Blackfriars Road (Blackfriars Bridge) railway station was a station on Blackfriars Road in south London on the South Eastern Railway between Charing Cross and London Bridge stations. The former entrance under the railway bridge is still clearly marked.
The station was opened in January 1864 and closed almost five years later in 1868, to be replaced by the station now called Waterloo East. It is opposite the entrance to Southwark tube station.
In 2005 the bricked up former street level entrance was cleaned up and original wording was restored. At track level widening of the viaduct on its north side is the only indication of its site. In July 2009 planning permission was given for a cafe to be built over the entranceway to the station.
Although built as a through station, Blackfriars Bridge was used as a terminus until the tracks across the Thames and Ludgate Hill Station were ready for opening on 21st December 1864. With the opening of Ludgate Hill and the interchange with the Metropolitan District Railway traffic increased dramatically and the services at Blackfriars Bridge soon proved inadequate. This was eased by the opening of Holborn Viaduct station in 1874 but eventually the LCDR decided to build a new station on the north side of the river which would act as a terminus with two through lines. The new St Paul's station which had direct interchange with Blackfriars station on the Metropolitan District railway opened on 10th May 1886. By that date Blackfriars Bridge had already closed on 1st October 1885 to allow for track alterations prior to the opening of the new station. This involved demolition of the platforms and the trainshed roof. The main building was retained as a goods depot. St Paul's was renamed Blackfriars in 1937 and is still open.
The old station remained in use as a goods depot until closure in 1964, it was largely demolished four years later although some traces remained into the 1970s and the cobbled access ramp is still extant today. Most of the site was used for office development. The original bridge over the Thames was closed from 27th June 1971 and demolished, the abutments and piers still remain with the southern abutment displaying the arms of the London & Chatham and Dover Railway.
