Thameslink Is Now Serving Peterborough And Cambridge
This article in the Standard is entitled First Direct Trains From Cambridge To Brighton Via Central London Launch.
This is said about the initial service.
There will be one return service from Brighton to Cambridge, departing at 11.32am from Brighton and 2.14pm from Cambridge, and two between Horsham and Peterborough. These will depart at 10am and 1.30pm from Horsham and 9.46am and 1.17pm from Peterborough.
Do it looks like things are getting started.
Unfortunately, they’re not running on Saturday, when Greater Anglia is employing the dreaded buses.
A Class 700 Train In Platform 5 At London Bridge Station
I took these pictures of a Class 700 train in Platform 5 at London Bridge station.
I assume it was there for driver training and was waiting to pass through the central section of Thameslink.
According to the March 2018 Edition of Modern Railways services through the Central London core will be.
May 2018: 18 Thameslink trains per hour (tph) through central London core (12 tph via London Bridge and six via Elephant & Castle)
At least drivers and other staff seem to be getting trained.
Distilling the report in Modern Railways, gives the following service from May 2018.
Via London Bridge
- 2 tph – Bedford – Brighton – semi-fast/fast – 12-car – All Day
- 2 tph – Bedford – Gatwick Airport- semi-fast/semi-fast – 12-car – All Day
- 2 tph – Peterborough – Horsham – semi-fast/semi-fast – 12-car – All Day
- 1 tph – Cambridge – Brighton – semi-fast-fast – 12-car – All Day
- 2 tph – Bedford – East Grinstead – fast/stopping – 12-car – Peak Only
- 1 tph – Bedford – Littlehampton – fast/fast – 12-car Peak Only
- 2 tph – Luton – Rainham – all stations/all stations – 12-car – All Day
Note.
- This means seven tph all day between central London and Gatwick.
- semi-fast/fast means semi-fast North of the Thames and fast South of the Thames etc.
Via Elephant & Castle
- 4 tph – St. Albans – Sutton – all stations/all stations – 8-car – All Day
- 2 tph – Luton/Kentish Town – Orpington – 8 car – All Day
Note.
- The four tph St. Albans – Sutton go round the Sutton Loop, with two tph in each direction.
Here Are 31 Better Names For City Thameslink, The Worst Name For A Railway Station Ever Devised
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CityMetrics.
I tend to agree, as the name doesn’t give too much information about the location, unless you’re a Londoner or someone, who knows about Thameslink.
Look at the passenger statistics for 2013-14 for the station and its neighbours.
- Farringdon – 5.45 million
- City Thameslink – 6.02 million
- Blackfriars – 14.4 million
They are in line with their neighbours, but nothing special.
So would a renaming help.
Of the thirty-one names proposed by CityMetric, one name stands out to me. This is St. Paul’s West.
These pictures show City Thameslink station.
Note.
- It is a double-ended station.
- The Northern entrance is on Holborn Viaduct.
- The Southern entrance is on Ludgate Hill.
- There are escalators and lifts at both ends.
- The station name is given on the platform as City Thameslink for St. Paul’s Cathedral.
This is a Google Map of the area.
Note St. Paul’s cathedral and Southern entrance to City Thameslink station are connected by Ludgate Hill. As Ludgate Hill suggests, it is uphill to the cathedral.
So perhaps a name like Ludgate and St. Paul’s West, might be better.
There could always be a referendum or an on-line vote. But some wag would come up with an unsuitable name that would win.
City Thameslink station is a modern high-capacity station.
- The station is fully accessible.
- The platforms accept twelve-car Class 700 trains.
- Thameslink will soon be running twenty-four trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
- Northern destinations include Bedford, Cambridge, Luton Airport, Peterborough, Saint Pancras International and Stevenage.
- Southern destinations include Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Littlehampton, London Bridge, Maidstone, Rainham and Sevenoaks.
- There is commercial development over much of the station, some of which is better than others.
I have also read that the signalling of Thasmeslink could accept thirty tph through the Snow Hill Tunnel. So the station could see a twenty-five percent increase in train capacity.
What the station needs is better East-West connections to make better use of the station.
