A report on London travel blog London Reconnections reveals that plans to re-open Maiden Lane station, which closed over 90 years ago, are in a preliminary stage. Sitting snugly between Camden Road and Caledonian Road & Barnsbury on the North London branch of London Overground, the station closed in 1917 due to low passenger numbers, yet recent development around York Road may justify its resurrection.
A pipe dream, perhaps, given the extent of current Overground crowding and expected budgetary cuts. Yet, considering the impending revamp of King's Cross, there is some scope for improving transport links in the area. As the London Reconnections report notes, the main driver here appears to be the group Argent, developers for the nearby site, and they've ponied up the money for a feasibility study. They are keen to have a transport link placed conveniently near to their multi-million pound project, and who can blame them? If Maiden Lane is too troublesome, then York Road has its own abandoned Tube station, formerly a stop on the Piccadilly line between King's Cross and Caledonian Road: perhaps that could be re-opened?
A feasibility study carried out for that station's reopening by TfL reported that it would cost at least £13 million to bring it back into use, though the report further notes that re-opening the station would "provide little in the way of congestion relief". The report is available as a PDF here, and while it's heavy going, there are a few rare pictures from the station's murky interior to alleviate proceedings. It's the nearest thing to a reopening the station's likely to get.
Image by Homemade via the Londonist pool
