North London Line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The North London Line is a railway line in a semi-circle through north London, England, from Richmond in the west to Stratford in the east. It forms part of the London Overground network and is also a major freight route. It crosses many of the arterial routes radiating from central London, offering a faster and more convenient way of traversing London than travelling into the centre and out again. Before 2006 it extended beyond Stratford to North Woolwich, but this section was closed to allow the Docklands Light Railway to take it over.
It was sometimes referred to as the North London Link and is also classed as one of the North London Lines along with the Gospel Oak to Barking Line with which it connects at Gospel Oak. London Overground currently run 4 trains an hour in each direction during off peak hours, with additional services during the peaks, including a few to Clapham Junction over the West London Line.
The section between Willesden Junction and Camden Road via Gospel Oak will be closed for three months in Autumn 2008 in order to enlarge the Hampstead Heath tunnel for full-size containers.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
The North London Line was formed from an amalgamation of two lines:
- The western section of the line, the North London Railway, ran from Richmond to Broad Street (near Liverpool Street) via Dalston, and opened in 1869. The NLR had a spur line from Dalston linking it with Stratford, which since 1944 had been used by goods trains only.
- The eastern section was part of the line between North Woolwich and Tottenham Hale via Stratford. It opened as the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in 1846 and services at one time ran to Palace Gates (Wood Green) (near Wood Green). This was rerouted to Tottenham in 1963 in the wake of the Beeching Report.
In 1979 a new service, known as the CrossTown LinkLine, commenced between North Woolwich station and Camden Road, this was effectively an extension of the North Woolwich to Stratford service and used the same Cravens-built diesel multiple unit trains. At first there were no intermediate stations, with Hackney Wick and Hackney Central, both on the sites of stations closed in the 1940s, opening later, and that at Homerton later still. Concurrent with the commencement of the CrossTown LinkLine, new platforms at West Ham were constructed to permit interchange with the Underground station adjacent.
In the 1980s Broad Street was earmarked for closure and demolition, while the Tottenham Hale–Stratford link and the station at Lea Bridge ceased to be used by regular passenger trains. Thus, the two lines were merged in 1985, initially as the CrossTown LinkLine service detailed above. When Broad Street was closed the line between Dalston and North Woolwich station was electrified on the third-rail system with Broad Street trains diverted to North Woolwich. The trains initially used were former Southern Region 2-EPB types built in the 1950s. Two-coach trains were soon too small and they were replaced by Class 313 electric multiple units. The new service was branded by British Rail as the North London Link, and some signs using this name still exist.
In December 2006, the line between Stratford and North Woolwich was permanently closed, to make a way for a future Docklands Light Railway extension from Canning Town to Stratford International. The section south of Canning Town is largely duplicated by the DLR's King George V branch and the stretch of track from Canning Town to Stratford follows the Jubilee Line. The section south of Stratford had always been the Cinderella end of the line, when there were operating problems it was common for trains to be turned short at Stratford.
[edit] Former services
In addition to the primary Broad Street-Richmond service there were services that linked Broad Street with Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction on the West Coast Main Line. Most of these were routed via the line between South Hampstead and Camden Road, calling at Primrose Hill, although some travelled via Hampstead Heath and switched to the Watford line at Willesden Junction. By the time that Broad Street closed in 1985 the Watford services operated only in the rush hours, and they were diverted to Liverpool Street by way of a new link in Hackney, known as the Graham Road Curve. However, with trains frequently cancelled, and some timed to arrive at Liverpool Street Station after the start of the working day (plus the evening workings also being timed to not be suitable for office workers), patronage was very low and after a few years they were withdrawn.
In 2000 Anglia Railways (now National Express East Anglia) started a service between Basingstoke and Ipswich, utilising parts of the North London Line. The service was called London Crosslink and ran up to five times a day at roughly two-hourly intervals. The service called only at principal stations such as Staines, Feltham, and Brentford. On the North London Line the trains called only at Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road (some services) and West Hampstead. The service was withdrawn in 2002.