Crossrail
Crossrail connects to Thameslink, one station to the North at Farringdon station, which is not a long walk.
A Pedestrian Connection To St. Paul’s Tube Station
I believe this is possible and I wrote about it in A Pedestrian Connection Between City Thameslink Station And St. Paul’s Tube Station.
A Connection To The Docklands Light Railway
This map from Transport for London, shows the possible Western extension of the DLR.
I wrote about this extension in detail in A Connection Between City Thameslink Station And The Docklands Light Railway.
Conclusion
City Thameslink station could grow significantly in importance.
As to the name, if it grows in importance, perhaps it deserves a more important name?
The French would name it after an important politician, artist, philosopher or soldier!
We don’t do that!
If City Thameslink station ends up with a good pedestrian connection to St. Paul’s station and the cathedral, perhaps the whole station complex should just be called St. Paul’s.
Thameslink Trains Are Going Through London Bridge Station
This article on Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Thameslink Test trains Travel Through New London Bridge Platform For First Time.
This is said.
GTR’s first test passenger trains have made the trip through the new platform 5 at London Bridge following the completion of nearly three years of work.
The eight-carriage Class 700 RLU was the first passenger train to complete a journey over the new Bermondsey Dive-Under, as it came into London Bridge from New Cross Gate on New Year’s Day.
But they have increased their testing since.
This is a screen capture from Real Time Trains, showing Thameslink trains around 19:00 last night.
Note.
- Under the Platform column 4 and 5 are shown.
- Some trains appear to be stopping.
I’ve just checked this morning and it appears that Northbound trains are stopping in Platform 5 and Southbound services are going through Platform 4.
Thameslink Begins Testing At Redeveloped London Bridge
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in Rail Magazine.
This is said.
Direct trains from Blackfriars to London Bridge stopped in January 2015, but will resume this month once further testing and driver training has been completed. A full service introduction is planned for May.
That sounds like good news to me!
OLE Changes To Boost Midland Main Line Speeds
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Issue 840 of Rail Magazine.
Currently, the overhead line equipment (OLE) between St. Pancras and Bedford is rated at 100 mph.
But the new OLE between Bedford and Corby via Kettering is going to be built to a standard that will allow 125 mph running.
The article goes on to say that to make the best use of 125 mph bi-mode trains, the possibility of upgrading the St. Pancras to Bedford electrification to the 125 mph standard.
This must give advantages.
Thameslink Services Through Brockley
This post is a follow up to Thameslink’s 24tph Introduction Held Over To 2019, which I wrote yesterday, after doing a little bit of digging anf buying the printed copy of Rail Magazine.
When the full 24 trains per hour (tph) timetable is fully implemented the routing of Thameslink services through South London could be as in the provisional timetable in Wikipedia.
- 1/2 – Bedford to Brighton – via London Bridge, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport
- 3/4 – Bedford to Gatwick Airport – via London Bridge and East Croydon
- 5/6 – Peterborough to Horsham – via London Bridge and East Croydon
- 7/8 – Cambridge to Brighton – via London Bridge, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport
- 9/10 – Cambridge to Maidstone East – via London Bridge, New Cross and Swanley
- 11/12 – Bedford to East Grinstead – via London Bridge and East Croydon
- 13/14 – Bedford to Littlehampton – via London Bridge, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport
- 15/16 – Luton to Rainham – via London Bridge, New Cross and Greenwich
- 17/20 – St. Albans to Sutton – Bia London Blackfriars and the Sutton Loop
- 21/22 – Luton or Kentish Town to Orpington – via London Blackfriars and Catford
- 23/24 – Welwyn Garden City to Sevenoaks – via London Blackfriars, Catford and Otford.
Looking at the routes of these trains shows.
- Twelve tph will run between London Bridge and East Croydon along the Brighton Main Line through stations between Brockley Norwood Junction.
- Ten tph serve Gatwick Airport.
- Ten tph serve Luton Airport.
This morning I stood on Brockley stations and counted trains on the two fast lines of the Brighton Main Line.
In half an hour, I counted less than eight trains in each direction of which one was Network Rail’s leaf cleaning train and another was the Thameslink service between London Bridge and Brighton.
