Charing Cross railway station

Charing Cross
London Charing Cross
Approach tracks across the River Thames
Charing Cross Location of Charing Cross in Central London
Location	Charing Cross
Local authority	City of Westminster
Managed by	Network Rail
Station code	CHX
DfT category	A
Number of platforms	6
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	1
OSI	Charing Cross tube station Embankment Embankment Pier
Cycle parking	No
Toilet facilities	Yes
National Rail annual entry and exit
2011–12	38.114 million
– interchange	1.959 million
2012–13	38.607 million
– interchange	1.879 million
2013–14	40.170 million
– interchange	1.993 million
2014–15	42.979 million
2015–16	28.998 million
– interchange	0.828 million
Railway companies
Original company	South Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1864 (1864)	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°30′29″N 0°07′30″W / 51.508°N 0.125°W / 51.508; -0.125Coordinates: 51°30′29″N 0°07′30″W / 51.508°N 0.125°W / 51.508; -0.125

Charing Cross, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail and all regular trains serving it are operated by Southeastern. It is the fifth busiest rail terminal in London. The office and shopping complex above the station is formally known as Embankment Place.

The station takes its name from its location next to the central London road junction of Charing Cross. The front of the station faces the Strand, while at the other end is the northern end of Hungerford Bridge, which is crossed by all trains serving the station. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms, although the bridge entrance has no barriers it is only open to passengers during the morning peak hours. Therefore, there are regular ticket inspections carried out on the bridge.

Charing Cross is the London terminus of the South Eastern Main Line. All regular services are operated by Southeastern which provides the majority of commuter/regional services to South East London and Kent.

The original station building was built on the site of the Hungerford Market by the South Eastern Railway and opened on 11 January 1864. The station was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw, with a single span wrought iron roof arching over the six platforms on its relatively cramped site. It is built on a brick arched viaduct, the level of the rails above the ground varying from 13 feet (4.0 m) at the north-east end to 27 feet (8.2 m) at the bridge abutment at the south-east end. A year later the Charing Cross Hotel, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, opened on 15 May 1865 and gave the station an ornate frontage in the French Renaissance style.