 1 April 1863, connecting Victoria to Southall, and later some services to Uxbridge, Reading, Slough and Windsor.[26] From 13 August 1866 the LB&SCR ran services from Victoria to London Bridge along the newly completed South London Line.[30] The Great Northern Railway began a service from Victoria to Barnet (via Ludgate Hill) on 1 March 1868, with other cross-London services running via Victoria in the 1870s.[32]

In 1898 the LB&SCR decided to demolish its station and replace it with an enlarged red-brick Renaissance-style building, designed by Charles Langbridge Morgan.[33][34] Since widening of the station was prevented by the LC&DR station and Buckingham Palace Road, increased capacity was achieved by lengthening the platforms and building crossovers to allow two trains to use each platform simultaneously.[35] Work was completed in 1908, and included the rebuilding of the Grosvenor Hotel at the same time. The site then covered 16 acres (6.5 ha) with 2.25 miles (3.62 km) of platforms.[25] Overhead electric trains began to run into Victoria on 1 December 1909, to London Bridge. The line to Crystal Palace was electrified on 12 May 1911.[36]

Victoria became well known for its Pullman services during the late 19th century. The LB&SCR introduced the first Pullman first-class service to Brighton on 1 November 1875, followed by the first all-Pullman train in the UK on 1 December 1881.[37] Another all-Pullman service was introduced in 1908 under the name of the Southern Belle, then described as "... the most luxurious train in the world...".[38] The SECR began Pullman continental services on 21 April 1910 and on domestic services to the Kent coast on 16 June 1919. The Golden Arrow, another all-Pullman train began services in 1924, and remained in service until 30 September 1972.[14]

The London Chatham and Dover Station as rebuilt by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.

The LC&DR and GWR jointly leased the 'Chatham' portion of the station for 999 years from 28 June 1860, with the GWR responsible for 6.67%.[28] The LC&DR completed its main line as far as Canterbury on 3 December 1860 and began to use the LB&SCR station on that day.[39]

The Eastern side in 1958

From 1899 the LC&DR entered a working union with its rival, the South Eastern Railway, to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). As a result, services from its station at Victoria began to be rationalised and integrated with those from the other SECR termini.[40]

The LC&DR station began to be reconstructed in the late 19th century after several properties on Buckingham Palace Road, and the hotel, were bought by the company. Work began in 1899 with the removal of the old roof.[41] The rebuilt station was partially opened on 10 June 1906, with additional platforms and cab exit on 10 February the following year, along with a new annexe to the hotel. It was formally re-opened on 1 July 1908.[42] As a consequence of the rebuilding, boat trains become more popular from Victoria compared to Charing Cross and Cannon Street. Services increased to serve Ostend and Calais via Dover and Rotterdam via Gravesend. The LB&SCR part of the station also served Dieppe via Newhaven.[43]

Victoria has since seen more visits from royalty and heads of state than any other London station. During the funeral of Edward VII, seven kings, over 20 princes and five archdukes were greeted here.[44]

In the early 20th century, the development and improvement of the London Underground, meant that Victoria could not compete as a cross-London service. GNR trains stopped running on 1 October 1907, with Midland ones following on June the next year. The GWR ceased to use the station for scheduled services on 21 March 1915, partly due to World War I in addition to the new Underground lines. Victoria was used as the main station for drafted soldiers, and those returning from action in the war. By the middle of the war, the station served twelve trains a day running between Victoria and Folkestone, with additional trains serving Dover. The station was regularly served with a voluntary buffet for departing soldiers, who served up to 4,000 men a day.[45] Victoria itself did not suffer significant damage during the war, but a section of Grosvenor Bridge was destroyed after an anti-aircraft shell struck a gas main underneath it.[46]

Following the war, memorials were built on both parts of the station. The Southern Railway side marks 626 soldiers killed or missing, while the Chatham side marks 556.[47] A plaque marks the arrival of the body of The Unknown Warrior at Victoria on 10 November 1920.[48]

The service to Ostend via Dover was re-introduced on 18 January 1919. Civilian trains to Boulogne via Folkestone restarted on 3 February. Boat train services to Newhaven started on 1 June, and a connection with Paris started on 15 July. On 8 January 1920, Victoria replaced Charing Cross as the main station for continental services, as it had more facilities and closer locomotive and carriage facilities. The service to Paris via Calais and Dover began on the same day.[47]

