Farringdon station is set to be one of the busiest in the UK, connecting with Thameslink and the London Underground to provide links with outer London, the home counties, the City, Canary Wharf and three of London’s five airports.
The goldsmiths, watchmakers, ironmongers and blacksmiths of Farringdon, Clerkenwell and Smithfields and the Brutalist architecture of the nearby Barbican Centre provide the context for the design of the new Farringdon station. About Farringdon station - from Crossrail | see also +Farringdon Station for history
Farringdon Elizabeth line station has been officially handed over to Transport for London(TfL) today. It is the first of the central London stations to be transferred over to TfL, who will operate the Elizabeth line.
The station is now ready and the extensive testing and commissioning of systems have been finalised in advance of Trial Operations beginning later this year. Trial Operations is the final phase of testing involving trials to ensure the safety and reliability of the railway for public use. This includes real-time testing of evacuations of trains and stations before opening the Elizabeth line.
Crossrail Ltd plans to bring the Elizabeth line into passenger service as soon as practically possible in the first half of 2022. Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages. The project is currently operating timetabled train movements in the central operating section, known as Trial Running, and has handed over more than half of the new stations to Transport for London.
Ian provides a very full guide to the station from his visit, including news of the way that it links to Barbican Station.
When the plans were made for the Barbican end of the station, it was expected to have a direct link to the London Underground platforms as well. That ended up proving too difficult to engineer into the space, mainly due to some listed buildings and other problems that while technically fixable, couldn’t be done at a cost that could be justified, especially considering the step-free Elizabeth line entrance would be just around the corner anyway.
What they have done though is keep some of what was initially built, and put in a dedicated lift shaft from the Elizabeth line up to the western platform at Barbican station.Credit: Ian Visits
Crossrail information
Farringdon station
Earlier reports
Our plan to complete the Elizabeth Line
Ian Visits