North London Line City Branch
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The City Branch was a short spur of the
History
The North London Railway (NLR) was founded in 1850 with the intention of operating a network of railway lines throughout north London that connected to the East India and West India Docks. The company's main headquarters was at Bow, and from there a connection to the London and Blackwall Railway's route allowed the NLR's trains access to a terminus in the City of London, in this case Fenchurch Street. However, this meant that, in order to reach the City, the NLR's trains had to take a fairly circuitous route, and so the company decided to build its own central terminus.
In 1861, the North London Railway Act was passed giving permission to the NLR to build an extension from its main line through
- Dalston Junction - the closest station to the main line, with the junction heading both east and west just north of it,
- Haggerston
- Shoreditch
- Broad Street- the NLR's new terminus
Passenger services along the Kingsland Viaduct to Broad Street began in November 1865. Initially, the branch had three running lines; a fourth line was added in 1874. The route was electrified in 1916 using the 600 V DC third and fourth rail system, with the purchase of new electric rolling stock. However, only the western five platforms at Broad Street were electrified.
Both Haggerston and Shoreditch stations, as well as the rest of the branch, received heavy damage in the
Today
Although the route was mothballed following the closure of Broad Street in 1986, the trackbed along the Kingsland Viaduct remained intact. As a consequence, much of the route was restored when