West Anglia Main Line

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West Anglia Main Line

Legend for Fen Line 55m 52ch  Cambridge TL461572 Varsity Line to Sandy Hitchin-Cambridge Line 52m 36ch  Shelford TL465522 To Long Melford 49m 01ch  Whittlesford Parkway TL484472 M11 motorway spur to A11 road 45m 56ch  Great Chesterford TL504424 41m 55ch  Audley End TL515363 To Bartlow 39m 72ch  Newport TL522335 36m 67ch  Stansted Airport TL556235 35m 45ch  Elsenham TL533270 M11 motorway Stansted North Jn Stansted East Jn Stansted South Jn 33m 28ch  Stansted Mountfitchet TL514248 To Braintree 30m 27ch  Bishop's Stortford TL491208 26m 57ch  Sawbridgeworth TL490150 24m 36ch  Harlow Mill TL471123 22m 59ch  Harlow Town TL446112 A414 road 20m 09ch  Roydon TL405105 Hertford East Branch Line 17m 17ch  Broxbourne TL374072 14m 01ch  Cheshunt TL366023 Lea Valley Lines 6m 00ch  Tottenham Hale TQ344895 2m 78ch  Hackney Downs TQ345850 0m 00ch  London Liverpool Street TQ332817

The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines which run from London Liverpool Street, the other being the Great Eastern Main Line. It runs due north from London, through the towns of Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Audley End station before reaching Cambridge, with two branches serving Hertford and Stansted Airport. The line runs along the border between Hertfordshire and Essex for much of its length.

The line is electrified at 25 kV AC, using overhead wires, and passenger services on the line mostly use Class 315 or Class 317 EMUs, although Class 170 DMUs are used for services north from Stansted Airport.

Passenger services on the line are provided by National Express East Anglia, who also operate the Stansted Express, and by CrossCountry (formerly Central Trains) from Stansted Airport north to Cambridge and beyond.

In London, the line also forms the Tottenham Hale branch of the Lea Valley Lines.

Some services run south from Cambridge to Stansted Airport, via Wendons Ambo (Audley End).

Some services run from the airport to Cambridge (not London), and points further north, bypassing Stansted Mountfitchet.

If Stansted Airport's expansion go-ahead then it is planned that the Main Line will see many changes. First Bishop's Stortford, Harlow Town and Tottenham Hale will see changes such as platform extensions to accommodate 12 car trains for the Stansted Express Service only or new platforms built just for the service. Bishop's Stortford station may even be re-built. Second, it is also planned that a lot of the line will be changed to 4 tracks from the current 2 to again increase capacity.

v • d • e Railway lines in the East of England: InterCity lines: East Coast Main Line • Great Eastern Main Line Main lines: Cambridge-King's Lynn "Fen" Line • Cambridge-Norwich "Breckland" Line • Colchester-Clacton "Sunshine Coast" Line • Ely-Peterborough Line • Hitchin-Cambridge Line • Ipswich-Ely Line • London, Tilbury & Southend Line • Manningtree-Harwich "Mayflower" Line • Thameslink • West Anglia Main Line Commuter lines: Chingford Branch Line • Hertford East Branch Line • Hertford Loop Line • Lea Valley Lines • Marston Vale Line • Northern City Line • Romford-Upminster Line • Shenfield-Southend Victoria Line • Witham-Braintree Line Rural lines: Cambridge-Ipswich Line • Crouch Valley Line • East Suffolk Line • Grantham-Skegness Line • Ipswich-Felixstowe Line • Marks Tey-Sudbury "Gainsborough" Line • Norwich-Sheringham "Bittern" Line • Peterborough-Lincoln Line • Thorpe le Soken-Walton "Sunshine Coast" Line • Norwich-Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft "Wherry" Lines • St Albans Branch Line