The Brighton side concourse in 1955

The two stations at Victoria came largely under single ownership in 1923 with the formation of the Southern Railway (SR) as part of the Big Four grouping.[49] The following year steps were taken to integrate the two stations. The platforms were renumbered in a single sequence, openings were made in the wall separating them to allow passengers to pass from one to the other without going into the street, and alterations were made to the tracks to allow for interchangeable working.[50] The work was completed in 1925, and all platforms were renumbered in a contiguous sequence.[49] Electric suburban services to Herne Hill and Orpington first ran on 12 July that year, followed by South London line services on 17 June 1928, and electric services to Crystal Palace and Epsom (via Mitcham Junction) on 3 March 1929.[51] The SR also concentrated continental steamer traffic at Victoria, introducing the Golden Arrow, in 1924,[37] and the Night Ferry in 1936.[52]

The Central side in 1961 with train from Tunbridge Wells West

The station had a news cinema (later a cartoon cinema) that showed a continuous programme. The cinema was designed by Alister MacDonald, son of the Prime Minister Ramsay, and was in operation from 1933 until it was demolished in 1981. The GWR remained part-owner of the station until 1932 thereafter retaining running powers, although it does not appear to have used them.[53][54]

Night-train services stopped running from Victoria on 4 September 1939 after World War II was declared, and other services were terminated following the German invasion of France in May 1940. Though the station was bombed several times in 1940 and 1941, there was not enough damage to prevent operations. A plane crashed into the eastern side of the station on 15 September 1940 and a flying bomb caused partial damage on 27 June 1944.[55]

The greatest change to the station during the 1920s and 1930s was the introduction of third-rail electrification for all suburban and many main-line services, replacing the original LB&SCR overhead scheme by 1929 and largely replacing steam traction, except on Chatham Section main-line and Oxted line trains. Services to Orpington were electrified in 1925 and to Epsom the following year. By 1932 the Brighton Main Line was electrified, quickly followed by those to other Sussex coastal towns and Portsmouth by 1938.[56] The brand name "Southern Electric" was applied to all these services. The Brighton Belle, the first electric all-Pullman service in the world, ran from Victoria from 29 June 1934 until its withdrawal in 1972.[53][57]

The Golden Arrow leaving Victoria Station, 1953

British Railways (BR) took over the station on 1 January 1948. A new set of offices for Continental trains opened on 14 June, while the eastern booking hall was renovated, opening on 5 February 1951.[55][58]

During the 1950s and early 1960s British Railways (Southern Region) completed its Kent Coast Electrification schemes, which meant that most of the remaining services from the station were electrified, including boat trains. Some minor services were withdrawn, and the few remaining steam services, to Oxted and beyond, were replaced by diesel-electric multiple units.[59] Various plans were proposed at this time to redevelop Victoria, including new offices, hotels and a helicopter station.[60] The last steam service left Victoria on 8 January 1964 to East Grinstead, after which it was replaced by diesel-electric multiple units.[59]

The station was redeveloped internally in the 1980s, with the addition of shops within the concourse, and above the western platforms as the "Victoria Place" shopping centre and 220,000 square feet (20,000 m²) of office space. Platforms 16 and 17 opened on the site of the former taxi rank on 21 December 1987.[61][62] A major re-signalling scheme was carried out during the works.[53] The station was managed by Network SouthEast also under British Rail.[63]

Gatwick Express service at Victoria in 2003

The other major change to the station under BR was the gradual development of services to Gatwick Airport station after its opening on 28 May 1958. A dedicated rail-air terminal opened on top of platform 15 on 1 May 1962, designed by Clive Pascall.[59][64]

Several long-standing services from Victoria ended during the BR era. The Brighton Belle's final service was on 30 April 1972, followed by the last Golden Arrow on 30 September. The Night Ferry lasted until 31 October 1980, though the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, a luxury Pullman service, has been running intermittently since 1982.[53]

In 1984 the non-stop Gatwick Express service was started, aiming for a 30-minute journey time. This was coupled with the provision of an airport lounge and check-in facilities at first-floor level, with dedicated escalators down to the Gatwick Express platforms. British Airways and other major airlines had their own check-in desks there.[65] British Rail operated an International Travel Centre within the main station, separate from the domestic travel centre. At the time, Victoria was still a major departure point for international travel, with boat trains to Dover and Folkestone for France and Belgium and beyond.[66] This ceased with the introduction of Eurostar in 1994, which did not serve Victoria, and the International Travel Centre closed.[67]

Southeastern services at Victoria use platforms 1–8. The station is served by a mixture of metro and long distance (mainline) services. Metro services are operated using Class 465 and 466 EMUs whilst mainline services are operated using Class 375 and 377 EMUs.

