Thameslink - Thameslink History - C

Thameslink - C

Thameslink History

Passenger services operated across London through the Snow Hill Tunnel from mid-Victorian times until World War I, when services terminated at Moorgate from the Midland line to the north, and at Holborn Viaduct from the south, at a time when most inner cross-London traffic had been lost to buses and trams.

There were low-level platforms under the main part of Holborn Viaduct station known as the Snow Hill platforms: these can still be seen when leaving City Thameslink station travelling northwards.

On 14 June 1941, railway manager George Dow proposed in an article in the London evening newspaper The Star that new routes be built in tunnels from Marylebone south to Victoria, and from King's Cross south to Charing Cross.

Both were to connect with a Paddington–Liverpool Street tunnel that he proposed, anticipating Crossrail by 40 years. He also proposed a north-east to south-west such link (Liverpool Street to Charing Cross), all giving seamless, key, main-line connections.

The Snow Hill Tunnel route remained open for cross-London freight trains until 1970, when the short section between Farringdon and Holborn Viaduct was closed.

Overhead electrification, completed in 1982, allowed the northern section to run as the Midland City Line from Bedford via the Midland Main Line to St Pancras, and via the City Widened Lines to Moorgate.

The Snow Hill tunnel was re-opened by British Rail to passenger trains after 72 years, with Thameslink beginning in May 1988. On 29 January 1990, the section between Blackfriars and Farringdon was temporarily closed to permit the construction of a new alignment.

The route through the site of the long-closed Ludgate Hill station, over Ludgate Hill to Holborn Viaduct was abandoned and demolished. The replacement route under Ludgate Hill was opened on 29 May 1990 by the Network SouthEast (sector of British Rail) concurrently with City Thameslink station, which was initially called St Paul's Thameslink but was renamed in 1991 to avoid confusion with St. Paul's station on the Underground (Central line), about 500 m (550 yd) away.

King's Cross Thameslink on Pentonville Road closed on 8 December 2007, when the Thameslink platforms at nearby St Pancras opened.

In the south the services divide: many main-line trains run almost due south through London Bridge to East Croydon and many continue to Brighton, but the other route/branch has evolved, as follows:

From 1988 to 1991 such trains went variously.
via Bromley: to Orpington or to Sevenoaks, (both since resumed) or,
via Herne Hill and East Croydon to Purley (off peak only).
From 1991 to 1994, such trains went only via Elephant & Castle and Streatham to West Croydon, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton, Epsom, Leatherhead and Effingham Junction, to Guildford.
From 1994 to 1995 such trains terminated at West Croydon (cutting franchise zone-crossing due to rail privatisation).
From the latter year such trains have run "to/from" a nominal furthest point of a true circular loop, Sutton, the Sutton loop calling at stations including Mitcham Junction, Streatham and Wimbledon.
From 2018 the service was greatly recast and expanded following the completion of the Thameslink programme:
A regular service to Rainham has been added.
A regular service to Horsham has been added.
In the north the present termini of the trains are Luton, Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough, St Albans and in peak hours, Welwyn Garden City.

Thameslink Overview

Thameslink Locale:

South East England

Greater London

East of England

Thameslink Predecessor:

Thameslink, 2 Mar 1997 – 31 Mar 2006

First Capital Connect, 1 Apr 2006 – 13 Sep 2014

Thameslink Current Operator(s): Govia Thameslink Railway, 14th Sep 2014 – 1 April 2028

Thameslink Termini:

Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge,

Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Brighton

Thameslink Stops: St PancrasBlackfriars

Thameslink Train Number(s): TL

Thameslink Line(s) Used:

Brighton Main Line

Chatham Main Line

East Coast Main Line

Midland Main Line

Snow Hill tunnel

South Eastern Main Line

Sutton Loop Line

Thameslink Technical Rolling Stock: 115 Class 700 Desiro City

Thameslink Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Electrification:

25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE

750 V DC third rail

Thameslink Track Owner(s): Network Rail

Rail Holidays
Rail Vacations

Luxury Trains
Luxury Tours

International Trains
International Tours