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HISTORY The station was intended to be the southern terminus of the ''Great Northern and Strand Railway'', running from Finsbury Park in the north, under King's Cross Station , to a point near The Strand . In the event, the GN&SR was merged with two other proposed tubes to form the ''Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway'' (now known as the Piccadilly Line ), and the section to Strand became a mere branch. Although two tunnels were constructed to Holborn they were connected to the northbound Piccadilly Line only. The station opened as Strand station on November 30 , 1907 , and was served only by a shuttle service to Holborn , except for a single late-night service that ran through to Finsbury Park for the benefit of theatre-goers. This was withdrawn in 1908 , and by 1912 the two-train shuttle had been reduced to one train. The branch officially became single track in 1918 . The station was renamed "Aldwych" in 1917 so that the name ''Strand'' could be given to what later became the Northern Line part of Charing Cross Tube Station . A shuttle service continued to run to Aldwych until 1940 , when the branch was closed and the station used as a public Air-raid Shelter . The branch tunnels were used to store the Elgin Marbles and other artifacts from the British Museum . Service was restored in 1946 and continued until September 30 , 1994 , when the cost of a lift replacement was considered uneconomic, and the branch was closed. Over the years the station has been a popular location for film and television companies wanting to film on the Underground. As the branch was entirely self-contained and closed at weekends, its facilities could be put at the disposal of film crews much more easily than those of more active parts of the underground. The station's second platform, closed since 1917 , was used for many years to test mock-ups of new designs for platforms at other stations. Both these uses of the station continued after its closure. One of the platforms is now used as a Rifle Range by King's College London shooting club. The closed station still has many of its original 1907 features, including tiling and signage. The surface building is hired out for events, functions and art exhibitions. It is visible from the Strand opposite St Mary Le Strand church. A restoration of the building's façade has revealed the original name of the station. Despite being closed since 1994 the station still appears on a number of station listings along the Piccadilly line. The trackwork and infrastructure remains in good condition, and a train of ex- Northern Line 1972 tube stock is permanently stabled on the branch - this train drives up and down the branch a few times each week to keep the trackwork in good repair. The physical connection with the Piccadilly Line Eastbound remains, and has been used to bring in heritage trains of 1938 Tube Stock in connection with filming (the 1972 unit being temporarily outstabled to Cockfosters for the duration). Aldwych tube station should not be confused with the Aldwych Tramway Station , which was a stop on the Kingsway Tramway Subway . When the Fleet Line (later to become the Jubilee Line ) was being planned in the 1970s , it was envisaged that it would run from Charing Cross via Aldwych and Ludgate Circus and on to East London. This plan was scrapped, but a few hundred yards of experimental tunnel was dug from Charing Cross to Aldwych, although it never connected with the latter station. The tunnel still exists but is unused. FILMS MADE AT ALDWYCH TUBE STATION
Aldwych tube station also features as a level in the Video Game Tomb Raider 3 . Recently, the BBC Three reality show "Spy" {Link without Title} used the station as a training headquarters for their trainee spies. REFERENCE
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