North London Line
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The North London Line is a railway line through northern London. It carries passenger services operated by Silverlink and freight trains.
Only Richmond and Kew Gardens stations, at the western end of the line, are south of the River Thames; the eastern extremity is downstream, at North Woolwich.
The line is perhaps best envisaged as a 'horse-shoe' looping across north London, bypassing central London. It crosses many of the arterial routes radiating out from central London, offering a faster and more convenient way of traversing north London than travelling into the centre and out again.
The line is notable for being the only regional rail route shown on the London Underground map. It was added in 1977 following pressure from campaigners for integrated transport policies. Tube maps have also shown the Thameslink line from Kentish Town to London Bridge and Elephant & Castle, and the Waterloo & City Line prior to its transfer to London Underground. The Northern City Line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park also sometimes appears on maps - this route used to be part of the Northern Line but is now operated by First Capital Connect.
The North Cross Route, one side of the Ringway 1 inner ring road, would have paralleled the North London Line.
Contents |
Stations and major structures
History
The North London Line was formed from an amalgamation of two lines. The western section of the line, the North London Railway, ran from Richmond to Broad Street (near Liverpool Street) via Dalston, and opened in 1869. The eastern section was covered by a line which operated between North Woolwich and Palace Gates (Wood Green) (near Wood Green) via Stratford. This opened in 1878, and was rerouted to Tottenham Hale in 1963 in wake of the Beeching Report.
In 1979 a new service, known as the CrossTown LinkLine, commenced between North Woolwich station and Camden Road, travelling via a sction of track between Stratford and Dalston that since 1944 had only been used by goods trains. At first there were no intermediate stations, with those at Hackney Wick and Hackney Central, both on the sites of stations closed in the 1940s, opening later, and that at Homerton later still. As the line was not electrified services were provided by diesel multiple unit trains. Concurrent with the commencement of the CrossTown LinkLine new platforms at West Ham were constructed to permit interchange with the Underground station adjacent.
In the 1980s Broad Street was earmarked for closure and demolition, while the Tottenham Hale–Stratford link, and the station at Lea Bridge, ceased to be used by regular passenger trains. Thus, the two lines were merged in 1985, initially as the CrossTown LinkLine service detailed above, although when Broad Street was closed the line between Dalston and North Woolwich station was electrified on the 3rd rail system with Broad Street trains being diverted to North Woolwich station.
In addition to the primary Richmond station - Broad Street services there were additional services which linked Broad Street with Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction on the West Coast Main Line. Most of these services were routed via a now disused branch between South Hamptead and Camden Road, calling at an intermediate station at Primrose Hill, although some also travelled via Hampstead Heath and switched to the Watford line at Willesden Junction. By the time that Broad Street closed in 1985 the Watford services only operated in the rush hours, and they were diverted to Liverpool Street by way of a new link in Hackney. However, with trains freqently cancelled, and some timed to arrive at Liverpool Street Station after the start of the working day (plus the evening workings also being timed to not be suitable for office workers) the patronage was very low and after just a few years they were withdrawn completely.
In 2000 Anglia Railways (now one) started a service utilising parts of the North London Line. Evidence still exists today where avoiding lines were put in place to increase capicity on the line between between Camden Road and Stratford , which have since been removed. The service was called London Crosslink which ran up to five times a day at roughly two hourly intervals in both directions between Basingstoke and Chelmsford. The service was fast calling only at principal stations such as Staines, Feltham, and Brentford. On the North London Line the trains called at Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road (some services only) and West Hampstead stations. Unfortunately after just a few years and with not being justifiable costs and ever increasing capacity strains on the North London Line, the service ceased.
It is said that failure was partly due to very little advertising of the service plus the need to fit in with existing services. This resulted in a timetable where services did not operate to an easy to remember clockface pattern, that the journey times were very relaxed (slower than they could have been), that the trains only operated at quieter times of the day - all these being factors which resulted in lower than expected patronage. Some critics have also suggested that the service was unpopular with the railway operators, and that had it been operated differently and marketed with greater enthusiasm it would have been more successful. Many of those passengers who did use the service very much appreciated being able to travel through London without needing to change trains.
Lost stations
A number of stations on the line been closed. These include:
- Maiden Lane station - situated between Camden Road and Caledonian Road & Barnsbury stations. This station was on York Road to the north of goods yards serving King's Cross station approximately where the tunnel portal for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link has been constructed.
- Mildmay Park station - situated between Canonbury and Dalston Kingsland stations. This station was on Mildmay Park between Newington Green and Balls Pond Road. The station was closed in 1934 probably due to its close proximity to Canonbury station. The ticket office was located on brick pillars over the eastbound tracks and was demolished in the 1980s. Some remnants of the platforms remain.
- Victoria Park station - situated between Homerton and Hackney Wick stations. This large station served the popular east London park and was a junction between the North London Line and the now-extinct branch running to Old Ford station (on Old Ford Road) and Bow Church station (now Bow Church DLR station). The station was completely demolished and the railway realigned when the East Cross Route was constructed. The site is now occupied by slip roads to the A12 road leading to the Blackwall Tunnel.
Poor Service
The North London Line is generally regarded by customers as offering an extremely poor service. Trains on the line are often extremely congested and unreliable. It is not uncommon for trains to be cancelled minutes before they are due to arrive and any customer that regularly uses the service must have an alternative transport strategy. Amongst users the service has become a commonly shared joke whilst pressed together in the overcrowded cars. Fortunately in London most bus services will accept train tickets for the same destination. It is hoped that the imminent transfer of the service to Transport for London will improve the quality of the service.
Future
From Autumn 2007, management of the North London Line will transfer from central Government to Transport for London (TfL). The rail service will be known as the North London Railway, and will encompass the North London Line (Richmond to Stratford/Woolwich), London Euston to Watford Junction local Line, the West London Line from Willesden Junction to Clapham Junction, and the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. Silverlink Rail will continue to operate services on these lines until a new franchise is agreed.
As well as promises of investment in infrastructure, TfL management will bring the North London Line under the Oystercard ticketing system, the first London overground rail line to come under the integrated ticketing system.
It is planned that the line from North Woolwich to Stratford will close, with the section from Canning Town to Stratford handed over to the Docklands Light Railway and extended northwards to Stratford International station. The section from Canning Town to North Woolwich will be replaced by the parallel Docklands Light Railway extension to Woolwich Arsenal, while the Custom House to North Woolwich section may be partly re-used for the Crossrail scheme.
The line from Richmond to Stratford will be upgraded and a connection made to the extended East London Line at Dalston.
There is also indications that Silverlink will be extended to Kingston calling at all intermediate stations. This would see services on the Kingston Loop Line to be increased to 4tph in both directions between Kingston and Richmond
Although Maiden Lane station was lost, there have been plans by Camden Council to, in the long term, reopen the station the possibly serve the Kings Cross development site. This is still being investigated For example, King's Cross Development plan
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Categories: Hackney | Newham | Camden