Widened Lines

The Widened Lines (also known as the City Widened Lines), is the former name for the Moorgate Line which currently forms part of Thameslink Core Route between King's Cross and Farringdon within central London.

For most of their life the Widened Lines ran from King's Cross to Moorgate, and were completed in 1866 when the Metropolitan Railway was widened from two to four tracks between King's Cross and Farringdon and a four-track railway opened from there to Moorgate.

The tracks were owned by the Metropolitan Railway but were used mainly by other railway companies. Connections to the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at King's Cross and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) at Farringdon allowed cross-London services to run. There was very soon a connection to the Midland Railway at St Pancras, near King's Cross. In the early 20th century competition meant the cross London services died, although the GNR and Midland services into Moorgate survived. In 1976 the former GNR services were diverted via the Northern City Line to Moorgate, and in 1988 the cross-London route reopened for Thameslink. The line east of Farringdon closed in 2009 to allow the platforms at Farringdon to be extended to take 12-car trains.

In 1863 the Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) opened the world's first underground railway. From Paddington the line was built using the "cut-and-cover" method beneath the New Road, connecting the main line railway termini at Paddington, Euston and King's Cross, then followed Farringdon Road in tunnel and cutting to a station at Farringdon Street near Smithfield, near the capital's financial heart in the City. The service was initially provided by gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives.

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