R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

Route characteristics
DESCRIPTION This route carries both passenger and freight trains between
London, the Channel Tunnel and beyond, as well as domestic services to South
East London and Kent.
From Victoria to Swanley this route is four track (two tracks via Herne Hill
and two via the Catford Loop) with a predominant linespeed of 60mph.
From Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Orpington, this is a four-track
line with a 60mph linespeed rising to 70mph beyond Hither Green. Beyond
Orpington, the route is primarily two track, with linespeed varying between
80mph and 100mph.
The route also includes Swanley–Ashford via Maidstone East, a two-track
line with speeds between 70mph and 80mph. All lines are electrified.
BOTTLENECK ANALYSIS There are a number of capacity constraints
between Charing Cross and Orpington, the most severe of which is the twotrack
section between Borough Market Junction and Metropolitan Junction. In the
area between Charing Cross and London Bridge, which includes this short
section, there are a number of flat junctions and the tracks converge and diverge
leaving either two or four tracks. There are, thus, numerous possible conflicting
moves which restrict available capacity.
Demand for train paths curr e n t ly exceeds the av a i l a ble capacity and, duri n g
the peak, PIXC levels are exceeded and not all trains are able to stop at London
B ridge Station. In addition, the current timetable for this section of route depends
on services running on restricted signalling aspects during the peak hours .
The other main constraint is the four-track section between New Cross
Station and Tanners Hill Junction.
Route vision
Our vision for this route is to create new capacity by constructing a 12-vehicle per
t rain suburban netwo rk by 2002 and to capitalise on the new capacity offered by
c o n s t ruction of the CTRL to improve journey times between London and Kent.
We intend to develop the London commuting markets with new journey
opportunities and practical capacity enhancements. Central to this is the
Thameslink 2000 project, due for completion in 2006, which will address the
remaining major bottlenecks.
We are working with the Franchising Director to develop a scheme to
provide additional facilities in the London Bridge area to enable Thameslink 2000
Route development and customer requirements
Wo rking with our customers, we will improve charter punctuality by two
percentage points over the next two ye a rs. This improvement, which will vary
across service groups, will typically result in 16% fe wer trains arriving at their
destinations more than fi ve minutes late.
The opening of CTRL Section 1 will also provide a significant increase in
capacity, both to the benefit of Eurostar on the new route, and for other
operators who can make use of capacity released by Eurostar on the existing
route. The 2003 timetable will provide the opportunity to optimise use of the
available capacity by all services and enable significant reductions in journey times
such as London–Ashford in 59 minutes.
Under the Thameslink 2000 project, significant new infrastructure will be
provided including the quadrupling of the section of track between Metropolitan
Junction and Borough Market Junction, thereby doubling capacity. The Thameslink
2000 project will both provide the means to accommodate underlying demand
and induce new demand through the changed service pattern. In addition,
discussions continue to assess how to meet other customer aspirations for
further enhancements at London Bridge Station.
We are working with the Franchising Director and customers to develop
additional facilities between New Cross, Tanners Hill and London Bridge Station.
This will provide further relief to this bottleneck.
MAJOR STAT I O N S
London Bridg e This is a very busy station whose role is set to grow with the
Jubilee Line development. The opening of the Jubilee Line will see the
underground concourse brought into use. SRP work will begin in 1999, and we
will work with Connex and Thameslink to provide automatic ticket gates. CIS
renewal is planned for 1999/2000. The Thameslink 2000 project will bring
opportunities for substantial improvement to this station.
London Charing Cross This is an extremely busy London terminal
constrained by its size. We will improve the concourse area to cater for
passenger growth. We are working with Connex to provide automatic ticket
gates to secure industry revenue. The major roof reglazing will be completed in
summer this year.
services to operate while retaining the potential for the existing level of service
to West End locations. This will enable additional services to operate in Central
London on this route. Subject to finalisation of the scope of these works, it is
expected that we will submit a supplementary T&WA Order application for the
scheme to the DETR in autumn this year.
The Jubilee Line Extension will lead to increased passenger demand for
London Bridge as an interchange point.
In advance of the CTRL Section 1, works on the Waterloo–Fawkham Junction
section of the route will allow Eurostar services leaving CTRL to successfully
integrate with the domestic services. In the meantime, the route will continue to
service the expected growth in international freight traffic.
Route clearance work for Connex’s new fleet of electric trains has begun
and the operating areas of its existing modern fleets will be extended.
We intend to clear two Channel Tunnel to London routes, via Maidstone
and via Redhill to W10 gauge. We will be able to accommodate our freight
customers forecast demand over both the next five and ten years.
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