Considering
@bluegoblin7’s informed observations, is there much point in TfL keeping Aldwych and it’s tunnels as part of their estate? It’s never going to be a major tourist attraction due to the lack of lifts… CGI and Charing Cross limits filming demand… Corporate events can’t bring in that much money compared to maintenance costs...
The station building is listed (and gorgeous) so of course should be kept (I think parts are still leased?), but – nostalgia aside – time to brick up the rest?
Would that it be that simple!
Remember that TFL still own and maintain similar tunnels and a station which have been disused for their intended purpose since 1900, in the form of King William Street.
TFL can only dispose of the assets if someone wants them. That might be possible for the surface building, but is more difficult for the tunnels. Likewise they can only be sold to someone who is considered responsible enough to own, and more importantly, maintain them to a level where they don’t pose a hazard to anyone. A government institution might tick this box, selling to you or I wouldn’t. There also has to be some consideration as to whether they might be useful at some point in the future, as indeed King William Street was when TFL wanted to upgrade Bank station.
Abandoning the branch altogether is somewhat harder than just bricking up and forgetting, even if there are a handful of disused railway tunnels around the U.K. where this seems to have been what has ended up happening. Fully decommissioning and infilling is a significant piece of work, and would likely cost as much as many years worth of minimal upkeep. And as has been found in other locations, infilling is in itself not always as permanent a solution as it might seem, for various reasons.
For these reasons, status quo is likely to be what will end up happening, unless there’s a specific reason to do something else.
