British Museum tube station

The British Museum station was a Central line stop in central London, near the British Museum in Great Russell Street. It opened in 1900 and closed in 1933, less than 100 yards from Holborn station. The surface building was demolished in 1989, leaving only part of the eastbound tunnel visible from passing trains. For decades it served as a military office and command post. The station’s platforms were removed, lowering the tunnel floor to track level. The station’s history includes a failed plan to link it to Holborn via an underground passageway. In 1913, a proposal suggested enlarging tunnels to create new platforms at Holborn and abandoning British Museum station. The First World War delayed the work, but modernisation in the 1930s led to its closure. The abandoned platforms were later used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War. Today, a section of the eastbound tunnel stores track maintenance materials, visible from passing trains. The station appears in the computer game *Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror*, where it plays a key role. Local legend claims the ghost of an Egyptian princess haunts the tunnels, screaming loudly enough to be heard at nearby stations.