One City, Two Stations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Great Victoria Street and Lanyon Place

There have been two stations called Great Victoria Street in Belfast. The first was originally opened by the Ulster Railway in 1839, and was the city's first railway terminus, going by the name "Belfast" until 1852, when it was renamed as "Belfast Victoria Street" following the opening of two further termini. The station remained in use until 1976, when both it and Belfast Queen's Quay station were closed, and the routes they served consolidated into a new terminus named Belfast Central. The second Great Victoria Street opened in 1995, close to the site of the original, following an increase in the service level to Belfast exceeding the capacity of Belfast Central, leading to the need for a new terminus in the city.

Belfast Lanyon Place originally opened in 1976 as Belfast Central; the name referred to it being located on the old Belfast Central Railway, rather than it being in the city centre. The station served as the city's major railway terminus until the reopening of Great Victoria Street in 1995. Following this, the main services that remained terminating at Belfast Central were the from Newry and the 'Enterprise' service connecting Belfast and Dublin. Belfast Central underwent a major refurbishment in 2018, which led to it being renamed as Lanyon Place.

Answer: New Street and Moor Street

Birmingham New Street was opened in 1854 by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) as the terminus for services from London Euston to replace a number of other termini around the city centre, most notably Curzon Street. The original station was used by both the LNWR and the Midland Railway, which were amalgamated in 1923 into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The original station roof was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and was rebuilt using austerity materials until the 1960s, when plans were implemented to completely rebuild the station. The rebuilt station opened in March 1967, and lasted until 2010, when, after many surveys showing the public's dissatisfaction with the structure, a second major rebuild was implemented, which opened in 2015.

Birmingham Moor Street was originally opened in 1909 by the Great Western Railway to expand the capacity of its route into its main terminus in the city, Snow Hill. Moor Street was built at one end of the Snow Hill Tunnel, and also served as a terminus for local trains from Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon. Snow Hill station was closed in 1968 and the route truncated to Moor Street, but this decision was reversed in 1987 - this saw the terminal platforms at Moor Street closed and a new through station opened. However, the terminal platforms were not demolished, and were restored for use for services to and from London Marylebone in 2010.

Answer: Forster Square and Interchange

Bradford's first railway station was opened in 1846 by the Leeds and Bradford Railway with services to and from both Leeds and London Euston. The station was rebuilt in 1853 as part of the Midland Railway's purchase of the Leeds and Bradford, and then again in 1890. At the time it was known as Market Street station, with the name Forster Square only used from 1924. Another new Forster Square station was built in 1990, with the number of platforms halved to three. However, the new station also permitted electric Intercity trains from London Kings Cross to call at the station.

Bradford Interchange originated in 1850 as Bradford Exchange, opened jointly by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and Great Northern Railway. At its greatest extent, the station had ten platforms, although the majority of these were ultimately closed as a result of the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. The removal of services led to the decision to rebuild the station on a new site. The new station was designed as an integrated transport hub alongside a new bus station and, in 1983, was renamed as Bradford Interchange. At this time, it was strictly a local station, with its services running to destinations across the north of England. However, in 2009 it saw services to London reinstated.

Answer: Queen Street and Bay

The first station on the site of what is now Cardiff Queen Street was opened in October 1840 as Cardiff Taff Vale by the Taff Vale Railway. This was demolished in 1887 and replaced with a new station that was named as Cardiff Queen Street. This became part of the Great Western Railway in 1922, which led to the station expanding from three to five platforms. It was rebuilt in 1973, which saw the building replaced, and two platforms removed, plus a number of other improvements, which lasted until the 2010s, when a major redevelopment of services in and around Cardiff was launched. This saw another redevelopment of Queen Street, with a second entrance building and two new platforms built, taking the total back to five. This redevelopment was completed in 2014.

Cardiff Bay originally opened in October 1840 as Cardiff Bute Dock, being renamed as Cardiff Docks in 1845. The station had no building until 1843, when it served as the headquarters of the Taff Vale Railway. Upon the company moving to a new headquarters at Queen Street, a number of nations used the building as their consulate. The building was renovated to serve as a railway museum in the 1980s, which it did until 1997. The building lay derelict until 2017, when it was redeveloped as a commercial and residential property. The station operates as the terminus of a shuttle service from Queen Street, which is planned to be converted to tram-train operation as part of a major improvement of Cardiff's railways.

Answer: City and Queen Margaret

Dunfermline City was originally opened in November 1877 by the Dunfermline and Queensferry Railway as Dunfermline Comely Park. The station had a major rebuild in 1889, which saw it renamed as Dunfermline Lower, in contrast to the town's other station, Dunfermline Upper, located on the line to Stirling. When the latter was closed in 1968, Dunfermline Lower dropped the suffix to become simply Dunfermline. The station operated a largely local service from Edinburgh until the 1980s. However, the town's expansion led to renewal of services through the station during the 1990s, while the opening of a second major station saw it renamed as Dunfermline Town in 2000, and then Dunfermline City following the town's advancement to city status in 2022.

Dunfermline Queen Margaret was opened in 2000 as a station to serve the expanding eastern suburbs of Dunfermline. Located on the other side of an old triangular junction from the site of the former Dunfermline Upper, the station's name is taken from the nearby Queen Margaret Hospital, and is the longest of any railway station in Scotland.

Answer: Central and St Davids

Exeter Central was opened in July 1860 by the London and South Western Railway as Exeter Queen Street as the terminus of the extension from Yeovil. The station was expanded in 1874 from one to two platforms, while, following a fire in 1927, the station was rebuilt in 1931, with the work completed in 1933, at which time the station was renamed as Exeter Central. In 1948, the station became part of the Southern Region of the newly nationalised British Rail, but in 1963 it was transferred to the Western Region. Upon the implementation of sectors in British Rail, Exeter Central became the most westerly station under the auspices of Network SouthEast.

