Everything about The Thameslink Programme totally explained
The
Thameslink Programme, formerly known as
Thameslink 2000, is a £5.5 billion major project to upgrade and expand the
Thameslink rail network in southern England. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure and additional rolling stock.
Project history (pre-construction)
Background
The
Thameslink rail network was created by joining the electrified network south of the
Thames with the recently electrified line between
Bedford and
St. Pancras to the north via the
Snow Hill tunnel. It was fully inaugurated in May 1990, two years after services began. Thameslink is the only
National Rail service that crosses the centre of London. This reduces the need to use the
Underground for cross-London journeys. As a direct result of its inception, journeys between destinations in north and south London that were served by Thameslink services quadrupled after the first year of operation.
A consequent unusual feature of its history is that all through services need to be operated by dual-voltage trains since the original lines south of the river are electrified using a 750 volt
third rail and those to the north by the more modern 25kV
overhead system. All plans for development as well as day-to-day operation of the line are constrained by this.
Initial planning
The increasing patronage was seen as a potential problem for the network, given that £4 million was spent on infrastructure that was built for the network. As a result,
British Rail started developing plans to expand and upgrade the original network during the early 1990s. The
Railways Act of 1993 meant that responsibility for the project was transferred to
Railtrack in the mid 1990s, but privatization combined with a recession in the UK economy caused the first of many delays to the project which was initially envisaged to be complete by 2000 (hence the original name).
Beginning of planning process
Railtrack applied for Transport and Works Act powers on 21 November 1997. Just two months later, the prospects of Thameslink 2000 becoming reality were thrown into doubt because
London and Continental Railways (LCR), a new company that was appointed by the
Government to construct
High Speed 1 announced that they required further direct government grants worth £1.2 billion (in 1995 real prices) to finance the construction of the CTRL. As part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act of 1996, LCR were under obligation to build a concrete 'box', which was to house a new sub-surface station that was proposed as part of Thameslink 2000, since the new station would be built under
St Pancras station itself.
The Government and LCR reached agreement on a set of revised proposals in June 1998, The Inspector spent several months compiling a report on the proposals submitted by Railtrack and the feedback provided by various parties for and against the project before submitting the report to the
Government. On
30 July 2002, the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM, now known as the
Department for Communities and Local Government) published the Inspector's report, which stated that although there was a strong case for the project, the Inspector didn't recommend that the project should be given approval, since there were three 'deficiencies' that he wasn't satisfied with:
Further delays
As a result the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the project wouldn't receive approval and that
Network Rail (which replaced
Railtrack) was required to submit an improved set of proposals (for example with no deficiencies) and a new Environmental Statement on
January 29 2003. As a result of lack of progress on the project, the 'Thameslink 2000 Agreement', a contract that obliged Network Rail (and previously its predecessor Railtrack) to maintain responsibility for funding the project, was terminated in April 2003. Responsibility for project funding was subsequently transferred to the
Strategic Rail Authority.
Nevertheless, Network Rail made adjustments to the Thameslink 2000 proposals and in June 2004 they submitted the aforementioned proposals, along with an updated Environmental Statement (dated 14 June 2004). On 22 March 2005 the
Deputy Prime Minister and the
Secretary of State for Transport called for a new public inquiry in light of the amendments and also confirmed that it would commence in September 2005.
As a result of the
Railways Act of 2005, the
Department for Transport (DfT) took over funding responsibility for the project from the Strategic Rail Authority on 25 July 2005.
Second public inquiry
The second public inquiry commenced on
6 September 2005 and was brought to a close in
December 2005. The Inspector's report (dated 17 February 2006) was subsequently submitted to the DfT for consideration. On
18 October 2006, the DfT published the second report, which declared that the Inspector was satisfied that the deficiencies from the previous Thameslink 2000 proposals were dealt with, and that he recommended that the project be given approval.
Project approval
In conjunction with the second report, the
Secretaries of State for Transport and 'Communities & Local Government' consequently granted
Network Rail the planning permission and legal powers required to execute the project, and the Order (officially described as
The Network Rail (Thameslink 2000) Order 2006) came into force on
13 December 2006; furthermore, on
19 December 2006,
On 24 July 2007, the Secretary of State for Transport,
Ruth Kelly, formally announced that the Government was fully committed to funding the Thameslink Programme.
Summary of project phases
To minimise the risk, the Thameslink Programme will be divided into 3 phases.