As of December 2022, the typical off-peak service run by Southeastern in trains per hour (tph) is:[77]

• 2 tph to Orpington via Beckenham Junction
• 2 tph to Dartford via Bexleyheath
• 1 tph to Ramsgate via Faversham
• 1 tph to Dover Priory via Faversham
• 1 tph to Gillingham via Chatham
• 1 tph to Ashford International via Maidstone East

Southern services at Victoria use platforms 9-12 and 15-19 as of August 2022. The station is served by a mixture of metro and long distance (mainline) services. Southern Metro and Mainline services are both operated by Class 377 EMUs and Gatwick Express is serviced by Class 387 EMUs.

From 4 September, the typical off-peak service run by Southern in trains per hour (tph) is:[74]

• 2 tph to London Bridge via Crystal Palace
• 2 tph to Epsom Downs via Sutton and Norbury
• 2 tph to West Croydon via Crystal Palace
• 2 tph to Dorking via Epsom and Sutton of which 1 continues to Horsham
• 2 tph to East Grinstead via Oxted
• 2 tph to Reigate via Redhill
• 1 tph to Bognor Regis and Portsmouth and Southsea, dividing at Horsham
• 1 tph to Bognor Regis and Southampton Central, dividing at Horsham
• 2 tph to Littlehampton via Worthing
• 2 tph to Eastbourne via Lewes of which 1 continues to Ore

During the Suspension of the Gatwick Express, Southern Services at Victoria began to use Platforms 13 and 14 as well as operating the Gatwick Express fleet of Class 387 units. However this has now ended as Gatwick Express Services were reinstated in March of 2022.[78]

Gatwick Express, formerly a separate franchise but now operated by Southern, run services from platforms 13 and 14. Ticket barriers were installed on these platforms in 2011.[79]

As of September 2022, the typical off-peak service run by Gatwick Express in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 2 tph to Brighton (Stopping only at Gatwick Airport and Haywards Heath)[80]

However, within the peak hours, Gatwick Express services stop at intermediate stations between Haywards Heath and Brighton such as Preston Park, Hassocks and Burgess Hill.

Thameslink operate limited services from London Victoria to Sevenoaks in Kent, usually on Sundays or early mornings.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		Southeastern Victoria-Dartford		Denmark Hill
		Southeastern Chatham Main Line		Bromley South
				Denmark Hill
		Southeastern Bromley South Line		Brixton
Terminus		Southern Oxted Line		Clapham Junction
		Southern Brighton Main Line		Battersea Park
				Clapham Junction
Terminus		Gatwick Express		Gatwick Airport
Terminus		Thameslink Thameslink Sunday Mornings only		Denmark Hill
Terminus		Belmond London-Paris-Venice		Folkestone West
Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Sloane Square towards Edgware Road		Circle line		St James's Park towards Hammersmith via Tower Hill
Sloane Square towards Wimbledon, Richmond or Ealing Broadway		District line		St James's Park towards Upminster
Pimlico towards Brixton		Victoria line		Green Park towards Walthamstow Central
Future development
Preceding station	Crossrail			Following station
King's Road Chelsea towards Hampton Court, Shepperton, Chessington South or Epsom		Crossrail 2		Tottenham Court Road towards New Southgate or Broxbourne

The first part of the station was opened on 24 December 1868 by the District Railway (DR, now the District line) when the company opened the first section of its line, between South Kensington and Westminster.[112] The DR connected to the Metropolitan Railway (MR, later the Metropolitan line) at South Kensington and, although the two companies were rivals, each company operated trains over the other's tracks in a joint service known as the "Inner Circle". The line was operated by steam locomotives, creating the necessity to leave periodic gaps open to the air.[113]