The AC electrification of the eastern part of the North London Line uses the previously unelectrified northern pair of tracks, which were also partially singled at the same time. Between Canonbury and Highbury & Islington there is a line which links to the East Coast Main Line at Finsbury Park. This used to carry passenger trains to / from various North London stations (such as Edgware, Alexandra Palace, High Barnet, Welwyn Garden City and others) over part of the North London Line to Broad Street Station, however since the opening of the Great Northern Electrics suburban electrification which in the 1970s saw trains being diverted into Moorgate (deep level tube) and Kings Cross (suburban) this link has only been used for freight trains. It too was singled concurrent with the AC electrification of the eastern part of the North London Line.
[edit] Route
The majority of the line runs in a curve across north London with only Richmond and Kew Gardens stations at the western end of the line being south of the River Thames. The river crossing is made by Kew Railway Bridge on tracks which are shared with the London Underground District Line. The location of the eastern extremity has varied over the years. Between 1944 and 1986 it was at Broad Street station, then it switched to North Woolwich, now cut back to Stratford. A tunnel, the Hampstead Heath tunnel, runs under Hampstead between Finchley Road & Frognal and Hampstead Heath.
The line is double track throughout with a mix of triple and quadruple track between Camden Road and Dalston Kingsland. The former North Woolwich branch included a section of single track between Custom House and North Woolwich stations, and the Broad Street branch was at one time formed of quadruple track. Both were third-rail electrified at time of closure.
The line is electrified using the third rail system from Richmond to Acton Central, Camden Road to Dalston Kingsland (southern pair of lines only) and Dalston Kingsland to Stratford. Overhead lines are used from Acton Central to Camden Road, Camden Road to Dalston Kingsland (freight lines only) and Dalston Kingsland to Channelsea Junctions (link to Temple Mills, Stratford High Level and Liverpool Street).
When the through electric service to North Woolwich started in 1985 trains used the 3rd rail throughout. When the trains were replaced a few years later by dual-system Class 313 trains it became possible to use the overhead electrification system which had been added to parts of the line for the benefit of freight trains. There had been some unexpected difficulties with earth currents from the 3rd rail system which this overcame. This usage was steadily extended and the trains now make a number of changes between electrification systems during their short journey.
[edit] Connections
The line crosses or comes into contact with a large number of railway lines, especially lines radiating from central London. This does provide opportunities to move between separate sectors of suburban London without having to enter the central zone.
[edit] Interchanges shown on the tube map
- at Richmond, to and from South West Trains services including the Kingston loop line
- at Gunnersbury, connecting NLL services north of the station to District line services east of the station
- at Willesden Junction, with the Bakerloo line, Watford DC Line and West London Line.
- at West Hampstead, with the Jubilee Line and First Capital Connect stations, each situated a short walk either side of the NLL station
- at Gospel Oak, to and from the Gospel Oak to Barking line of London Overground
- at Highbury & Islington, to and from the Victoria line and the deep-level main line tube via Finsbury Park to Moorgate, currently operated by First Capital Connect (and from 2011, the East London line).
- at Stratford, to and from the Central line, main line services between Essex stations and Liverpool Street, the Jubilee line, and Docklands Light Railway
[edit] Other interchanges
- at Brondesbury, to and from Kilburn station on the Jubilee line.
- at Finchley Road & Frognal, to and from Finchley Road station on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines, a walk of about 400 m.
- at Camden Road, which is about 400 m from Camden Town on the Northern line.
- at Hackney Central which is about 500 m from Hackney Downs station for National Express East Anglia services.
- at South Acton, to and from Acton Town station on the Piccadilly and District lines. This is a walk of a little over 1km.
[edit] Current operations
[edit] Rolling Stock
The London Overground passenger service uses Class 313 dual voltage electric trains compatible with both 750v DC third-rail and 25kV AC overhead power sources. Each train is made up of three coaches each and are part of a fleet of 23 units shared with other London Overground routes. They are due to be replaced by 24 three car Class 378 trains in 2009, which will be extended to four cars in 2011.[1]
[edit] Service levels
Despite published performance figures[2] the North London Line is regarded by frequent travellers as offering a poor service,[3] with extremely congested trains and an unreliable service[4] with some trains cancelled shortly before they are due to arrive. A recent London Assembly report described the current service as "shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded". The recent transfer of the service to Transport for London (TfL) has the potential to improve the quality of the service [5] due to upgrade plans [6] which coincide with the extension of the East London line.
