Mill Hill East (ZML)

Mill Hill East is an oddity on the Northern Line being the terminus and only station on a short branch of the line from Finchley Central.

Information
Type:	Transport for London (Northern Line)
Station code:	ZML
Opened:	1867
Platforms:	1

The station was originally opened long before the advent of the London Underground, being a stop on the Great Northern Railway's line from Finsbury Park to Edgware opening in 1867. The station was opened as Mill Hill, the "East" being added later when another station called Mill Hill was proposed as part of the Northern Heights programme in the 1930s.

Northern Heights was a plan to takeover of the LNER line (as it was by then) by London Underground and making it part of the Northern Line [1]. It was proposed to double the line and electrify it. The Second World War interrupted these plans though Mill Hill East was re-opened as an electrified Underground station in 1941. Post-war austerity and changes in planning laws put paid to the plans, delaying and finally killing off Northern Heights. Mill Hill East was left as the terminus of a short single track from Finchley Central. Although the line was now part of London Underground, the LNER (and later British Railways) continued to use the station's goods yard until 1962 when it was closed. The rest of the line through to Edgware was closed in 1964 [2].

Mill Hill East is among the oldest stations on the current Underground, the Dollis Brook Viaduct which trains have to travel along to get to the station is the highest point of the Underground above sea level. Most trains to Mill Hill East are a shuttle service from Finchley Central though in peak hours there are through trains to the rest of the Northern Line.

Northern Line 95ts 51717 waits at Mill Hill East

Platform signage

Waiting room

Main entrance

[1] Siddy Holloway, Highgate Wilderness Walkabout (London Transport Museum, 2017) p. 8
[2] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 142