Farringdon station closing to Thameslink due to engineering work on Metropolitan line

[Mattplans]

Posters are now up at Farringdon station stating that due to engineering work on London Underground (the Met/Circle/H&C is closed via Farringdon this weekend), no Thameslink trains will be able to stop at Farringdon. Elizabeth Line is unaffected.

Could anyone explain why this is necessary? The work does not impact Thameslink directly.

I have noticed a similar practice at Mile End station on the Central & District lines in East London. When the Central Line closes due to engineering works, the District will not stop. Note at this station there is a cross platform interchange, but there’s no such thing at Farringdon.

Would appreciate if anyone in the know could share why this is necessary.

 

[Supercoss]

ZFD Farringdon station is a TfL station and staffed by them ( control room, supervisor ,gate line ) so if no underground running no requirement to fully staff same happens most nights after last tube has gone .

 

[ChilliSauce]

Posters are now up at Farringdon station stating that due to engineering work on London Underground (the Met/Circle/H&C is closed via Farringdon this weekend), no Thameslink trains will be able to stop at Farringdon. Elizabeth Line is unaffected.

Could anyone explain why this is necessary? The work does not impact Thameslink directly.

I have noticed a similar practice at Mile End station on the Central & District lines in East London. When the Central Line closes due to engineering works, the District will not stop. Note at this station there is a cross platform interchange, but there’s no such thing at Farringdon.

Would appreciate if anyone in the know could share why this is necessary.

Given that the Elizabethan is operating normally then I think that implies the station is actually open, all be it possibly only on the "National Rail" entrance on Cow Cross Street (and Barbican) .. If the tube entrance on the opposite side of Cow Cross Street has to close because of engineering work on the tube then I expect some risk assessment (or procedure) has determined that Thameslink can't stop given the only exit / entrance for the City Widened Lines would be at the South End of the platforms

 

[TrenHotel]

That's going to catch a lot of people out, especially as Farringdon is now such an important interchange.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

That's going to catch a lot of people out, especially as Farringdon is now such an important interchange.

and the look on the faces of those trying exploit the Farringdon loophole may be quite amusing when they reach St Pancras and have to explain how they arrived there with no ticket…

 

[Mattplans]

I agree about it being the outcome of a risk assessment…might be one for FOI

 

[Mojo]

Given that Farringdon is the hub for this weekend's work on the Met line, and the station is remaining open for Elizabeth line services, there could be a number of reasons, such as the ticket hall being required for conveyance of machinery and materials from street level to the track, or perhaps a fire alarm isolation being required due to the nature of the works.

I have noticed a similar practice at Mile End station on the Central & District lines in East London. When the Central Line closes due to engineering works, the District will not stop. Note at this station there is a cross platform interchange, but there’s no such thing at Farringdon.

I cannot say I have ever noticed this in the past. Indeed, the Central line is closed the weekend after this (31 Jan / 1 Fby) and District line will be stopping at Mile End as usual. But if you have ever seen this in the past, I would say the same principles as above may be relevant.

 

[Mattplans]

Given that Farringdon is the hub for this weekend's work on the Met line, and the station is remaining open for Elizabeth line services, there could be a number of reasons, such as the ticket hall being required for conveyance of machinery and materials from street level to the track, or perhaps a fire alarm isolation being required due to the nature of the works.

I cannot say I have ever noticed this in the past. Indeed, the Central line is closed the weekend after this (31 Jan / 1 Fby) and District line will be stopping at Mile End as usual. But if you have ever seen this in the past, I would say the same principles as above may be relevant.

Thanks for your reply.


This is similar to the example I was thinking of when I wrote that.




But you are most likely correct, especially since it is clearly not a practice to close Mile End to District line every time there is engineering work.

 

[starlight73]

I seem to remember this was done at Gloucester Road tube station last year. The District/Circle line was closed and the Piccadilly line (separate deep level tracks) was not stopping. I think the District/Circle line had rail grinding done so possibly noise levels as well?

 

[Starmill]

Thanks for your reply.


This is similar to the example I was thinking of when I wrote that.

View attachment 196284


But you are most likely correct, especially since it is clearly not a practice to close Mile End to District line every time there is engineering work.

I've seen it the other way around where the Central trains run through Mile End without stopping due to a large scale closure on the District line. It was many years ago before the Pandemic however.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jan 2026 ==

and the look on the faces of those trying exploit the Farringdon loophole

Is there an exploit you can use when trains stop at Farringdon, but not when they can't?

 

[rebmcr]

Is there an exploit you can use when trains stop at Farringdon, but not when they can't?

Tapping in to the tube without passing through a NR gateline.

 

[Hadders]

A temporary OSI should really be put in place between City Thameslink (Holborn Viaduct) and Farringdon for the duration of the works.

 

[Starmill]

Tapping in to the tube without passing through a NR gateline.

There are rather a lot of places where someone could hypothetically do that though. Including ones just a few minutes away like Highbury & Islington, Finsbury Park and Kentish Town. I don't think it's really an issue.

 

[A60stock]

I notice that a service is being run between Barking and high street Kensington via Victoria. What are these trains being advertised as? Wouldn't it make sense to have these setup as District Line trains (albeit with one Stop, HSK, being approached "opposite branched") seeing as the service is in theory all on the District. The stops from Tower hill to barking are not a Circle line service.

