Eurostar flourishes as Airlines flounder

Although most people are feeling the pinch associated with the rising oil prices, the rail industry is benefiting, particularly High-Speed Operator Eurostar, due to their much lower dependence on the commodity.

New propsals for High Speed Two

After the completion of High Speed One, there have been many proposals as for where the UK should go next with high-speed rail - High Speed Two. The most prolific of these at the moment is the Greengauge 21 Proposals for the continuation of HS1 onto a point in the Midlands, most probably Birmingham. Now however, a team of 21 local authorities opposed to the expansion of air travel have unveiled their proposals - High Speed North.

This proposes a network of High Speed Lines designed to connect all of the UK together, as well as services envisaged onto the continent. The main line would run off from High Speed One just before it turns South to St. Pancras, at first making a connection with the West Coast Main Line somewhere North of Euston, and then onto a new station in North London, dubbed the 'Cricklewood Interchange', providing interchange between Thameslink, Midland Main Line and Eurostar. The main line would follow the M1 and go to Glasgow via Edinburgh as per the current East Coast Main Line, serving Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle on the way. Spurs would connect with major cities not on the route such as Birmingham, Newcastle and Liverpool.

Services Beyond London would use Stratford International for pick-up and drop-off of passengers for London, as well as the Cricklewood Interchange, avoiding a tricky reversal maneuver at St. Pancras. Potential services include:
Glasgow/Edinburgh - Paris
Liverpool/Manchester - Milan
Leeds/Sheffield - Amsterdam
Leeds/Sheffield - Frankfurt
Liverpool/Manchester - Amsterdam
Glasgow/Edinburgh - Frankfurt
Glasgow/Edinburgh - Geneva
Birmingham - Amsterdam
Birmingham - Barcelona
Liverpool/Manchester - Berlin
Leeds/Sheffield - Paris
Birmingham - Nice (& Cote d'Azur)

The plans envisage Heathrow Airport being a central part of the proposals, wanting to complete the Airtrack plan to Staines and Woking, and running Heathrow Express along Crossrail to give access to the city, and heading North around the capital to Stevenage and Cambidge, connecting with the Cricklewood Interchange, and to the West services to Slough and Reading for connecting services to Wales and the West Country. These would enable easier access to Heathrow for people from most parts of the Country, not having to enter the capital to go back out again to access Heathrow.

Also, presumably high-speed domestic services would operate, e.g. Ashford - Glasgow, Ebbsfleet - Liverpool. This scheme to some extent revives the abandoned plans for the 'Regional Eurostar' proposal, running through services to the continent from North of London, and also the 'Nightstar' sleeper services. Both of these were dropped due to the budget airlines, but with the price of flying going up, and the better enviromental profile of trains, this may be the revival of the plans.

Another main aim of this plan is to get rid of the 'North-South divide' in the United Kingdom, with the North having no true High-Speed Rail, and not having much benefit from the recently completed HS1, compared to the large amount of new services for the South-East.

Schedule for Thameslink Programme

Below is a highly detailed schedule for the Thameslink Programme produced splendidly by Edvid clearly describing the works and services in a manner much easier to understand than the 150 pages of the South London RUS.

March 2009

Closure of Moorgate branch and Blackfriars bay platforms

Peak ex-Moorgate/ex-Blackfriars services to be diverted to various (as yet not fully defined) locations on opposite sides of the Thames; all will use the full length of the Thameslink core (Kentish Town - Blackfriars)*

Off-peak ex-Blackfriars services (from Sevenoaks) to be diverted to Kentish Town or a location further north in daylight hours, then to Victoria during weeknights/weekends* - expected to continue until December 2011 I think

Peak hour frequencies in the Thameslink core will be 15tph to/from Thameslink North and 14tph to/from Thameslink South

FCC TL fleet to consist of 86 319s and 23 377s - virtual elimination of 4-car peak hour services

[* Most of these services will be run by one driver throughout but jointly operated by FCC and SER; Blackfriars is where the TOC will change]


December 2009

The recommended Thameslink South peak hour services are as follows:

All services via Elephant & Castle

4tph Wimbledon Loop (2tph anti-clockwise, 2tph clockwise; slow)
2tph Orpington (via Catford; slow)
2tph Sevenoaks (via Bat and Ball/Catford; slow)
2tph Brighton (via Crystal Palace/Herne Hill; fast between East Croydon and Blackfriars)
2tph Kent House (slow)
1tph Rochester (via Catford; fast between Bromley South and Blackfriars)
1tph Maidstone East (via Catford; fast between Bromley South and Blackfriars)


December 2011

FCC TL fleet expanded - 12-car services and more new trains introduced

The recommended Thameslink South peak hour services from December 2009 will continue, along with a new service:

2tph Three Bridges (via Redhill/Streatham/Herne Hill; fast between East Croydon and Blackfriars), bringing the total to 16tph

In addition, the Brighton and Three Bridges services will be lengthened to 12 cars whereas the rest will remain at 8

The majority of Thameslink North peak hour services will be lengthened to 12 cars and will therefore run ECS to/from Blackfriars; the total here is also 16tph


December 2015

Entire FCC TL fleet to consist entirely of brand new trains

The full network will be in place

Thameslink North peak hour services will operate at 24tph - possibly 18 12-car services and 6 8-car services

