East Brixton railway station

East Brixton railway station was a railway station on the South London Line from London Victoria to London Bridge. Opened as Loughborough Park in 1866 then called Loughborough Park and Brixton from 1870, before it was finally renamed East Brixton in in 1894. The station closed briefly in 1926, before reopening again.

Buildings

The station consisted of two platforms with wooden buildings on a viaduct next to the bridge over Barrington Road, near Coldharbour Lane. [cite web|url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/e/east_brixton/index.shtml|title=East Brixton|date=2007-11-02|work=Disused Stations|publisher=Subterranea Britannica|accessdate=2008-08-25]

Decline and Closure

Over the years the station became progressively neglected, and lost passengers from 1971 when Brixton tube station, the southern terminus of the new Victoria Line, opened nearby. After a fire in 1975 the station closed, initially temporarily but trains did not call there again and the station closed officially on 5 January 1976. The station was demolished shortly after closure. [http://www.urban75.org/railway/east-brixton.html] Nothing now remains of the station at track level: there are some arches and windows in the viaduct of the still used line.

Future

With the proposed extension to the East London and South London Lines running along the route, there have been suggestions that East Brixton station could re-open as part of the new London Overground network. Although the station was closed and demolished, there is still space to re-open it. The option of building platforms at Brixton railway station on the same line was mooted but nothing has come of it.cite web
url=http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/east_brixton.html
accessdate=2008-08-25
title=Then and Now: East Brixton station
publisher=Urban75
date=]

This section of London Overground would follow the line currently served by National Rail from Queens Road Peckham as far as Wandsworth Road, then branch off at Heathbrook Park, passing through Battersea towards Clapham Junction. This route crosses over Loughborough Junction and respectively [cite web|url=http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_objectid=14173461&method=full&siteid=50100&headline=junction-joy-south-name_page.html|title=Junction joy South|work=South London Press|date=2004-04-24|accessdate=2007-11-03] [cite web|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060719/halltext/60719h0006.htm#06071968000550|title=Parliamentary Debate: London Orbital Rail Network|author=Martin Linton MP|work=Hansard|date=2006-07-19|accessdate=2007-11-03] . Under current proposals, no stations are planned at these locations as the line is on high railway arches, making the cost of any station construction prohibitive [cite web|url=http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/3|title=East London Line Extensions - Loughborough Junction
work=AlwaysTouchOut|date=2006-11-09|accessdate=2007-11-03] . It has been suggested that a re-opened East Brixton station could provide a form of interchange with the Victoria Line and Thameslink as it located almost exactly in the middle of the two lines.fact|date=August 2008

References

Further reading

*cite book|author=R.V.J.Butt, |title= The Directory of Railway Stations |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |year=1995 ISBN 1 85260 508 1

External links