Great Northern route

The Great Northern route (formerly known as Great Northern Electrics) is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from and in London. Destinations include , , , , and . Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.
The route forms a major commuter route into London from Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and eastern Bedfordshire: 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. In early 2018, the line was connected to the Thameslink route via a junction just south of the High Speed 1 bridge, north of King's Cross, allowing through services to south of London.
Since September 2014, the services have been operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Thameslink and Great Northern service brands were maintained and separated from each other.
Route.
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 provided by EMUs.
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. In September 2014, the Department for Transport transferred the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise to Govia Thameslink Railway. When the Thameslink Programme is completed in 2018, many of these services will become part of the Thameslink network, running through central London to destinations south of the River Thames.
History.
The term Great Northern is related to the Great Northern Railway, the original builders of the line.
The July 1922 Bradshaw's Railway Guide contains a typical rail service on the Cambridge Line as follows:
Six stopping and two (three on Saturday) semi-fast services to (Monday to Saturday) - one Sunday stopping service to with two back. The fastest service taking about 1hr30 to travel from to .
An additional two (three on Wednesday) services reached (Monday to Saturday) - one additional service reaching on Sunday.
An additional seven services reached (Monday to Saturday)
An additional three services reached (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 and south of . 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 and was authorised.
The Inner Suburban Lines to and were electrified in 1976 with EMUs. In 1978 the electrification was complete to with EMUs providing the service. The route was then promoted as the Great Northern Electrics. The route between Hertford and Langley Junction, south of Stevenage, was also electrified but not regularly used by electric trains until 1979 when one Moorgate - Hertford service per hour was extended to Letchworth; prior to this DMUs provided an infrequent service over this route, running between Hertford and Huntingdon / Peterborough. From 1979 until 1987 DMUs provided the service between Hitchin and Huntingdon/Peterborough. DMUs also provided a shuttle service between Royston and Cambridge between 1978 and 1988, connecting with the electric trains and replacing the former through Cambridge buffet expresses between Kings Cross and the university city.
In 1982 Watton-at-Stone station was reopened between Hertford and Stevenage. A new station also opened at in 1986.
With the electrification by British Rail of the East Coast Main Line electric services could be extended to and the Outer Suburban Service was changed from to , some of which were cascaded from the newly created Thameslink route, with the remainder newly built.
In 1984
the decision to electrify the line between and Shepreth Branch Junction with the West Anglia Main Line north of allowed the reinstatement of through services to from via the East Coast Main Line, resulting in faster journey times than from via the West Anglia Main Line. This electrification was completed in 1988.
Later the track between these points was also upgraded with welded joint track instead of the jointed track that had existed, and the maximum line speed was raised to 90 mph.
Rapid growth on the route, especially on the Cambridge Line resulted in consultation on a new service pattern,
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.
Hitchin Flyover.
Together with the Digswell Viaduct (Welwyn Viaduct) some ten miles to the south, the flat junction just north of was a major bottleneck, as northbound trains diverging from the East Coast Main Line towards and thence to had to cross one northbound (fast) line and two southbound (fast and slow) lines to access the Cambridge Line. Proposals as part of the original electrification work envisaged a new underpass 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
and subsequent application for an order
to build a flyover was approved, and construction was completed in June 2013. The scheme has created a new single-track line that diverges from the northbound slow line at a new junction just beyond Hitchin station, using a short embankment section of the former Bedford to Hitchin Line, a section of which was cleared of vegetation and made progressively higher, to form a short ramp. The track is carried over the East Coast Main Line on a newly constructed viaduct and onto a new embankment to join the present Cambridge Line at the newly created Hitchin East Junction, closer to . Although this takes trains over a longer distance, it removes the need for them to dwell at Hitchin – sometimes for several minutes – awaiting a path across the tracks of the main London-Peterborough route, thus decreasing the overall journey time to Cambridge in many instances. The scheme improves the punctuality and reliability of both the London-Cambridge and London-Peterborough routes, because Peterborough-bound stopping trains are no longer delayed if running closely behind a Cambridge service being held at Hitchin waiting to cross the flat junction.
Thameslink programme.
As part of the Thameslink Programme,
the Great Northern Route has been connected to the existing Thameslink route via a new junction at Belle Isle (south of the High Speed 1 flyover, just north of ). Two single-bore tunnels (known as the Canal Tunnels) were driven from here to the low-level platforms at during the 'St Pancras Box' phase of the redevelopment works that created St Pancras International station. Trains diverging from the Great Northern Route at Belle Isle will join the 'core' St Pancras - Farringdon - City Thameslink - Blackfriars section of the existing Thameslink route and then serve stations across Surrey, East Sussex, Kent, and West Sussex.
On 6 November 2017 the first Thameslink Programme units entered service on the Great Northern route. 700128 worked the 0656 Peterborough - London King's Cross and 1812 return, while 700125 worked the 0733 Peterborough - London King's Cross and 1742 return. Eventually 75% of the GN fleet will be Class 700 units.
Services.
The Great Northern off-peak service pattern, with frequencies in "trains per hour" (tph), consists of the following:
Rolling stock.
Great Northern current fleet consists of 387s, and 717s, both Class 387 ad 717 were introduced on the Great Northern network replacing the Class 313s and 321s they inherited from First Capital Connect.
In May 2021, the Class 365s were withdrawn on the May timetable change. They will be leasing the Class 387/2 from Gatwick Express which Southern are currently using.
Future developments.
East-West (Varsity) line.
The Varsity Line connected with via and ("Varsity" being slang for "University", those termini being major university towns). It was closed in 1968 but there are now plans to restore this route, but via the Cambridge Line and the East Coast Main Line, diverting westwards at .