Key Output 0
Works are being carried out to permit the current 15tph peak hour service between St. Pancras and Farringdon to be extended at least as far south as Blackfriars, since services to/from Moorgate and Blackfriars will be merged from March 2009. This involves signalling works and alterations to the tracks and overhead line equipment between Farringdon and City Thameslink to allow the merged services to operate. Trains from the south which previously terminated at Blackfriars will terminate at
Kentish Town or further north, and it's intended that dual-voltage
Class 377 Electrostars will be procured in order to help fulfil the additional rolling stock requirements..
Key Output 1
A major aim of the project is to allow the introduction of 12-car trains on the
Thameslink network. Platform extension works will be required at around 50
stations, particularly north of the
Thames on the existing Thameslink route where all stations (with the exception of
St Pancras and
City Thameslink) are currently restricted to a maximum length of 8 cars; these works commenced at
Luton Airport Parkway on 24 October 2007 and will be carried out at another 22 stations until 2011. All of the above is planned to take place prior to the
2012 Olympics and would result in 10,000 extra peak period seats from December 2011.
Key Output 2
After the Olympics
London Bridge will be subject to major track, signalling and station remodelling works as part of the
Masterplan project (some works within the station building may commence during Key Output 1) consequently opening up the network to new destinations north of Central London. The fly-down at Tanners Hill will be widened and become double track
As part of the project a purpose built fleet of 1100 vehicles (equivalent to 275 4-car trains) would operate across the network - for which the procurement process commenced on 9 April 2008.
Major project works
King's Cross Thameslink / St Pancras
The previous station
King's Cross Thameslink closed in 2007 and trains now stop at
St Pancras. The need for a replacement station arose due to factors regarding
King's Cross Thameslink such as substandard platform widths and lengths, lack of step-free access, lack of easily accessible fire escape routes and a poor quality passenger environment. If the previous station had been upgraded to modern standards, it would have required in excess of £60 million (which is similar to the cost of fitting out the
new station anyway) and serious disruption on the nearby Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines and roads would have occurred as a direct consequence.
The new station accepts 12 car trains
Due to the planned closure of King's Cross Thameslink, passengers who were using the station to access the
Underground lines would have had to proceed to the other entrances to
King's Cross St Pancras in order to access the lines once Thameslink service calls at
King's Cross Thameslink were discontinued (although the station would have been retained as an emergency exit, which remains the case today). For this reason, London TravelWatch recommended that the
Thameslink station should be retained as an entrance/exit facility for
London Underground passengers.
London Underground agreed with the recommendation but stated that funding for the required modifications would need the agreement of the DfT; in response the DfT decided against pushing this forward, stating that it was a matter for
Transport for London (TfL) . Since 10 December 2007 (the day after Thameslink service calls at King's Cross Thameslink were discontinued), the old station entrance has been retained as part of
King's Cross St Pancras.
Farringdon & the Moorgate branch
Farringdon station is limited to 8 cars, and therefore requires platform extensions to handle 12 car trains. Extensions towards the north are not planned mainly due to the steep gradient (1 in 27) of the Thameslink line immediately north of Farringdon. Northward platform extensions therefore wouldn't comply with safety standards, which leaves the alternative of realigning both the Thameslink and Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines, given that the latter crosses over the former on a bridge. This has been deemed impractical due to lack of space.
The buildings at 54-60 Cowcross Street will be demolished and a new ticket hall and concourse for National Rail passengers will be built in their place; furthermore, the existing listed ticket hall and concourse will be remodelled, but it'll be used exclusively by LUL passengers. Despite the separate functions of the two station buildings, interchange within the station will by improved by means of removing the existing interchange bridge and installing new stairs and lifts with access to all four platforms, thereby allowing passengers with impaired mobility to use the station.
The increasing patronage at Farringdon also necessitates the widening of the platforms, which itself requires the Cowcross Street bridge abutments to be shifted; for this reason the bridge will be demolished and then rebuilt once the abutments have been shifted. Other planned major works within Farringdon include the erection of a new roof over the northern half of the station premises and the pedestrianisation of Cowcross Street. This is to help passenger movements around and within the station, particularly during the peak; and to protect passengers from the weather.
The intermediate station at
Barbican (which is located on the Moorgate branch) is already used by Thameslink trains only when travelling east (from Farringdon); westbound trains (from Moorgate) don't stop. Once the branch is closed in December 2008,), the benefits to other Thameslink passengers are deemed to be significantly greater (£5.7 billion over the same period).
City Thameslink
No major works will take place within
City Thameslink railway station, although the
OLE (overhead power) system will be extended from Farringdon to City Thameslink for northbound trains only. Combined with new trackwork between the two stations, this will allow northbound trains to be recovered should they fail to change from the southern portion's
third rail DC to the northern portion's overhead
AC traction current (and vice versa).
