But when it opened in 1901, City Road was a fully functioning stop on what was then the City and South London Railway between Moorgate and Angel.
In August 1916 it was the site of a tragic accident when a guard signalled for a train to depart before all the passengers had got off – leaving one dead.
But discussions over its fate were being held as early as 1908 – it was in a deprived, run down area of Islington and had very few passengers.
The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre on the site of the disused City Road Tube station recycles air from the tunnels to heat an estate and a school. (Image: Wikimedia commons)
In 1922 when they needed to widen the tunnels for longer trains the financial outlay to extend the platforms just wasn’t justified.
So when the line reopened on April 20, 1924, City Road remained closed.
Like its fellow underused station Kentish Town South, the tracks 65 feet below ground were used during the Blitz as a temporary air-raid shelter with a new stairway in the old lift shaft, toilet cubicles, a canteen and first aid post.
But by 1970 the derelict brick station at the junction of City Road and Moreland Road was demolished, with just the old lift shaft sticking up above ground.
In 2009 the then London mayor Boris Johnson was asked about reopening abandoned Tube stations due to London’s huge population growth but the answer came: “There are no plans to reopen the disused City Road Tube station which was closed due to low usage. Local residents are already well-served by the nearby Angel and Old Street stations as well as local buses.”
Then in 2015 Islington Council hit on a scheme to heat the nearby King Square council estate and Moreland Primary School by capturing waste heat from the Northern line tunnels.
What was left of the station was demolished and replaced by The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre which opened in 2020.
Today if you are going between Old Street and Angel you may just catch a glimpse of the white tiles lining the ghost platforms at City Road Tube station.
