Finchley Central tube station

Finchley Central
Finchley Central Location of Finchley Central in Greater London
Location	Finchley
Local authority	London Borough of Barnet
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	3
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	4
London Underground annual entry and exit
2012	5.51 million
2013	5.33 million
2014	5.68 million
2015	5.78 million
Railway companies
Original company	Edgware, Highgate and London Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Northern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1867	Opened (GNR)
1940	Started (Northern line)
1941	Ended (LNER)
1962	Goods yard closed
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°36′04″N 0°11′33″W / 51.6011°N 0.1924°W / 51.6011; -0.1924Coordinates: 51°36′04″N 0°11′33″W / 51.6011°N 0.1924°W / 51.6011; -0.1924

Finchley Central is a London Underground station in the Church End area of Finchley, north London. The station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley and East Finchley stations, and is the junction for the short branch to Mill Hill East station. The station is in Travelcard Zone 4.

The station was opened on 22 August 1867 as Finchley & Hendon as part of the Great Northern Railway's line between Finsbury Park and Edgware stations. As part of London Underground's Northern Heights plan, Northern line trains started serving the station in 1940 and main line passenger services ended in 1941.

Finchley Central station was built by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) on its line from Finsbury Park to Edgware station. Before the line was opened it was purchased in July 1867 by the larger Great Northern Railway (GNR), whose main line from King's Cross ran through Finsbury Park on its way to Potters Bar and the north.

The station, originally named Finchley and Hendon, opened along with the railway to Edgware on 22 August 1867 in what was then rural Middlesex. It was 7 miles 29 chains (11.8 km) from the GNR terminus at King's Cross. A branch line to High Barnet was constructed by the GNR and opened on 1 April 1872. The station was renamed by the GNR twice: to Finchley on 1 February 1872 and Finchley (Church End) on 1 February 1894. It was given its current name on 1 April 1940. After the 1921 Railways Act created the Big Four railway companies, the GNR became part of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923.