Opening

The Thameslink line opened in 1988 after the Snow Hill tunnel, closed to passengers since 1916, was re-opened to provide a through route to Farringdon and King's Cross from South London. Initially, trains used the approach viaduct for the now-closed Holborn Viaduct station.^[13] The new service was an immediate financial success, and it was decided to redevelop the Holborn Viaduct site with a new station and business complex. The work was part-financed by the London property developer Rosehaugh Stanhope.^[13]

Before Holborn Viaduct closed, a new line between Blackfriars and the tunnel was constructed on a different alignment slightly to the east and at a lower elevation, providing the opportunity to build 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) of office space above the station on a 4-acre (1.6 ha) site.^[14] City Thameslink was built to replace Holborn Viaduct station. The total cost was estimated at between £360 and £450 million.^[15][14] Because of a proposed routing for the second phase of the Jubilee line through the area, part of the station was built to allow for a future interchange.^[16]

Holborn Viaduct closed on 26 January 1990.^[14] All Thameslink services were suspended for 17 days the following May so that demolition work could be carried out.^[17]

The station was opened by British Rail on 29 May 1990 as St. Paul's Thameslink, and was renamed to City Thameslink on 30 September 1991^[18] to avoid confusion with the St Paul's Central line station on the London Underground, which is several hundred yards to the east, to the north of St Paul's Cathedral.^[19] It was the first mainline station built in central London in almost 100 years.^[15] The station was designed by SAS International, who designed the original walls and panelling.^[20]

In conjunction with construction of the new station, the area around the old Holborn Viaduct and Ludgate Hill stations was redeveloped and an old bridge across Ludgate Hill was removed.^[21] In 1992, following the demolition, an additional service tunnel was constructed connecting City Thameslink to Farringdon.^[22]

When the Thameslink franchise was awarded to First Capital Connect (FCC) in 2006, the Thameslink service was re-branded but City Thameslink was not renamed. By late 2010, FCC had reverted to the Thameslink name.^[23]

Recent events

As part of the Thameslink Programme, an upgrade of City Thameslink station was completed in 2010. The upgrade was important because the closure of Blackfriars later in the year would lead to increased footfall. The platforms were made ready for future 12-carriage trains, and the passenger information system improved. New lighting, ticket gates and CCTV cameras were installed, and the service announcement system was upgraded to provide more accurate train times.^[24] SAS retrofitted the station interior, as they had done for the original 1990 construction, with enamel wall panels that fitted the original design specification.^[20]

In a 2014 report, London TravelWatch suggested an underground passageway linking City Thameslink to St Paul's tube station to provide an interchange with the Central line that would benefit passengers travelling from the Central line catchment to Gatwick and Luton Airports.^[25]

In 2018, Govia Thameslink Railway announced a major timetable change, which was implemented that May. The changes included a half-hour service across Central London, connecting City Thameslink with Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport Parkway.^[26] The signalling was upgraded to support automatic train operation through the station, along with the rest of the core Thameslink route,^[27] and British Rail Class 700 trains were introduced into the service.^[28] The following January, several evening services from City Thameslink to St Albans and Harpenden were reinstated, after a six-month absence.^[29]