On 1 February 1872, the DR opened a northward branch from Earl's Court to the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line) at Addison Road (now Kensington (Olympia)).[114] From that date the "Outer Circle" service began running over the DR.[115] The service was run by the North London Railway (NLR) from Broad Street (now demolished) in the City of London via the North London Line to Willesden Junction, then the West London Line to Addison Road and the DR to Mansion House, the new eastern terminus of the DR.[116]

From 1 August 1872, the "Middle Circle" service also began operation through Victoria, from Moorgate along the MR on the north side of the Inner Circle to Paddington, then over the Hammersmith & City Railway (H&CR) to Latimer Road and then to Mansion House.[117] On 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House.[118] On 31 December 1908 the Outer Circle service was also withdrawn.[119]

The original DR station was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century, initially as a single-storey structure. An office building was built above it later. The line was electrified in 1905.[120] In 1949, the Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the tube map as the Circle line.[121][122]

Plans for the route that eventually became the Victoria line date from the 1940s. A proposal for a new underground railway line linking north-east London with the centre was included in the County of London Plan in 1943.[123] Between 1946 and 1954, a series of routes were proposed by different transport authorities to connect various places in south and north or north-east London. Each of these connected the three main-line termini at King's Cross, Euston and Victoria.[lower-alpha 1] A route was approved in 1955 with future extensions to be decided later,[127] though funding for the construction was not approved by the government until 1962.[128]

As part of the construction of the Victoria line, a new ticket hall was constructed just outside the main railway building. From the ticket hall, a set of escalators led down to the new Victoria line. The Victoria line station opened on 7 March 1969, when the third phase of the line began operating, south of Warren Street.[129] Victoria was the terminus while the final phase was under construction to Brixton. This opened on 23 July 1971.[130]

There are two sidings to the south of the Victoria line platforms plus another crossover to the north to enable trains to terminate and turn back north.[131]

Following growth in passenger numbers in the 2000s, Victoria Underground station became one of the busiest on the Underground, with around 80 million passengers a year.[109][132] At rush hour, more than 30,000 passengers entered the station between 8 and 9am, and entrances to the station were frequently closed due to dangerous levels of overcrowding at platform level.[109]

TfL subsequently upgraded and expanded the station at a cost of £700m between 2011 and 2018 to alleviate overcrowding and to provide step-free access.[109][133] The work included expansion of the existing south "Victoria line" ticket hall, an additional entrance and ticket hall under Bressenden Place, new and replaced escalators, renovation and expansion work throughout the existing station, and step-free access.[110][111] Overall, the work expanded the station by 110%, with 9 new escalators and 10 new lifts.[132]

Although contributors to the public inquiry into the upgrade criticised that access to platforms was long and/or indirect compared to the direct access using the existing escalators,[134] the work was permitted in July 2009.[135] Construction began in 2011,[133] and tunnelling for the project was completed in 2015 after complex work; tunnelling took place 60 cm from the existing District and Circle line tunnels.[136]

The first phase of the project opened in January 2017, with a new entrance leading to a North Ticket Hall underneath Bressenden Place, linked to the Victoria line by new escalators and lifts.[137][138] The work was undertaken by a joint venture of BAM Nuttall and Taylor Woodrow Construction.[139] In January 2018, the second phase of the project opened, with a new entrance at Wilton Road in front of the mainline station and the expanded Victoria line ticket hall.[111] The main project was completed in October 2018, when step free access between all lines was completed.[140] Work to reinstate the bus station and the historic Duke of York public house continued until 2019.[141]

Victoria is a proposed stop on Crossrail 2, the route of which has been safeguarded since 1991.[142] The project would involve the construction of two new 250-metre (820 ft) long platforms, and new entrances onto Ebury Street and the main National Rail station. The District and Circle line ticket hall would be expanded and include a direct connection to the new Crossrail station. Crossrail 2 trains would also be able to reverse at Victoria. The service proposes to run 30 additional trains per hour through the station, which is expected to reduce crowding in Victoria by 25%.[143]

The Docklands Light Railway has also been proposed to be linked with Victoria.[144] This would be a continuation of the line from Bank via City Thameslink, with another branch to Euston.[145][146] As of 2020, these extensions of the DLR are not being progressed.[147]

In January 2020, Victoria BID - the local Business improvement district - proposed removing the bus station from the mainline station forecourt to create a new "Station Square". Bus stops would be relocated to nearby streets.[148][149]