Once a railway station is opened, it tends to become a permanent fixture of an area.
Many continue to see trains stop there for decades – or even centuries in some cases.
However there have been some railway stations over the years that have not lasted this long – including one at a major UK airport that was open for just 126 days.
Heathrow Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe, serving destinations around the world and used by millions of people a year.
The airport is not short of ways to get there, with cars, coaches, trains and the London Underground all ferrying passengers to the departure terminals.
Then of course there was Heathrow Junction, a railway station that served passengers for just 126 days.
The reason, as you might expect for trains in the UK, was due to delays.
Work on the Heathrow Express started in 1993, with the work involving digging a new tunnel.
However there was a setback when part of it collapsed in 1994.
The incident saw a building subside and there were concerns the London Underground’s Piccadilly Line could have been crushed, however no one was hurt.
As a temporary solution to get passengers to the airport while work on the Heathrow Express continued, a new railway station was constructed.
Heathrow Junction railway station opened on January 19, 1998 to transport passengers between London Paddington and the airport.
The travel was laid along a disused canal route known as ‘Broad’s Dock’.
Passengers travelling to and from the airport could catch the Heathrow Fast Train, with a shuttle bus linking the station with the airport itself.
The station was only ever meant to be a stop-gap measure however and work on the Heathrow Express line resumed.
On June 23, 1998, the Heathrow Express started services to the airport’s Terminal 2 and 3 and Terminal 4.
Heathrow Junction and the Heathrow Fast Train were no longer required – and the service stopped running on June 22 after just 126 days.
