| Summary : The location of a former underground station, opened as the Strand by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway on 30th November 1907; it was renamed Aldwych on 9th May 1915 to avoid confusion with the Northern Line's Strand station (now Charing Cross). The station served as the terminus on a short branch line from Holborn and, although it was served by a single train shuttle service, the line was built as a double track, with two platforms at Aldwych and two platforms at Holborn. The service was originally popular with theatre goers but passenger numbers soon declined and in 1917 it was reduced to single line running with the track of the second tunnel lifted. Since then, platform B at Aldwych has been used to try out new platform designs for other stations and to test new lighting designs. Services over the branch were suspended during the Second World War from 22nd September 1940 until 1st July 1946. During this time the tunnels were used as air raid shelter and to store artefacts from the British Museum. Despite reopening after the War, Aldwych still suffered from a lack of patrons. The need for an expensive lift replacement, a cost which could not be justified given the low passenger numbers, resulted in the stations closure on 30th September 1994. |