The 12 Oldest Train Stations In Europe

The Industrial Revolution completely revolutionized , indeed. It accelerated the speed at which humans did things. Before this, humans did things mainly by hand, but then machines started doing that. The period of the Industrial Revolution is defined as starting in 1760 and culminating in 1840. One of the most important inventions that came out of the Industrial Revolution was the locomotive. Instead of transporting goods with a and buggy, people could now do so on a train. Not only could more goods be hauled, but trains were able to transport people. And they were faster, too!

It’s no surprise that most of the oldest train stations are in , as that’s considered to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Let’s explore the 12 oldest train stations in Europe.

#1 Liverpool Road Station

Location: Manchester

Opened: September 15, 1830

Liverpool Road Station, located in Manchester, is the oldest train station in the world. It ran continuously from 1830 until 1975. However, passenger service was discontinued in 1844 when the Manchester Victoria Station opened. The station building is still standing today and is used for various things, including the .

#2 Broad Green Railway Station

Location: Liverpool

Opened: September 15, 1830

Opened on the same day as the Liverpool Road Station, the Broad Green station is the oldest train station that is continuously operating today. The station has been refurbished several times and the last time was in 1972. Today, the station has 2 platforms and services 300,000 passengers per year.

#3 Hexham Railway Station

Location: Hexham

Opened: March 9, 1835

The Hexham Railway Station opened in 1835 when it started servicing passenger trains on its service from Hexham to Blaydon. Because many stations in the original route are now closed, the station now goes from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Carlisle. It recently has been refurbished to revitalize the station.

#4 Deptford Railway Station

Location: London

Opened: February 8, 1836

Deptford Railway Station is London’s oldest working train station and it opened in 1836 from Spa Road until Deptford. The line expanded westward to London Bridge Station later that year and eastward toward Greenwich in 1838. There have been two replacement buildings, the first constructed from 1915 to 1926 and the other opening in 2012.

#5 Liverpool Lime Street Station

Location: Liverpool

Opened: August 15, 1836

The Beatles aren’t the only famous thing from Liverpool. The Liverpool Lime Street Station is the oldest grand terminus mainline station that is still in operation today. The station has been expanded several times, with the first one within six years. Today, the station has 11 platforms and services a whopping 10.4 million people every year.

#6 London Bridge Station

Location: London

Opened: December 14, 1836

The is one of the oldest in London and the world and has served as an important station for Londoners. It is one of two stations located south of the Thames River. The original station only had 4 platforms, but it has been expanded and remodeled over the years. Today, it has 15 platforms and serves over 30 million people every year.

#7 Euston Railway Station

Location: London

Opened: July 20, 1837

Located in the London Borough of Camden, the Euston station would service trains that went to Boxmoor. The original station was grandiose and had columns going into the entrance. There was controversy when it was decided the old station would be demolished to build a more modern-looking station in the 1960s.

#8 Harrow and Wealdstone Station

Location: London

Opened: July 20, 1837

The station opened in Middlesex, which at the time was a rural area close to London. The area around the station has grown and the station also eventually expanded. Today, the station has 6 platforms and services 2.3 million people per year.

#9 Gare Saint Lazare

Location: Paris

Opened: August 24, 1837

Gare Saint Lazare was the first train station built in and currently is the third-busiest station in the capital. Queen Marie-Amelie inaugurated the train station, which only served trains going to Le Pecq. Afterward, the station has been enlarged and remodeled several times. Currently, it has 27 platforms and serves over 290,000 passengers daily.

#10 Vitebsky Railway Station

Location: St. Petersburg

Opened: October 30, 1837

Originally called St. Petersburg-Tsarskoselsky Station, the line went from St. Petersburg to Tsarkoye Selo, the town where a royal residence was. The station was the first built in Russia and it was demolished only 12 years later to make way for a bigger station. Over the years, the station has expanded and has been remodeled.

#11 Paddington Station

Location: London

Opened: June 4, 1838

Construction on the London began in 1833 and concluded in 1838 when it opened. However, it was a temporary train station whose line went from London to Taplow. In 1854, the permanent main train station opened, and subsequently, it was enlarged and remodeled several times. Today, it has 16 platforms and is quite popular with Londoners.

#12 Gare d’Austerlitz

Location: Paris

Opened: September 20, 1840

Originally called Gare d’Orleans, the train station serviced Paris and eventually reached Orleans by 1843. The first expansion took place in 1846, but then it was completely demolished to make way for a new station. The station opened in 1869, and still stands today, although it has been remodeled several times.

Conclusion

And there you have it, these are the 12 oldest train stations in Europe. At the advent of the , machines became prominent in the use of making goods, but also served a much revolutionizing purpose. Humans invented machines that could transport people and things. Because the Industrial Revolution largely started in England, most of the stations were located in England and only a few elsewhere in .

These stations are still in operation and although completely renovated, there’s a definite sense of the history of each station. The many shoes that have stepped where you’re stepping makes you think about the world we live in and how far we’ve come.

The 12 Oldest Train Stations In Europe