London Victoria station
It was well known for luxury Pullman train services and continental boat-train trips, and became a focal point for soldiers during World War I.Despite the end of international services following the opening of the Channel Tunnel, Victoria still remains an important London terminal station.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.[16] 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.[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.[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.[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.[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.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.[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.[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.[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.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.[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.[47] 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.[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.The Night Ferry lasted until 31 October 1980, though the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, a luxury Pullman service, has been running intermittently since 1982.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.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.[81] On 27 August 1910, an empty LB&SCR stock train derailed due to inadequate signalling arrangements, leading to four injuries.Several people, including the au pair, reported seeing a suspicious blond or ginger-haired man walking from the train and washing cuts on his face in the toilet of the station, while there were also sightings of a man seen staring at women boarding the train at Orpington and changing compartments at Penge East, possibly into Linsley's compartment.No further action was taken as it was discovered that the incident was not a cause of Mujinga's death, as well as senior detectives concluding that "there is no evidence to substantiate any criminal offences having taken place".The older one, on the north side of the bus station, serves the District and Circle lines, constructed by 'cut and cover' methods just below road level.The station was not built for this number of passengers, which resulted in overcrowding requiring crowd control measures to be implemented at busy times.[119] The original DR station was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century, initially as a single-storey structure to the design of architect George Campbell Sherrin.[137] 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.[140] 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.[143] 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.[149][150] Victoria station is mentioned in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest as the location where Jack Worthing was found by Thomas Cardew.[151] The station is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Final Problem", when Dr Watson catches a Continental Express train from Victoria to avoid Moriarty and his henchmen.
Victoria lineVictoriaCity of WestminsterNetwork RailDfT categoryVictoria Station and Pimlico RailwayLondon Brighton and South Coast RailwayLondon, Chatham and DoverGreat Western RailwaysCoordinatescentral London railway terminusLondon UndergroundVictoria StreetBrighton Main LineGatwick AirportBrightonChatham Main LineRamsgateChathamCatford Loop LineDartford Loop LineOxted lineEast GrinsteadUckfieldSouthernSoutheasternThameslinkGatwick ExpressCircleDistrictSloane SquareSt James's ParkPimlicoGreen ParkVictoria Coach StationGrosvenor BridgeRiver ThamesLondonPullman trainWorld War Idiesel multiple-unitthird railChannel TunnelLondon Inner Ring RoadBuckingham Palace RoadVauxhall Bridge RoadTravelcard Zone 1London BusesVictoria bus stationLondon BridgeBricklayers' ArmsWaterlooCentral LondonThamesCity of LondonWest EndWestminsterLondon Chatham and Dover RailwayLondon and Brighton RailwayJohn Urpeth Rastrickthe Crystal PalaceHyde ParkSydenham Hillbranch lineSydenhamWest End of London and Crystal Palace RailwayBatterseaChelsea BridgeNorwood JunctionGreat WesternLondon & North WesternEast Kent RailwayWest London LineShortlands railway stationStewarts LaneGrosvenor CanalJohn Fowlerbroad-gaugeWindsorSouthallSouth Eastern RailwayCharing CrossUxbridgeReadingSloughSouth London LineGreat Northern RailwayBarnetLudgate HillCharles Langbridge MorgancrossoversCrystal PalacePullmanGolden ArrowCanterburySouth Eastern and Chatham Railwayboat trainsfuneral of Edward VIIThe Unknown WarriorOstendBoulogneNewhavenSouthern RailwayBig FourMitcham JunctionNight Ferrynews cinemaRamsayWorld War IIthird-railsuburbanmain-lineOrpingtonPortsmouthBrighton BelleBritish RailwaysBritish Railways (Southern Region)diesel-electric multiple unitsNetwork SouthEastGatwick Airport stationVenice-Simplon Orient ExpressBritish AirwaysFolkestoneEurostarsecond-busiest stationCOVID-19 pandemic