Pepole on the station concourseLiverpool Street serves destinations in the East of England including Stansted Airport, Cambridge, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Ipswich, Chelmsford, Colchester, Braintree, Southend on Sea and the port of Harwich, as well as many suburban stations in north-eastern London, Essex and Hertfordshire. It is one of the busiest commuter stations in London. A daily express train to Harwich connects with the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, forming the Dutchflyer service. Trains from Liverpool Street do not go to Liverpool. For that city, Euston is the London terminus.
Almost all passenger services from Liverpool Street are operated by 'one'. 'one' operate local and suburban services on the Great Eastern and West Anglia lines, express services to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich as well as local services in the East Anglia region. These routes are collectively known as the Greater Anglia network.
There are two weekday evening shuttle services to Barking, calling only at Stratford, which are operated by c2c.[1] All other c2c services depart from Fenchurch Street railway station, although Liverpool Street is also used in times of engineering work. Both one and c2c are owned by National Express Group.
[edit] History
Liverpool Street station in 1896.The station was first opened to traffic on 2 February 1874 by the Great Eastern Railway and was completely operational from 1 November 1875. From this date the original terminal: Bishopsgate railway station, was closed to passengers. It reopened as a goods station in 1881 but was destroyed by fire on 5 December 1964. The site is now being redeveloped as part of the extension of London Underground's East London line.
The new station was designed by the Eastern's chief engineer, Edward Wilson and was built by John Mowlem & Co. on a site which had been occupied by Bethlem Royal Hospital from the 13th century to the 17th century. A Corporation of London plaque commemorating the station's construction hangs on the wall of the adjoining former Great Eastern Hotel, which was designed by Charles Barry (junior) (son of Sir Charles Barry) and his brother Edward Middleton Barry, and also built by John Mowlem & Co. The station was named after the street on which it stands, which in turn was named in honour of British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, having been built as part of an extension of the City of London towards the end of his term in office.
The station roof, with a Class 90 locomotive in the foreground
The station interior
Aerial viewThe construction of the station was due to the desire of the company to gain a terminal closer to the city than the one opened by the predecessor Eastern Counties Railway, at Shoreditch, that had opened on 1 July 1840. This station was renamed "Bishopsgate" in 1846. The construction proved extremely expensive due to the cost of acquiring property and many people were displaced due to the large scale demolitions. The desire to physically link the GER lines to those of the sub-surface Metropolitan Railway, a link seldom used and relatively soon abandoned, also meant that the GER's lines had to drop down to below ground level from the existing viaducts east of Bishopsgate. This means that to this day there are considerable gradients leading out of the station. Lord Salisbury, who was chairman of the Great Eastern in 1870, said that the Liverpool Street extension was "one of the greatest mistakes ever committed in connection with a railway."
The station was the first place in London to be hit by German Gotha bomber aircraft during World War I. The May 1917 bombing, which saw the station take a direct hit from 1,000 pounds of bombs, killed 162 people. During World War II a bomb which landed in Bishopsgate completely shattered the glass roofing.
Many Jewish refugee children arrived at Liverpool Street in the late 1930s, as part of the Kindertransport. In September 2006 a bronze sculpture, designed by Israeli artist and former Kindertransport refugee Frank Meisler, was unveiled at the station. There was previously a glass sculture by Flor Kent on the site, but this was removed when some of the artefacts contained within it started to decay.[2]
The station was extensively modified between 1985 and 1992, including bringing all the platforms in the main shed up to the same end point and constructing a new underground booking office, but its facade, Victorian cast-iron pillars and the memorial for Great Eastern Railway employees that died in the Great War were retained. The redevelopment coincided with the closure and demolition of neighbouring Broad Street station and the construction of the Broadgate development in its place. Liverpool Street was officially re-opened by HM The Queen in 1991. It was also at this time that the giant timetable board, which is suspended above the station concourse, was fitted at great expense. However due to technical difficulties there was a long delay after the official opening before it became operational. Today it is one of the last remaining mechanical "flapper board" display boards at a UK railway station, and certainly the biggest - though this too is due to be replaced by electronic boards in 2007.
The Great Eastern Hotel was extensively refurbished between 1997 and 1999 re-opening as a boutique hotel. The Hotel incorporates three restaurants "Aurora" and "Fishmarket" cater to the higher price expense account business lunch market while "Terminus" is a mid-range brasserie to service the City workers. The complex includes a Sushi Bar and two pubs.
The station has been twinned with Amsterdam Centraal Station since 1993, and there is a plaque marking this fact on the station concourse close to the main entrance to the Underground.