The recommended Thameslink South services are as follows:

12-car services via London Bridge

4tph Brighton (via Sydenham; fast to/from East Croydon)
2tph Horsham (via Redhill/Sydenham; fast to/from East Croydon)
2tph Three Bridges (via Redhill/Sydenham; fast to/from East Croydon)
2tph East Grinstead (via Sydenham; fast to/from East Croydon)
2tph East Croydon (via Sydenham; slow)
2tph Norwood Junction (via Sydenham; slow)
2tph Tunbridge Wells (via New Cross; fast to/from Orpington)
2tph Paddock Wood (via New Cross; fast to/from Orpington)

8-car services via Elephant & Castle

2tph Orpington (via Catford; slow)
2tph Sevenoaks (via Bat and Ball/Catford; slow)
2tph Maidstone East (via Catford; fast between Bromley South and Blackfriars)

In addition to 24tph for Thameslink South, some services will terminate at Blackfriars

8-car services terminating at Blackfriars

2tph London Bridge (via Wimbledon Loop; slow) [potentially 4tph depending on distribtution of platform capacity of London Bridge low level]
2tph Kent House (slow)
2tph Rochester (via Kent House; fast to/from Beckenham Junction)

Many thanks to Edvid for allowing his detailed work displayed here.

Southeastern to run services North of London

As described earlier this week, the Thameslink Programme being implemented by operator First Capital Connect is to enable through services from Kent to destinations north of London (Cambridge, Bedford, etc.). These services are due by 2015, but could arrive as soon as 2011. However, it has now come to light that the December 2009 timetable change for both First Capital Connect and Southeastern could bring a limited amount of these services into operation in late-2009 and early-2010.

Part of the Thameslink Programme works is the rebuilding of Blackfriars station, and as such the bay platforms for terminating Southeastern services from Sevenoaks are not available, and trains will have to continue to a turn-back position North of London, at present the station selected is Kentish Town. However, this necessitates the use of Dual-Voltage Rolling Stock for running north of Farringdon, where the power supply switches from the 750v DC Third-Rail to the 25kV AC Overhead system. At present, Southeastern is to lease 20 Trainsets of the Class 319 Dual-Voltage Electrical Multiple Unit when they are cascaded from First Capital Connect when they have procured their new rolling stock, in the form of Dual Voltage Class 377 Electrostars.

The plan at present is to extend all services from Sevenoaks to Blackfriars (and City Thameslink in the peaks) to Kentish Town, reinstating to some extent the Luton-Sevenoaks services lost at the privitisation of British Rail and the break-up of Network Southeast. Also, it is reccomended by Network Rail from the December 2009 timetable change up to the full completion of the Thameslink Programme and implemetation of FCC services to Kent, to operate 2 trains per hour (peak) from the Thameslink route via Elephant & Castle and Catford, duplicating the Blackfriars-Sevenoaks services upto Bromley South, and then along the Chatham Main Line to Swanley, where one train would go to Maidstone East, and another to somewhere in the Medway Towns (Rochester, Chatham, or Gillingham). It is not yet known if these trains will originate at Bedford, Luton, or elsewhere.

The Southeastern services from Sevenoaks to Kentish Town will begin in December 2009 when the rebuilding of Blackfriars station begins. The First Capital Connect services are at present only a reccomendation from Network Rail, but if they do go ahead they will also begin in December 2009, or early 2010.

Thameslink Services to reach Kent Coast and Medway Towns

Kent is now due to recieve Thameslink services as far as Medway, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford under current proposals outlined in April's South London Route Utilisation Strategy.

This is all part of the current Thameslink franchisee First Capital Connect's 'Thameslink Programme', designed to increase the capacity on its main Bedford-Brighton 'Express' and Luton-Sutton 'Metro' routes, and also to expand the amount of route's it serves. The planned routes include the running of Services along the Chatham Main Line via Elephant & Castle and Bromley South into the Medway Towns, Maidstone East and Sevenoaks, and along the South Eastern Main Line via Orpington and Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells and Ashford International. Although the current proposal for the terminating station in the Medway area is Rochester, this is not certain, and the location is still under discussion. It is thought that it may be extended to Gillingham to relieve congestion on the North Kent Line, taking some passengers from the Charing Cross/Cannon Street services that already terminate there, or at least to Chatham to link in with the extra Javelin services to St. Pancras International that will operate there compared to Rochester.

Also in the programme is the integration of FCC's Thameslink and Great Northern Routes, running through trains from Peterborough and King's Lynn through the St. Pancras Thameslink Station and further South instead of terminating at King's Cross. The physical connection between the East Coast Main Line (which the Great Northern Suburban Trains run on) and the Thameslink was made possible during the rebuilding of St. Pancras station for High Speed One, with the boring of the new Canal Tunnels that provide a route between the two lines. Track and Overhead Line Equipment will be installed as part of the Thameslink Programme.

The majority of the other routes that FCC intends to begin operating on are critically branches off its trunk Bedford-Brighton Main Line, including serving the East Grinstead branch, leaving the main line at East Croydon, and also at Three Bridges to serve Horsham.

The Thameslink Programme is due for completion in 2015, but FCC services to Kent and Medway could begin as soon as 2011.