Snow Hill railway station (London)

Holborn Viaduct
Station entrance in August 1977
Location	City of London
Owner	London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Number of platforms	6
Key dates
2 March 1874 (1874-03-02)	Opened
29 January 1990 (1990-01-29)	Closed
Replaced by	St. Paul's Thameslink
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink

Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the City of London, providing local and commuter services. It was located to the southeast of Holborn Viaduct, and east of Farringdon Street.

The station was opened in 1874 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway as a new terminus to alleviate increased usage of the nearby Ludgate Hill station. It was originally a through station, with services continuing through the Snow Hill Tunnel to Farringdon and King's Cross. Passenger services through the tunnel ceased in 1916, and consequently Holborn Viaduct became a terminal station. The short distance between itself and Ludgate Hill saw the latter being closed in 1929.

Holborn Viaduct station became less used through the 20th century, serving a few local commuting services around southeast London and Kent. The station became redundant with the creation of the Thameslink service in the late 1980s, and was closed in 1990 under British Rail, being effectively replaced by the nearby St. Paul's Thameslink station (later renamed City Thameslink).

The London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) had changed its name from the East Kent Railway in 1859, in order to compete with the rivalling South Eastern Railway (SER) and build a railway into Central London. They had opened Ludgate Hill on 1 June 1865, but it had begun to struggle with increasing numbers of trains using the station. The LCDR was suffering financial problems following the extravagant spending to build the line (which would plague the company for the rest of its lifespan), and was unable to raise capital to expand the station. The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) had agreed to fund £310,000 to the LCDR, while the Great Northern Railway donated £320,000. A shill company, the Holborn Viaduct Station Company, was set up to construct a 330-yard (300 m) branch from the Ludgate Hill-Farringdon line that would terminate at a new station located on Holborn Viaduct, which would also have a new hotel forming its frontage.