London’s lost Tube stations to see commercial revival

London’s underground rail system has a long and storied history of being used for tasks other than transporting the city’s millions of residents.

With passenger numbers dwindling, Down Street Station closed more than 80 years ago, only to become the corridors of power during the second world war.

Twenty metres below ground and safe from German air force bombs, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with 25 administrative staff and soldiers, used the station to meet his war cabinet and send messages.

In 2015 there is no longer a need for such wartime preparations, but there are plans to once again revive London’s so-called ghost stations with restaurants, art galleries and even a cinema.

Speaking on the plans for Down Street Station, Graeme Craig, commercial director of Transport for London, told Al Jazeera: ”This is a unique space within London. It’s a space not used by passengers since May 1932. …  It’s in the heart of Mayfair – it’s unique location, history, and space.”