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled Thameslink’s 24tph Introduction Held Over To 2019.
This is a paragraph.
However, GTR will start running some trains on routes earlier than planned. Speaking exclusively to RAIL on November 15, Chris Gibb, chairman of the Thameslink Programme Industry Readiness Board, said that as soon as drivers were trained, GTR services would be diverted via London Bridge from January instead of May, and via the Canal Tunnels from April.
From my observations this morning and my scrutiny of the proposed timetable, it would appear that the twelve tph between London Bridge and East Croydon can be accommodated on the fast lines of the Brighton Main Line, given the following conditions.
- The track and signalling between London Blackfriars and New Cross Gate via London Bridge is completed.
- The London Bridge to Brighton service is discontinued, as Thameslink will replace it.
Thameslink running through London Bridge from January, will surely mean the following.
- Faster and more reliable services between London and Gatwick Airport and the South Coast, using more direct route and the Brighton Main Line, North of East Croydon.
- Less congestion on the Blackfriars route for Thameslink, as it winds through South London.
At present only four tph run on Thameslink, that could use the new direct route.
So if these transfer in January to their own platforms in London Bridge, there will be improvements.
In the Rail Magazine article, Chris Gibb also stated that the Canal Tunnels will be in use by April.
So will we see services gradually added to the Thameslink service, as the route proves it is capable of handling the trains?
This is no Big Bang change, but a simple step-by-step process.
More Details In The Print Copy Of Rail Magazine
The full Rail Magazine article has now been published in print and I have a copy.
Chris Gibb describes the May 2018 timetable change as a Big Bang.
- Capacity increase of 35,000-40,000 into the core at Peak periods.
- New service between Cambridge and Brighton.
- New service between Horsham and Peterborough.
- New service between Luton and the Medway Towns.
- New service between Littlehampton and Bedford.
- New service between East Grinstead and Bedford.
There will be 18 tph through the core.
The article say this frequency will rise to 20 tph in December 2018 and 22 tph in May 2019.
A Possible Thirty Tph Through The Core
The Rail Magazine article also says this.
He (Chris Gibb) explained that 30 tph could run through the core, but that infrastructure either side of it, would not support this.
This increase must open up the possibility of new destinations to the North and South.
Everybody would have their favourites.
Mine could be.
- Ashford International for Eurostar.
- Old Oak Common via the Dudding Hill Line.
- Kettering and Corby
- Milton Keynes
It will be interesting to see what is proposed, let alone implemented.
Thameslink’s 24tph Introduction Held Over To 2019
The title of this post is the sane as that of this article in Rail Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Govia Thameslink Railway will introduce the full 24 trains per hour through the central London ‘core’ between St Pancras International and Blackfriars, as part of the £6 billion Thameslink programme, in December 2019, and not December 2018 as planned.
The decision has apparently been taken after an independent review, and has been designed to reduce risk at a major timetable change in May 2018.
But is it not all bad news. This is another paragraph.
However, GTR will start running some trains on routes earlier than planned. Speaking exclusively to RAIL on November 15, Chris Gibb, chairman of the Thameslink Programme Industry Readiness Board, said that as soon as drivers were trained, GTR services would be diverted via London Bridge from January instead of May, and via the Canal Tunnels from April.
Looking at the timetables for January, there doesn’t appear to be any Thameslink trains through London Bridge in the January timetable.
The Rigid Overhead Conductor Rails At St. Pancras Thameslink Station
Whilst waiting for a train in St. Pancras Thameslink station, I noticed that the station has been fitted with rigid overhead conductor rails.
I couldn’t remember it being there before. But I don’t often go to the station.
However, I did find this page in Rail Forums, which is entitled Conductor Rail At St. Pancras Thameslink.
Apparently, the change was made at Easter 2013. This is one reply.
Installed over Easter. Known as conductor beam. The contact wire is fixed to the underside. Much more robust than regular OLE, and practically zero maintenance.
It has replaced a tricky tension length of OLE between approx half way along St Pancras LL platforms and the middle of the old KX Thameslink platforms. The curvature, cant and gradient change through this section made the OLE pretty difficult to keep in the right place and had high wear rates.