Exeter St Davids opened in May 1844 as a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway. Over the first decade of its existence, a number of railways used the station as the Exeter station of their routes. Most used the 7ft broad gauge developed by I.K. Brunel but, in 1862, the London and South Western, which used 4ft 8.5in standard gauge brought their service to St Davids. This led to a major remodelling of the station, which was completed in 1864. Following nationalisation, British Rail operated expresses of both the Southern and the Western Regions - owing to the routes they used, expresses for Plymouth departed St Davids in opposite directions. The station today incorporates many of the features from its previous incarnations going back as far as 1864.

Answer: Central and Queen Street

Glasgow Central opened in August 1879 - originally on the north bank of the Clyde, it was linked by a bridge over Argyle Street to Bridge Street Station on the south side of the river. A temporary solution of adding platforms on the bridge to increase capacity was completed in 1890, while in 1896 underground platforms were also opened. Between 1901 and 1905 the main station was rebuilt and expanded to its current configuration, with thirteen platforms extended right across Argyle Street. This station underwent a major redevelopment in the 1980s, followed by a refurbishment from 1998 to 2005, while the underground platforms, which were closed in 1964, reopened in 1979 as part of the electrification of suburban services in Glasgow.

Glasgow Queen Street was built by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and opened as Dundas Street, before being renamed as Queen Street. However, the building wasn't completed until 1878, by which time it had become part of the North British Railway. In 1889, low level platforms were also opened connecting the station to the expanding suburban network. The station absorbed additional services in 1967 when Buchanan Street Station was closed, which required some refurbishment to the station itself. However, it was only in 2017 that Queen Street began a major redevelopment that saw the main station building demolished and replaced. This process, along with the lengthening of most of the platforms, was completed in December 2021.

Answer: Central and Lime Street

Liverpool Central was originally built by the Cheshire Lines Committee railway company as their Liverpool terminus, and opened in March 1874. The station received additional, underground platforms in 1892, when the Mersey Railway opened its route from Birkenhead via the new Mersey Railway Tunnel. The two halves of the station operated with significant traffic throughout the first decades of their existence, until the high level platforms were closed as part of the Beeching Axe in 1972, with the station building demolished the following year. The low level platforms were retained and, in 1978, incorporated into the new Merseyrail network, with a new platform added as part of the extension of the Wirral Line into central Liverpool. The station today is located largely underground, and is the busiest such station outside London.

Liverpool Lime Street was opened in August 1836 by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to replace the existing Crown Street station, which was too far from the city centre. Owing to its popularity with commuters, within six years of its opening the station underwent an expansion. This was completed in 1846, while a second expansion was undertaken in 1867, and a third in 1879. Upon the nationalisation of the railways, Lime Street underwent further improvements related to the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, with electric services starting in 1966. During the 1970s, the development of the Merseyrail commuter network saw services into Liverpool rationalised, with Lime Street becoming the only major terminus. At the same time, a new underground platform was built to connect Lime Street to Merseyrail. The station underwent further renovation during the 2000s.

Answer: Piccadilly and Victoria

Manchester Piccadilly was built by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway and opened as Store Street in 1842. The station was renamed as London Road in 1847, while, in 1862 work began to expand the station, which allowed it to be divided between the operations of two different railway companies, which led to it being operated as separate stations. The station underwent further expansion between 1880 and 1883. The station's operation as separate stations continued following nationalisation of the railways, with one side run by the Eastern Region and the other by the London Midland Region. During the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, London Road was completely redeveloped, with a brand new station built on the site. Upon its reopening, it was renamed after nearby Piccadilly Gardens, while other termini in the centre of Manchester had their services rationalised into Piccadilly. In the 1980s, Piccadilly was connected to Manchester's new Metrolink network when two underground platforms were added. The 1960s building was subsequently replaced by another new building in the early 2000s.

Manchester Victoria was opened in January 1844 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway to replace its old terminus at Oldham Road. Over its first few decades, the traffic to the station increased, leading to it being expanded a number of times up to the early 1900s. Another station, Manchester Exchange was opened adjacent to Victoria in 1884, and the two were linked in 1929. This lasted until 1969, when Exchange station was closed. During the 1980s, British Rail removed services from Victoria to Piccadilly, with Victoria retaining primarily local services from the north-west, as well as platforms for the new Metrolink network. Victoria underwent a major redevelopment during the 2010s which saw the construction of a new roof, new Metrolink platforms, and renovation of the existing platforms to accommodate new services.

Answer: Central and General

Wrexham Central was built by the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway and opened in November 1887 as the terminus of an extension into the centre of the town. In 1895, a new through service began from the station by the Wrexham and Ellesmere Railway. This route was operated until 1962, when the route to Ellesmere was closed. As a result, Wrexham Central was truncated, with the station reduced in size, eventually becoming a single platform by 1973. In 1998, a redevelopment of the area around the station led to it being demolished and resited 370 metres to the west, with the construction of a modern station building.

Wrexham General was opened in 1846 on the edge of the town by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. In 1866, a further station, named as Wrexham Exchange, was added by the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway as a through station to Wrexham Central. This was operated as a separate station to Wrexham General. The station building at Wrexham General was replaced in 1912 by the Great Western Railway as a result of the increasing traffic to through the station. One of Wrexham Exchange's platforms was removed in 1973, while it was fully incorporated into Wrexham General in 1981. The remaining platform was not refurbished with the rest of the station in 1997, and only underwent a refurbishment in 2008.