| Romford to Upminster Line | |
|---|---|
A train awaits departure at Upminster |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Suburban rail; heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Greater London |
| Termini | Romford Upminster |
| Stations | 3 |
| Services | 1 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 7 June 1893 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | National Express East Anglia |
| Character | Branch line |
| Depot(s) | Ilford |
| Rolling stock | Class 317 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 3.4 mi (5.47 km) |
| No. of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge |
| Electrification | 25 kV AC |
| Operating speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Romford to Upminster Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Legend
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Romford to Upminster Line or Upminster Branch Line is a 3.4 mi (5.47 km) branch line between Romford and Upminster in the London Borough of Havering. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.09, and is classified as a rural line.[1] The line is single track throughout, electrified at 25 kV AC, has a loading gauge of W6, and a line speed of 30 mph.[1]
Contents |
The line was originally built as a branch of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) and opened on 7 June 1893 providing the LT&SR with an inroad into Great Eastern Railway territory at Romford and a small goods yard where the branch joins the Great Eastern Main Line. At Romford the branch had a separate station entrance in a three storey building opposite the Great Eastern station entrance and a cast iron footbridge was also constructed over South Street opened when a LT&SR train was due. When in April 1934 the LT&SR building ceased use as a station and the ground floor rented as a shop the then LNER took control of the whole station.
Emerson Park Halt opened 1 October 1909. A run round loop was constructed 500 yards to the west to enable extra trains to run between Emerson Park and Upminster. When push-pull working began in 1934 the loop was not needed and taken out c1936.[2]
From 17 September 1956 DMU's from Stratford replaced the steam service and from 20 April 1957 a new bay (dead end) platform six opened at Upminster effectively making it part of the Great Eastern Railway.
After attempts to close the line in the 1960s failed the line continued until it became the last DMU operated service of the Great Eastern and the line was electrified and EMU services began on the 17 April 1986.[3]
The branch is known colloquially as the Romford Push and Pull as it is single-track throughout. It is electrified at 25 kV AC. Electrification of the line saw an end to years of speculation about its future. There is only one intermediate station, at Emerson Park. At Upminster the connection west of the station to the LT&S line was severed in 1968.[4]
The branch is not signalled. There were plans to link the line from platform six at Upminster to the reception tracks of the underground depot. This would have allowed the transfer of London Underground D78 Stock units onto the main line to be hauled away by diesel locomotive for refurbishment by Bombardier at Ilford Depot. These plans were scrapped when the refurbishment work was transferred to Wakefield in Yorkshire and the transfer was done by road.[5] The point-work which was half installed is still visible from the eastern end of platform 5 of Upminster.
The line is entirely within Travelcard Zone 6. Passenger services are currently operated by National Express East Anglia, who replaced the previous operator, First Great Eastern, on 1 April 2004. Trains are normally formed by a Class 317. The current service pattern on the route (as of 2006) is one train every 30 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays between approximately 06:00 and 20:00 with no service on Sundays. There is a slightly increased service during peak hours where the line runs at full capacity. The journey time from one end of the line to the other is eight minutes.