Likely the conductor beam will be extended north through to Dock Jn and through the new Canal tunnels, not confirmed yet.
Given the robust nature and lower maintenance costs, I think we’ll be seeing lots more of this type of electrification.
Should Thameslink Be Extended To Corby?
I ask this question as someone who created his pension pot from writing the algorithms to allocate resources in the planning of projects and because I know that the number of train paths on the Midland Main Line is very tight for the number of services required.
This document on the Network Rail web site has this paragraph.
Electrification of the MML north of Bedford to Kettering and Corby is scheduled to be completed by December 2019.
The Wikipedia entry for Corby station has a section entitled Future, where this is said.
It is planned that a half-hourly London St Pancras to Corby service will operate from December 2019 using new Class 387 trains, once the Midland Main Line has been electrified beyond Bedford as part of the Electric Spine project. Network Rail has also announced that it plans to re-double the currently singled Glendon Junction to Corby section as part of this scheme.
So how will the second service in each hour be provided?
Bedford To St. Pancras
Looking at Bedford, it would appear the following trains run to London.
- East Midlands Trains in 39-40 minutes
- Thameslink in 57-59 minutes at a frequency of four trains per hour (tph).
- A Limited-Stop Thameslink in 52 minutes.
As Thameslink has now fully introduced an all-Class 700 train service, could we be seeing a faster service?
Bedford To Corby
The current hourly service between St. Pancras and Corby stops at Bedford and takes thirty-four minutes between Bedford and Corby with stops at Wellingborough and Kettering.
A modern electric train like a Class 700 train, might be able to do the return trip from Bedford to Corby in under an hour. If a Class 700 train can’t do it, then a Class 387 train certainly could.
This would mean that one way to provide the extra service between St. Pancras and Corby would be to extend one of the four tph Bedford to Brighton services to Corby.
This approach would give the following advantages
- No extra train path is needed South of Bedford.
- Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough would get a choice of service.
- Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough would have a direct link to Crossrail.
But there would be disadvantages.
- The Thameslink service would be a few minutes slower.
- The Class 700 trains don’t have tables, cup-holders, wi-fi and power sockets.
- The Class 700 trains are only 100 mph trains and probably not fast enough.
The obvious solution is to run the service with a faster electric train, which addresses the deficiencies of the Class 700 trains.
The Ultimate Solution
The Midland Main Line between Bedford and Glendon Junction for Corby is at least three tracks, with in most places space for a fourth.
I believe the following improvements should be made to the route between Bedford and Glendon Junction.
- All the tracks between Bedford and Corby should be upgraded to be as fast as possible, so that 110 or 125 mph trains to Corby could make full use of their speed, without using the two Fast Lines.
- Wellingborough station should have the fourth platform restored.
- Extra stations, including a Parkway station, could be added if required.
Thameslink would acquire a number of 110 or 125 trains and replace the four tph service between Brighton and Bedford, with a four tph service between Brighton and Corby.
Class 387 trains would probably be acceptable. Especially, as Govia Thameslink Railway uses these trains on Cambridge services.
The consequences of doing this would be.
- The current one tph path between St. Pancras and Corby on the Fast Lines would be released.
- Platform needs at St. Pancras would be reduced.
- No extra Slow Line paths would be needed.
- Bedford would get the same four tph service to London all day.
- Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough would get four tph to St. Pancras.
Twelve faster trains would be needed to provide a full four tph service between Corby and St. Pancras.
Alternatively, you could extend just two opf the four tph from Brighton tom Bedford to Corby!
This would mean.
- Bedford would get the same four tph service to London all day.
- Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough would get two tph to St. Pancras.
Six faster trains would be needed.
Conclusion
I am led to the conclusion, that by providing some extra 110 or 125 mph trains for Thameslink, that the service on the Midland Main Line can be improved significantly.
It also leads me to believe that the specification of the Class 700 trains was created by someone with worse vision than George Shearing.
The trains lack a lot of features like wi-fi and power sockets.
But more importantly, they lack the 110 mph capability of trains like the |Class 350, Class 387 and Class 379 trains, which enables them to run efficiently with express services cruising at 125 mph.
The Anonymous Widower 