Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (itself named after Queen Victoria), the main line station is a terminus of the Brighton Main Line to and and the Chatham Main Line to and Dover via . From the main lines, trains can connect to the Catford Loop Line, the Dartford Loop Line, and the Oxted line to and . Southern operates most commuter and regional services to south London, Sussex and parts of east Surrey, while Southeastern operates trains to south-east London and Kent, alongside limited services operated by Thameslink. Gatwick Express trains run direct to Gatwick. The Underground station is on the Circle and District lines between and , and the Victoria line between and . The area around the station is an important interchange for other forms of transport: a local bus station is in the forecourt and Victoria Coach Station is nearby.
Victoria was built to serve both the Brighton and Chatham Main Lines, and has always had a "split" feel of being two separate stations. The Brighton station opened in 1860 with the Chatham station following two years later. It replaced a temporary terminus at Pimlico, and construction involved building the Grosvenor Bridge over the River Thames. It became immediately popular as a London terminus, causing delays and requiring upgrades and rebuilding. It was well known for luxury Pullman train services and continental boat-train trips, and became a focal point for soldiers during World War I.
Like other London termini, steam trains were phased out of Victoria by the 1960s, to be replaced by suburban electric and diesel multiple-unit services; all services from the station are currently operated using electric multiple units. Despite the end of international services following the opening of the Channel Tunnel, Victoria still remains an important London terminal station. The connected Underground station, in particular, suffered from overcrowding, until a major upgrade was completed in the late 2010s. The Gatwick Express service provides easy access between Central London and Gatwick Airport for international travellers.
Location
The station complex is in Victoria in the City of Westminster, immediately south of the London Inner Ring Road. It is located south of Victoria Street, east of Buckingham Palace Road and west of Vauxhall Bridge Road. Several different railways lead into the station line by way of Grosvenor Bridge from the south west, south and south east. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1970.
Victoria Coach Station is about 300 metres south-west of the railway stations. It is the main London coach terminal and serves all parts of the UK and mainland Europe.
London Buses routes 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 24, 26, 36, 38, 44, 52, 148, 170, 185, 211, 390, C1, C10 and night routes N2, N11, N26, N32, N38, N44 and N136 serve the station at Victoria bus station or neighbouring streets.
History
Background
By 1850, railways serving destinations to the south of London had three termini available – , and Waterloo. All three were inconvenient for Central London as they terminated south of the river Thames, whereas the main centres of population, business and government were north of the river in the City of London, the West End and Westminster.
Victoria Station was designed in a piecemeal fashion to help address this problem for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR). It consisted of two adjacent main line railway stations which, from the viewpoint of passengers, were unconnected.
Early history
The London and Brighton Railway terminus at London Bridge provided reasonable access to the City of London but was inconvenient for travellers to and from Westminster. As early as 1842 John Urpeth Rastrick had proposed that the railway should build a branch to serve the West End, but his proposal was unsuccessful.