A report on the future of the line can be found on the London Assembly website[7].
[edit] Closed stations
A number of stations on the line have been closed. These include:
- Kensal Green and Harlesden station
- Maiden Lane station
- Mildmay Park station
- Victoria Park station
[edit] Broad Street spur
A spur line from the junction at Dalston led into the line's central terminus at Broad Street:
Although the track was lifted after closure, much of the trackbed remained in place. Most of this stretch of line will be utilised in the extension of the East London Line, with the stations at Haggerston and Dalston Junction rebuilt. As a consequence, only 3.6km of brand new railway will need to be built, linking Whitechapel to the Broad Street viaduct.
The extended East London Line will be operated by London Overground, the operators of passenger services on the North London Line, with services eventually running as far as Highbury & Islington in the north for interchange with the Victoria line.
[edit] North Woolwich branch
On 10 December 2006, the line between Stratford and North Woolwich was closed, to make way for a future Docklands Light Railway extension to Stratford International. This will take over the section of the line between Stratford and Canning Town, with other parts of the line earmarked for the future Crossrail development.[8]
- West Ham station
- Canning Town station
- Custom House station
- Silvertown station
- North Woolwich station
All but the last two stations are still open, served by the DLR and/or the Jubilee Line. The DLR's King George V branch (opened 2006) runs parallel to the North Woolwich branch, and serves much the same area.
As part of the works for the new DLR line, the current NLL low level platforms at Stratford will be used by the new DLR line and a new spur will see NLL trains terminating in new platforms alongside the existing Lea Valley Line platforms on the north side of the high level station.
[edit] Future
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This article or section contains information about planned or expected public transportation in the United Kingdom.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change significantly as more information becomes available.
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[edit] Confirmed
- By June 2010, the extended East London Line will connect to the NLL with ELL services joining the line west of Dalston Kingsland, running to Highbury & Islington.[9]
- By 2011, according to TfL, all lines will be provided with a 'turn up and go' service, which means a minimum of 4 trains per hour in both directions. [3].
- Planned service patterns[4] are:
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- 4 tph Stratford - Camden Road - Gospel Oak - Willesden Junction - Richmond (as current service)
- 2 tph Stratford - Camden Road - Gospel Oak - Willesden Junction - Clapham Junction
- 2 tph Stratford - Camden Road
[edit] Unconfirmed
- The route between Custom House and North Woolwich is proposed to be used by the Crossrail project as part of the Abbey Wood branch. There were plans for this section to be used temporarily by the Royal Docks Heritage Railway but the present status of this project is unclear.
- Maiden Lane station may be reopened by Camden Council[10] however the Office of Rail Regulation has not included this in the current plans[11].
- Hounslow council have proposed that part of the North London Line be used as a branch of Crossrail to Hounslow.[12] This would see Crossrail services stopping at Acton Central and South Acton. It is unlikely to be included in the initial Crossrail bill, but could form part of a later extension.
[edit] Trivia
- The line was notable for being the only National Rail route shown on the London Underground map. It was added in 1977[citation needed] following pressure from campaigners for integrated transport policies. Tube maps have also shown the Thameslink line from Kentish Town to London Bridge and Elephant & Castle, and the Waterloo & City Line prior to its transfer to London Underground. The Northern City Line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park also sometimes appears on maps - this used to be part of the Northern Line but is now operated by First Capital Connect. Since 2007, all of London Overground's routes appear on the map.
- The North Cross Route, one side of the Ringway 1 inner ring road, would have paralleled the North London Line.
[edit] References
- ^ Transport for London - £36m contract to bring extra rail carriages for London Overground
- ^ Silverlink rises to second position in the national performance league (2006-09-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Association of Train Operating Companies [1] Press Releases
- ^ Sharp, Rachel. "TfL to take on rail network", Ealing Times, 2007-10-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
- ^ "Braced for rail strikes", Hackney Gazette, 2007-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
- ^ London Assembly - Light at end of the tunnel for London's forgotten railway
- ^ Always Touch Out - London Overground & Orbirail
- ^ London Assembly - London's forgotten railway (PDF)
- ^ Transport for London - Stratford International Extension
- ^ Transport for London - East London Railway project
- ^ King's Cross Development plan (PDF)
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/crossrail.pdf
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