Blackfriars station

London Blackfriars
Northern entrance on Queen Victoria Street after renovation in 2012
London Blackfriars Location of London Blackfriars in Central London
Location	Blackfriars, Castle Baynard
Local authority	City of London
Managed by	Thameslink London Underground
Owner	Network Rail Transport for London
Station code(s)	BFR
DfT category	A
Number of platforms	6 total: 4 National Rail 2 London Underground
Accessible	Yes[1][2]
Fare zone	1
OSI	Southwark (Bankside exit) Blackfriars Millennium Pier [3]
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	15.53 million[4]
2020	2.89 million[5]
2021	4.80 million[6]
2022	9.41 million[7]
2023	9.95 million[8]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	12.993 million[9]
– interchange	2.932 million[9]
2020–21	2.100 million[9]
– interchange	0.581 million[9]
2021–22	5.982 million[9]
– interchange	1.500 million[9]
2022–23	12.905 million[9]
– interchange	7.722 million[9]
2023–24	13.946 million[9]
– interchange	2.193 million[9]
Railway companies
Original company	London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Key dates
10 May 1886 (10 May 1886)	Opened as St. Paul's (LC&DR)
30 May 1870	Opened (MDR)
1 February 1937	Renamed as Blackfriars
30 November 1977	Rebuilt (British Rail)
20 February 2012	Rebuilt (Thameslink)
Other information
External links	TfL station info page Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°30′42″N 0°06′11″W / 51.5116°N 0.103°W / 51.5116; -0.103
London transport portal

Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local (from North to South London), and regional (Bedford and Cambridge to Brighton) and limited Southeastern commuter services to South East London and Kent. Its platforms span the River Thames, the only station in London to do so, along the length of Blackfriars Railway Bridge, a short distance downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. There are two station entrances – one on each side of the Thames – along with a connection to the London Underground District and Circle lines.

The main line station was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway with the name St. Paul's in 1886, as a replacement for the earlier Blackfriars Bridge station (now the present station's southern entrance) and the earlier Blackfriars railway bridge. This increased capacity of rail traffic through the Snow Hill tunnel to the rest of the rail network. The Underground station opened in 1870 with the arrival of the Metropolitan District Railway. The station was renamed Blackfriars in 1937 to avoid confusion with St Paul's tube station. It was rebuilt in the 1970s, which included the addition of office space above the station and the closure of the original railway bridge, which was demolished in 1985.

In 2009, the station underwent major refurbishments to improve capacity, which included the extension of the platforms across the railway bridge and a new station entrance on the South Bank. The underground station was rebuilt at the same time, and work was completed in 2012. The nearest museum is the Tate Modern which is 550 yards (0.5 km) from the station.