Located somewhere below the streets you walk on, these abandoned subway stations offer you a trip back in time.
Abandoned metro stations
The metro is usually full of people using it to get from place to place. A metro station that has been closed and abandoned for years looks particularly eerie. Looking at these photos of retired subway stations, you can try to imagine what they once looked like.
Lilac Gate, Paris
Part of the Porte des Lilas metro station in Paris, France, closed in 1929. It now serves as a popular filming location. It was open to the public for the last time in 2017 on the occasion of a European Heritage Day. People were then able to gain access to usually closed areas around the city.
Lower Bay, Toronto
Lower Bay Station is a “ghost station” that sits below Bay Subway Station in Toronto. This now abandoned station was only used for six months, in 1966. Its use quickly revealed a major design flaw, which could paralyze the entire network in the event of a breakdown.
City Hall Plaza, Boston
A few people explore this abandoned subway tunnel under City Hall Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts. First opened to the public in 1898, this tunnel was part of America’s first subway line from Scollay Square Station to Adams Square Station near City Hall.
Aldwych, London
Aldwych tube station was once part of London’s Piccadilly line. Closed in 1994, it looks like this today, but some areas have been preserved – including the original lobby with its old posters still hanging on the walls.
City Hall, New York
With its glass skylight, brass chandeliers and arched arches, City Hall Underground Station was designed to showcase the city’s newest mode of transportation in 1904. This station was decommissioned in 1945, after the Second World War. Engineers realized that its tightly curved track could not safely accommodate the longer trains the city was now using for its subway lines.
Mail Rail, London
Most people are unfamiliar with the underground Postal Railway – or Mail Rail – which carried mail between two sorting offices between the years 1927 and 2003. A museum of the abandoned railway line opened in 2017 and visitors can now board the cars through the narrow tunnels.
Saint Martin, Paris
Saint-Martin station – along with several other stations – closed after World War II, due to its proximity to other stations. They are called the “ghost” metro stations of Paris. The Salvation Army has turned several of these “ghost” stations into homeless shelters.
Metro tunnels, Kyiv
Miles of abandoned metro tunnels stretch underground in Kyiv, Ukraine. Most of these abandoned tunnels were intended to transport goods and not passengers.
Photos : Getty images
