Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini

The commission recommended that lines north of the River Thames should be prevented from entering the central area.

The absence of rail connections contributed to the creation of the Metropolitan Railway, the first part of the London Underground.

At the time, Britain was in the midst of railway mania with 435 bills submitted for parliamentary consideration in England and Wales with nineteen new lines and termini proposed for London.

[2] Within the area under consideration the nineteen proposed new lines and termini were identified as:[2] North Side of the River Thames South Side of the River Thames The commission interviewed representatives of the various railway companies and other proponents of schemes and collected and collated a body of information.

[19] The line progressively extended from both ends forming connections with the Metropolitan District Railway to complete the Inner Circle in 1876.

Map of London in 1836 overlaid with the area confirmed by the Royal Commission into which railways should be prevented from entering
Plan for the Central Terminus, proposed by Charles Pearson as a shared terminus for railways entering the City of London from the north
1899 map of railways around the central area