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Liverpool Street

The Great Eastern Railway’s London terminus, opened in 1874, and the busiest station in Britain (2024-25). Edward Wilson’s iron and glass train shed survives, remodelled with the rest of the station in 1985–92.

Liverpool Street: section looking out from the buffer stops (schematic)12a typical train (this one isn't on GB Trains yet)a typical train (this one isn't on GB Trains yet)3456Class 720 AventraClass 720 AventraClass 720 AventraClass 720 Aventra78910Class 720 AventraClass 720 AventraClass 720 AventraClass 720 Aventra1112Class 710 AventraClass 710 Aventra1314151617Class 710 AventraClass 710 AventraClass 710 AventraClass 710 AventraClass 710 Aventra62 ft (18.9 m)1890s extension46 ft 4 in (14.1 m)46 ft 4 in109 ft (33.2 m)109 ft (33.2 m)109 ft (33.2 m)109 ft (33.2 m)44 ft 8 in (13.6 m)44 ft 8 in
Looking north-east from the buffer stops. The western shed’s spans are drawn from Walmisley’s Iron Roofs (1888): two central spans of 109 ft between side spans of 46 ft 4 in and 44 ft 8 in, 62 ft clear under the arches; Historic England’s 76 ft is probably to the ridge. The 1890s eastern extension is drawn faint. Where the platforms sit is schematic. 5 px per metre.
17Platforms
1874Opened
98.0 millionEntries and exits (2024-25)
1stBusiest station in Britain (2024-25)

Facts

Opened
February 1874, by the Great Eastern Railway, with temporary facilities; the station buildings opened in November 1875
Platforms
17, numbered 1 to 17, all terminal. Platform 18 closed in 2021 so that 16 and 17 could be lengthened for nine-car Elizabeth line trains
Routes
Great Eastern Main Line; West Anglia Main Line; the Lea Valley lines (London Overground); Shenfield (Elizabeth line). Route names from Wikipedia only
Operators
Greater Anglia, London Overground (Weaver line), Elizabeth line, c2c
Underground
Central Circle Hammersmith & City Metropolitan (and the Elizabeth line’s deep-level platforms)
Train shed
Two broad naves between two narrow aisles, on columns with acanthus capitals, 1873–75, by Edward Wilson with ironwork by the Fairbairn Engineering Company. Spans of 46 ft 4 in, 109 ft, 109 ft and 44 ft 8 in, 62 ft clear (Walmisley, 1888)
Architect
Edward Wilson (Great Eastern Railway chief engineer); the 1985–92 rebuild by Nick Derbyshire of British Rail’s Architects’ Department
Listed
Grade II (Historic England, entry 1286133): the 1870s western shed and the 1985–92 work
Interchanges
6.53 million (2024-25)
Managed by
Network Rail

unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓

Where trains go

Where trains from Liverpool Street go The 13 London termini at their real positions, with each terminus's routes following the railway out of London and then splitting to the parts of the country they serve, set out by compass direction. N Clapham JunctionClapham Junction StratfordStratford Finsbury ParkFinsbury Park Willesden JunctionWillesden Junction LewishamLewisham Elephant & CastleElephant & Castle WimbledonWimbledon River Thames Liverpool Street to Essex and East Anglia: Greater Anglia Liverpool Street to South Essex: Greater Anglia, c2c (some trains) Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport: Greater Anglia Liverpool Street to Cambridge and Hertfordshire: Greater Anglia Liverpool Street Liverpool Street South Essex Basildon, Southend Essex and East Anglia Chelmsford, Colchester,Ipswich, Norwich Stansted Airport Stansted Express Cambridge andHertfordshire Stevenage, Cambridge, King's Lynn PaddingtonPaddington MaryleboneMarylebone EustonEuston St PancrasSt Pancras King's CrossKing's Cross Fenchurch StreetFenchurch Street Cannon StreetCannon Street BlackfriarsBlackfriars London BridgeLondon Bridge Charing CrossCharing Cross WaterlooWaterloo VictoriaVictoria Liverpool Street

Liverpool Street’s routes follow the railway out of London, then split to the parts of the country they reach, set at their compass bearings; point at a line to see who runs it. The other termini are the small dots; select one to open its page. Distances are true at the circle’s edge, 6 miles (10 km) out, and stretched towards the middle so the termini have room. The route colour is the map’s own: not official, and not any operator’s livery. All 13 together: the map on the Maps page.

Platforms 17

Platform plan, to scale from OpenStreetMap12/34/56/78/9101112/1314/1516/17Platform 1. About 600 ft (183 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 2 and 3. About 600 ft (183 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 4 and 5. About 600 ft (183 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 6 and 7. About 600 ft (182 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 8 and 9. About 600 ft (182 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 10. About 600 ft (181 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 11. About 600 ft (181 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 12 and 13. About 590 ft (179 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 14 and 15. About 580 ft (178 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatforms 16 and 17. About 580 ft (178 m) long, off OpenStreetMapN100 ft (30 m)Platforms, tracks and outline © OpenStreetMap contributors

Seen from above, to scale: the platforms, tracks and the station building’s outline (the grey line) from OpenStreetMap, the buffer stops on the left (north is marked top left). OpenStreetMap maps most islands as one platform, so they’re numbered in pairs.

Trains

None of these trains’ records names Liverpool Street yet. The Class 345 is the Elizabeth line’s whole fleet; the others are listed by operator. Greater Anglia’s Class 755 and c2c’s trains are left out until a source places them here.

History 7

  1. The first platforms open, with temporary facilities.
  2. The station buildings are officially opened.
  3. The eastern extension, by W. N. Ashbee and John Wilson, brings the station to 18 platforms.
  4. Listed, Grade II.
  5. Remodelled by Nick Derbyshire, with the southern half of the roof recreated in steel; officially opened by the Queen on 5 December 1991.
  6. Platform 18 closes so that 16 and 17 can be lengthened for the Elizabeth line.
  7. The Elizabeth line’s deep-level station opens.

Sources 10

Show the 10 sources from Network Rail, Historic England, Wikipedia and 5 more

Where the sources disagree:

  • Day of opening (2 February 1874) and Bishopsgate's dates are from Wikipedia only; Historic England gives only February 1874.
  • No reputable source found for the span widths or length of the sheds.
  • Facing directions (south onto Liverpool Street, west onto Bishopsgate) are inferred from the street names, not stated in a source.
  • Route names come from Wikipedia only.
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