From the Wikipedia page [1] Holborn Viaduct was a railway terminus in central London. During the 1860s and 1870s, Ludgate Hill Station had begun to struggle with increasing numbers of trains. At the time, the LCDR was suffering financial problems, and so was unable to raise capital to expand the station. So, a separate company was set up to construct a 330-yard (300 m) branch from the Ludgate-Farringdon line that would terminate at a new station located on Holborn Viaduct, which would have a new hotel forming its frontage.