| Great Northern | |
|---|---|
A First Capital Connect Class 365 at Peterborough |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail, Suburban rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | East of England Greater London |
| Termini | London King's Cross and Moorgate Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | First Capital Connect |
| Depot(s) | Hornsey |
| Rolling stock | Class 313, Class 317, Class 321 and Class 365 |
| Technical | |
| No. of tracks | 2-4 |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50hz AC Overhead lines, 750 V DC third rail Northern City Line |
| Operating speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) maximum |
The Great Northern Route (previously known as the Great Northern Electrics) is the name of the suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and associated branches. Services operate to or from London King's Cross and Moorgate in London. Destinations include Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn.
The route forms a major commuter route into London from Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire; ridership has grown rapidly over recent years. In 2009 rolling stock was transferred from other lines to allow additional services and longer trains to be run. By 2018 the line will be connected with the Thameslink route via a junction just south of the High Speed 1 bridge, north of Kings Cross, to allow through services to south of London.
Contents |
The network consists of all local and semi-fast services on these lines:
Additionally, the main service on the Fen Line is provided as part of the route. All services are electric.
At privatisation the services became part of West Anglia Great Northern, becoming their sole route in 2004 when the West Anglia services were transferred to 'one'. In April 2006 the services became the responsibility of First Capital Connect. When the Thameslink Programme is completed in 2015, many of these services will become part of the Thameslink network, running through central London to destinations south of the River Thames.
Several services are provided on the route and these are, from fastest to slowest:[1]
A half hourly service running non-stop between London King's Cross and Cambridge with trains extended once an hour to King's Lynn.
This service runs Monday to Saturday and is reduced to hourly on Sunday.
An hourly service between London King's Cross and Cambridge calling at Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston.
In the direction of the morning and evening peaks, this runs as a modified half hourly service between London King's Cross and Royston only.
An hourly service between London King's Cross and Peterborough calling at Finsbury Park, Stevenage and then all stations.
In the direction of the morning and evening peaks, this service runs half hourly.
In the direction of the morning and evening peaks, there is an additional half hourly services calling at Hitchin, St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough only.
An hourly service between London King's Cross and Cambridge calling at Finsbury Park, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and then all stations.
In the direction of the morning and evening peaks, this service runs half hourly, but occasionally omits stops at Potters Bar, Baldock and Ashwell and Morden.
An hourly service between London King's Cross and Peterborough calling at Finsbury Park, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and then all stations.
In the direction of the morning and evening peaks, this service does not run, but is replaced by the Peterborough Fast service.
A service every 20 minutes between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City and between Moorgate and Hertford North calling at all stations. This provides a combined 10 minute service between Moorgate and Alexandra Palace.
Additional trains, some omitting some stops, run during the peak.
The service is reduced to every 30 minutes and runs from London King's Cross instead of Moorgate in the late evening and on Saturday and Sunday.
The term Great Northern is related to the Great Northern Railway, the original builders of the line.
The July 1922 Bradshaw's Railway Guide[2] contains a typical rail service on the Cambridge Line as follows:
Six stopping and two (three on Saturday) Semi-fast services to Cambridge (Monday to Saturday) - One Sunday stopping service to Cambridge with two back. The fastest service taking about 1hr30 to travel from London King's Cross to Cambridge.
An additional two (three on Wednesday) services reached Royston (Monday to Saturday) - one additional service reaching Royston on Sunday.
An additional seven services reached Baldock (Monday to Saturday)
An additional three services reached Letchworth (Monday to Saturday), the last service running just after midnight Thursday morning.
Since the 1960s, Great Northern has been used to describe the suburban part of the East Coast Main Line, south of Peterborough and south of Royston. The Great Northern Railway proposed electrification of part of the line in 1903, but it was not until 1971 that a scheme to electrify the line from London King's Cross and Moorgate was authorised.[3]
The Inner Suburban Lines to Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North were electrified in 1976[3] with Class 313 EMUs. In 1978[3] the electrification was complete to Royston with Class 312 EMUs providing the service. The route was then promoted as the Great Northern Electrics.[3]
Electrification was then extended between Hertford North and Stevenage in 1982 to allow trains to continue to the new station at Watton-at-Stone and Stevenage or Letchworth.[3]
With the electrification of the East Coast Main Line electric services could be extended to Peterborough and the Outer Suburban Service was changed from Class 312 to Class 317, cascaded from the newly created Thameslink route.
In 1984[4] the decision to electrify the line between Royston and the junction with the West Anglia Main Line north of Shelford allowed the service to Cambridge to be routed from London King's Cross via the East Coast Main Line instead of from Liverpool Street via the West Anglia Main Line allowing potentially faster end-to-end journey times. This electrification was opened in 1988.
Later the track between these points was also upgraded with welded joint track instead of the jointed track that had existed.
Rapid growth on the route, especially on the Cambridge Line resulted in consultation on a new service pattern,[5] which was then implemented at the timetable change in Spring 2009. During the peak hours, the route is now saturated and can support no further service improvements.
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In addition to the Welwyn Viaduct, the flat junction just north of Hitchin is a major constraint on capacity as trains travelling north on the East Coast Main Line have to cross two southbound lines to access the Cambridge Line. Proposals as part of the original electrification work envisaged a new overpass here and land was set aside for its construction. However, budgetary constraints forced this part of the programme to be abandoned. The land stood empty for many years, but has since been used to provide new housing.
A new plan[6] and subsequent application for an order[7] to build a flyover further north has been proposed to carry the north-bound line over the East Coast Main Line around the north of Hitchin to rejoin the south-bound line closer towards Letchworth. This route will actually be slower than the existing one but will not be subject to contention with other rail traffic so will be more reliable and free up additional capacity. The requirement for many lorry movements instead of using the existing rail infrastructure to move the required building material was a cause of delay.[8] The proposal has now been approved by Hertfordshire County Council and is currently under construction.[9]
As part of the Thameslink Programme,[10] the Great Northern Route will be connected to the existing Thameslink route via a new junction at Belle Isle[11] (south of the High Speed 1 flyover north of London King's Cross). As part of the Thameslink Programme 'St Pancras Box' project two single-bore tunnels (Canal Tunnels) have already been driven from here to the low-level FCC platforms at St Pancras. This will allow trains to join the current Thameslink route and continue south across the Thames.
The Varsity Line originally connected Cambridge with Oxford via Sandy and Bedford. Closed in 1967 there are now proposals[12] to restore this route, but via the Cambridge Line and the East Coast Main Line, diverting westwards at Stevenage.
While the Great Northern has a distinct set of Rolling Stock, it is detailed together with the Thameslink Rolling Stock here.
The Queen and Prince Philip are known to travel by scheduled train to reach their country residence at Sandringham, near King's Lynn.[13]