Abbey Line

Abbey Line
Overview
Type Heavy rail
System National Rail
Status Operational
Locale Hertfordshire
Termini Watford Junction
St Albans Abbey
Stations 7
Operation
Opened 5 May 1858
Owner Network Rail
Operator(s) London Midland
Rolling stock British Rail Class 321
Technical
Line length 6.5 mi (10.5 km)
Track gauge Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification 25 kV AC OHLE
Operating speed 40–75 mph (64–121 km/h)
Abbey Line
Legend
6m 45ch St Albans Abbey
to Hatfield
A414 road
5m 05ch Park Street
4m 37ch How Wood
M25 motorway
3m 37ch Bricket Wood
M1 motorway
1m 63ch Garston
A41 road
0m 78ch Level crossing
0m 75ch Watford North
West Coast Main Line northwards
0m 15ch Watford Junction
Watford DC Line southwards
West Coast Main Line southwards

The Abbey Line (or St Albans Abbey Branch Line) is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey railway station. The 6.5-mile (10.5 km) route passes through town and countryside.[1] The service is sometimes referred to locally as the Abbey Flyer.[2]

Contents

History

The line was opened by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 5 May 1858 and was the first railway to reach St Albans.[3]

Originally, there were two intermediate stations:

In 1910 a further station was opened, at Callowland. This was later renamed Watford North.

In 1924 the terminus at St Albans had a name change to St Albans Abbey to distinguish it from the Midland Railway main line station at St Albans City, which opened in 1868. The LNWR station was also served by a branch of the Great Northern Railway from Hatfield.

A sixth station was added at Garston in 1966 and a seventh station was added at How Wood in 1988, to coincide with the electrification of the route at 25 kV AC overhead.

The line today

Operations

Passenger services are operated by London Midland.

The stations between Watford North and St Albans Abbey are unstaffed, and tickets must be bought on the train.

The Abbey Line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 18, SRS 18.10 and is classified as a Rural line.[4]

Infrastructure

The line is single track and is electrified at 25 kV AC using overhead line equipment. It has a loading gauge of W6 and a line speed of between 40 and 75 mph (64 and 121 km/h).[4]

The service is operated using 25 kV AC EMU's. A Class 321/4 EMU is in regular use, formerly services were operated by a Class 313 unit. Sometimes (but rarely, more commonly in the past) a Class 150 DMU has been substituted.

Signalling

Signalling is under "One Train Working" (without Train Staff) rules, where only one train is allowed on the line at a time. Trains can be moved into Watford Junction yard by a manual ground frame there. On 28 October 2005 its incorrect operation caused an incident with a train, not in passenger service.[5]

There is an automatic level crossing outside Watford North. This is operated by a manual plunger for trains heading towards St Albans, and by a treadle for trains heading towards Watford Junction.

The Future

Since 1995 the Abbey Flyer Users Group (ABFLY)[6] has been campaigning to secure the future of the line and encourage its growth. The Abbey Line was designated by the Strategic Rail Authority as a community rail line in July 2005, one of seven pilots under the Community Rail Development Strategy.[7]

In 2004 a proposal was made by Transport for London for a London Regional Rail Authority to take control over some rail services which extended out of Greater London, including the St Albans branch line.[8]

On 30 October 2009 Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, announced a plan to increase frequency on the line by allowing Hertfordshire County Council to lease the line from Network Rail and converting it to operation using light rail vehicles from 2011. This should be made possible for the same amount of subsidy the line currently receives, as the new infrastructure required, such as a passing loop is cheaper for light rail than heavy rail.[2][9] Longer-term proposals envisage the extension of the light rail service into both Watford town centre via Clarendon Road and High Street, and into St Albans city centre,[10] possibly as far as St Albans City railway station, as well as the possible re-instatement of the line to Hatfield.[11]

External links

References

  1. ^ "Abbey Line - Community Rail Partnership - Route Guide". Community Rail Partnership. http://www.abbeyline.org.uk/routeguide.htm. Retrieved 9 May 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Lewis, Alex (30 October 2009). "Tram service promised for St Albans to Watford Abbey Flyer rail link". Watford Observer (Watford: Newsquest). http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/4710584.Abbey_Flyer_to_become_a_tram/. Retrieved 6 March 2010. "Provided the project gets through a 12-week consultation, ownership of the line will transfer from Network Rail to Hertfordshire County Council, which will tender for a contractor to run the service. Watford MP Claire Ward said...'The Abbey Flyer is going to be put on a firmer footing, and there will be better services'." 
  3. ^ Route History, Community Rail Partnership, http://www.abbeyline.org.uk/routehistory.htm, retrieved 9 May 2009 
  4. ^ a b "Route 18 - West Coast Main Line". Network Rail. 2009. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%2018%20-%20West%20Coast%20Main%20Line.pdf. Retrieved 1 June 2009. 
  5. ^ Report released on the derailment at Watford Junction Yard, Rail Accident Investigation Branch, 28 October 2005 (published 28 March 2006), http://www.raib.gov.uk/latest_news/news_archive/news_archive_2006/060328_pn_watfordjunctionyard.cfm, retrieved 9 May 2009 
  6. ^ Abbey Flyer Users Group, 13 November 2007, http://www.abfly.org.uk/, retrieved 9 May 2009 
  7. ^ Community Rail, Network Rail, http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/983.aspx, retrieved 2009-05-09 
  8. ^ "London Rail Authority". alwaystouchout.com. 7 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070926225154/http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/66/. Retrieved 6 March 2010. "Because the London commuter rail network does not stop at the GLA boundary, we will look at whether it is feasible to give Transport for London the right to specify and pay for services in an area slightly bigger than Greater London that makes more sense in rail transport terms." 
  9. ^ . 30 October 2009. http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?ClientId=202&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=408071&SubjectId. 
  10. ^ [http://www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/r/LTP3rail.pdf "Rail Strategy"]. Herts County Council. 2011. http://www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/r/LTP3rail.pdf. Retrieved 15 Semptember 2011. 
  11. ^ "St Albans Abbey tram-train announced". Railway Gazette. 30 October 2009. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/st-albans-abbey-tram-train-announced.html. Retrieved 24 December 2009.