 

[TrenHotel]

A temporary OSI should really be put in place between City Thameslink (Holborn Viaduct) and Farringdon for the duration of the works.

I guess that’d require a bit too much co-ordination alongside consideration for passengers. Instead, the mitigation is acceptance of paper tickets on the 40 and 63 buses.

City Thameslink will be closed on Sunday, so trains will be fast from Blackfriars through to St Pancras.

 

[Mattplans]

City Thameslink will be closed on Sunday, so trains will be fast from Blackfriars through to St Pancras.

I think - based on RTT - that they might open the station this Sunday since it is very close to Farringdon.


This Sunday




Following Sunday

 

[Fenchurch SP]

I think - based on RTT - that they might open the station this Sunday since it is very close to Farringdon.


This Sunday

View attachment 196306


Following Sunday

View attachment 196307

That's a stop to change to 3rd rail. If you filter by Passenger Calls it shows no services. The following week they change over at Farringdon.

 

[Hadders]

Normally, Thameslink change over the power supply northbound at City Thameslink and southbound at Farringdon.

That gives a 2nd opportunity to do so at City Thameslink (southbound) or Farringdon (northbound).

 

[rmHawk765]

I notice that a service is being run between Barking and high street Kensington via Victoria. What are these trains being advertised as? Wouldn't it make sense to have these setup as District Line trains (albeit with one Stop, HSK, being approached "opposite branched") seeing as the service is in theory all on the District. The stops from Tower hill to barking are not a Circle line service.

Was going to make a separate thread about this - would be great to catch 'This is a Circle line train to Barking' though!
As to why they are not District line trains, I am also confused.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

We very recently had London Overground services running between Willesden Junction and Stratford via South Hampstead during Christmas engineering works.
They were announced on departure and throughout as a ‘Lioness Line service to Stratford’. Don’t have any knowledge of how they were announced in the reverse direction. Maybe as a Mildmay Line service ?

 

[boiledbeans2]

We very recently had London Overground services running between Willesden Junction and Stratford via South Hampstead during Christmas engineering works.
They were announced on departure and throughout as a ‘Lioness Line service to Stratford’. Don’t have any knowledge of how they were announced in the reverse direction. Maybe as a Mildmay Line service ?

See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/new-overground-line-names-progress.271250/post-7333484

 

[Ralph Ayres]

This one has been very badly publicised, though I see there were posters at the station itself for regular users. There's no mention on the TfL Status Update that the whole station is closed with no Lizzie trains stopping, even if you drill down to station level, scroll past all the stations with faulty lifts and carefully read about the various LU lines not operating at Farringdon. Robert Elms on Radio London was caught out by it this morning and reckoned the info at the station entrance was poor to compound the lack of any alert online.

 

[FOH]

This one has been very badly publicised, though I see there were posters at the station itself for regular users. There's no mention on the TfL Status Update that the whole station is closed with no Lizzie trains stopping, even if you drill down to station level, scroll past all the stations with faulty lifts and carefully read about the various LU lines not operating at Farringdon. Robert Elms on Radio London was caught out by it this morning and reckoned the info at the station entrance was poor to compound the lack of any alert online.

I travelled on the Elizabeth line to Farringdon this morning. The on board screens and announcements still said to change for trains to Luton and Gatwick, nothing heard from the driver. Also the Barbican end exit from the platforms was also closed with no warning.

 

[Mattplans]

Well I wouldn't expect the train to not advertise fixed connections... but then again other stock is capable of saying something like "National Rail services from Farringdon are suspended"

 

[rmHawk765]

Well I wouldn't expect the train to not advertise fixed connections... but then again other stock is capable of saying something like "National Rail services from Farringdon are suspended"

If there is no capability of the PIS to do so, a manual announcement can always be made...

 

[Mattplans]

If there is no capability of the PIS to do so, a manual announcement can always be made...

Not completely far fetched considering Elizabeth Line drivers enjoy shouting “This is Whitechapel. Change here for Shenfield via Stratford” a couple seconds after the train says the same thing

 

[rmHawk765]

Not completely far fetched considering Elizabeth Line drivers enjoy shouting “This is Whitechapel. Change here for Shenfield via Stratford” a couple seconds after the train says the same thing

Ah yes, I forgot they do this
To be honest I did get caught out on the first day of through running, needing Canary Wharf but ending up in Stratford! That said, I have no idea what the point of duplicating the announcement is.

 

[boiledbeans2]

Well I wouldn't expect the train to not advertise fixed connections... but then again other stock is capable of saying something like "National Rail services from Farringdon are suspended"

Yeah, at Bank / Waterloo, the announcers on trains always announce changing for the W&C line, even though it might be a weekend.

 

[rmHawk765]

Yeah, at Bank / Waterloo, the announcers on trains always announce changing for the W&C line, even though it might be a weekend.

LU, LO & XR seem to announce any form of TfL disruption/closures, the same can't be said for NR.

 

[Kite159]

A couple youths looked in horror when the train didn't stop at Farringdon heading south talking about what to do ticket wise as I suspect they are short farers and were going to use the oyster readers at Farringdon to touch into the TfL network

Hopefully they are idiot enough to buy an e-ticket from City Thameslink to Blackfriars and get caught red handed