North Kent Line
| North Kent Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail, Suburban rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale |
Greater London South East England |
| Termini |
London Charing Cross London Cannon Street Gillingham Dartford |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Southeastern |
| Rolling stock |
Class 375 "Electrostar" Class 376 "Electrostar" Class 395 "Javelin" Class 465 "Networker" Class 466 "Networker" |
| Technical | |
| No. of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Electrification | 750 DC third rail |
 |
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The North Kent Line is a railway line which connects central and south east London with Dartford and Medway.
Contents |
History
Construction
The North Kent Line was the means by which the South Eastern Railway (SER) were able to connect its system to London at London Bridge. In 1846 the SER purchased the Thames and Medway Canal tunnel near Higham and laid railway tracks through it; in 1847 trains were working through from the Strood terminus, on the River Medway to Gravesend. From 30 July 1849 the line was extended, via Blackheath, to a junction with the London and Greenwich Railway at North Kent East Junction, near Deptford, and through trains were now working.
Electrification
The line is electrified (750v DC third rail). Electrification was initially to Dartford (6 June 1926) and was extended to Gillingham by World War Two.
The Route and Services
The North Kent Line is regarded as a high-frequency line, with all stations in the London area being served by at least 4 trains per hour, with Lewisham being served by 14tph. Interchange with the Docklands Light Railway is available at Lewisham, Woolwich Arsenal & Greenwich.
A major timetable change was introduced in December 2009 in connection with domestic high speed services on High Speed 1. This has led to additional services from St Pancras International operating along High Speed 1, then using the North Kent Line from Gravesend, continuing then along the Chatham Main Line to Faversham.
All passenger services are provided by Southeastern, and interchange with the Docklands Light Railway is available at Lewisham, Woolwich Arsenal & Greenwich. From January 2010, Oyster Pay-as-you-Go has been accepted on services within the London Travelcard Zones. The entire line is also within the Penalty fare scheme.
In addition to the two Docklands Light Railway connections There is a connection at New Cross with the London Overground line, the line has a mixture of fast, semi fast and slow services, and from 2009 high speed services on the High Speed One route from Gravesend to St. Pancras International however these services by-pass other stations on the North Kent line, this gave the line more importance as it is the only line in London, that serves six London train terminal; Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Waterloo East, London Bridge, Victoria(from Blackheath and Lewisham) and St. Pancras (from Gravesend) are all on the North Kent and High Speed One lines
From 1999-2002 there were semi-fast trains starting from Plumstead to London Victoria briefly resuming a 1980s service pattern this service was purely for the benefit for the Millennium Dome (now The O2), it was debated on whether this service should be kept as a result of the Millennium Dome closing, the last Victoria train from here was Jan 2002.
It remains to be seen whether this service will be re-introduced.
Future plans, 2010s and 2020s
From 2014 Thameslink trains will serve this line by diverting semi fast trains that currently serve Charing Cross, to Bedford
by 2017 Abbey Wood will become the eastern terminal for Crossrail's line 1 and by the 2020s it is expected that this line will extend to Gravesend
Stations
Train services working the Line today take the following route; the first ten miles (16 km) passes through many tunnels, included on the list:
- Lewisham
- Blackheath - here is the junction for the Bexleyheath Line
- Blackheath Tunnel [1 mile (1.6 km) in length]
- here is the freight branch to Angerstein Wharf
- junction for the line from Greenwich and the eastern connection with the London and Greenwich Railway, opened in 1878
- Charlton
- Charlton Tunnel [154 yd (138 m)]
- Mount Street Tunnel [121 yd (108 m)]
- Dockyard Tunnel [121 yd (108 m)]
- Woolwich Dockyard
- Coleman Street Tunnel [89 yd(80 m)]
- George IV Tunnel [238 yd (214 m]
- Calderwood Street Tunnel [58 yd (52 m)]
- Cross Street Tunnel [134 yd (120 m)]
- Woolwich Arsenal
- Plumstead - here the Royal Arsenal railway system connected with the main line
- Church Manor Way Halt - closed
- Abbey Wood
- Belvedere
- Erith
- Slade Green -includes the large carriage-servicing depot
- here is the triangular junction with the Bexleyheath Line
- here is the triangular junction with the Dartford Loop Line
- Dartford
- Stone Crossing
- Greenhithe - to which has been added "for Bluewater"
- Greenhithe Tunnel [253 yd (228 m)]
- Swanscombe
- Northfleet - this station is only 305m or so from Ebbsfleet International as the crow flies, but it is at least a 1km walk between the two stations.
- Gravesend: was originally named Gravesend Central to differentiate it from the ex-London, Chatham and Dover Railway station at Gravesend West which closed in 1968
- here stood Denton Halt serving the west of Gravesend; and Milton Range Halt serving a military rifle range
- Hoo Junction Railway Staff Halt, where the line branches ("The Hundred of Hoo Railway") to Grain. Currently for freight services (not electrified)
- Higham
- Higham and Strood tunnel - actually two tunnels [total 3931 yd (3595 m)] with a gap of 100 yards (91 m) between.
- Strood - the junction for the Medway Valley Line.
The North Kent Line connects with the LCDR Chatham Main Line at Rochester Bridge Junction, about 200 m beyond Strood station. It totals some 30 miles (48 km) in length.
Service patterns
The current service pattern (as of December 2009) is as follows:
Off-peak & Saturday:
- 2tph between London Cannon Street & Dartford via Greenwich (stopping service)
- 2tph between London Cannon Street & Slade Green via Greenwich (stopping service)
- 2tph between London Cannon Street & Slade Green via Greenwich, continuing to London Cannon Street via Dartford Loop Line
- 2tph between London Charing Cross & Gillingham (semi-fast)
- 2tph between London Charing Cross & Gravesend via Dartford Loop Line
- 2tph between St Pancras International & Faversham via High Speed One
Sunday:
- 2tph between London Charing Cross & Dartford via Greenwich (stopping service)
- 2tph between London Bridge & Plumstead via Greenwich (stopping service)
- 2tph between London Charing Cross & Gillingham (semi-fast)
Peak hour frequencies vary, with services from the Bexleyheath & Dartford loop lines also running to & from stations to Gillingham
The December 2009 timetable withdrew peak hour services between Charlton & Blackheath with all services running via Greenwich instead. This has been met with much criticism from passenger groups.
See also
References
==External links==