Blackfriars
The existing building at 167-179 Queen Victoria Street (which is currently utilised as an LUL office) will be demolished and in its place, a new station building (which will employ a facade primarily composed of glass) will be built in its place, and to the same height as the building it replaces. Within this building a new shared National Rail/LUL ticket hall and LUL ventilation shaft will be provided; in addition, new escalators and lifts will take passengers to a mezzanine level (for National Rail services) or to a sub-surface level (for the Circle/District LUL lines). The LUL station will also be subject to major enhancements, and therefore will be closed for 24 months. The existing subway entrance to Blackfriars station will be permanently closed as a result of the Thameslink Programme.
This means trains to and from London Bridge will no longer have to cross the lines that lead to the bay platforms, which is currently a source of delays.
In order to accommodate the new/extended platforms the existing bridge deck will be strengthened and widened towards the west - consequently the easternmost line of disused piers (which supported the former West Blackfriars and St Paul’s Railway
Bridge) will themselves be strengthened, tied into the existing bridge and become stone clad. The number of bay platforms will be reduced from 3 to 2 in the process, but some terminating services will become through services, and the increased length will allow longer trains to terminate at Blackfriars.
Borough Market Viaduct
The two-track Borough Market Viaduct west of London Bridge is currently used by trains on the Thameslink route to Blackfriars and all trains to
Charing Cross. This causes a major bottleneck in the area. To relieve this, an additional pair of tracks will be added to this short section of the route. Trains to Charing Cross would use the southern pair of tracks For the platform alterations, the
listed northern wall of the terminus trainshed will be demolished and replaced with a new retaining wall, and the
listed bays of the roof over the terminating platform will be dismantled and stored.
To alleviate congestion and improve circulation within the station, a new station concourse will be built. This requires the demolition of brick vaults between Stainer and Weston Streets, which will themselves become part of the new concourse (and therefore cease to be thoroughfares). The space relinquished by the existing concourse will allow Network Rail to expand the adjacent bus station, and new retail facilities will be built into the existing western arcade, which will be re-opened and extended to link the Underground station and Joiner Street.
As a result of changes that have been made to signalling standards, the current throughput of train services at London Bridge during the peak may have to be reduced if the signalling system is renewed in the absence of the Thameslink Programme.
Bermondsey dive-under
With the completion of Borough Market Viaduct to the west of London Bridge, Thameslink trains will need to run on a pair of tracks to the north of the pair used by trains to Charing Cross. However, Thameslink trains currently arrive on the southern pair of tracks. The lines will therefore be rebuilt to the east of London Bridge so that Thameslink trains from the
Brighton Main Line can cross over trains from Kent headed for Charing Cross.
Charing Cross services would be diverted slightly south in the vicinity of Trundleys Road onto the route of the former branch line to
Bricklayers' Arms. They would then slope up alongside the Brighton Main Line just north of
South Bermondsey station. Thameslink trains could then cross over the line on a new bridge, meeting the existing alignment just north of Jarrow Road. The Charing Cross line and Thameslink would each cross the
Rotherhithe New Road on the other's present alignment.
Tanners Hill fly-down
In order to improve capacity on the line between London Bridge and Lewisham, a new stretch of single track will be built alongside the existing bi-directional single track between Tanners Hill Junction (near St John's Station) and Lewisham Vale Junction. Before the new track is laid, St John’s Vale Road Bridge will be subject to partial demolition and will be reconstructed with a concrete pier, as well as a new south span over the new track; the existing embankment along the fly-down will also be widened. Given that the existing footbridge will be rebuilt, a temporary footbridge will be provided for the duration of the works.
Rolling stock
As of 24 July 2007, the existing Thameslink fleet consisted of 74 dual-voltage Class 319s and 2 Class 317s. While the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project (TRSP) will provide a brand new fleet, the timescales involved are such that interim solutions are required. On 4 April 2007, the DfT authorised the cascade of 12 Class 319s to be implemented in batches of 4 and 8 during December 2007 and December 2008 respectively. Now that project funding is guaranteed, it's now also intended that 23 Class 377s will be drafted in to fulfil further capacity requirements that will come into play once the service alterations of Key Output 0 are in place.
The December 2011 timetable (for example after Key Output 1) will introduce 12-car trains and as a result further rolling stock will be required.
The Thameslink Rolling Stock Project (itself a part of the Thameslink Programme) commenced on 9 April 2008 and it was introduced for the purpose building a brand new fleet of electric trains worth £1.4 billion.
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