London Crosslink
| London Crosslink | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Line and stations open, service discontinued. |
| Locale | East of England |
| Termini |
Norwich Basingstoke |
| Stations | 19 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 22 May 2000 |
| Closed | 28 September 2002 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Anglia Railways |
| Rolling stock | British Rail Class 170 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
London Crosslink was a train service operated by Anglia Railways between Norwich and Basingstoke, using the North London Line to bypass central London. Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units were used. The service ran from 22 May 2000 to 28 September 2002 supported by funding from the Strategic Rail Authority through its Rail Passenger Partnership fund.
Despite the majority of the routes served being electrified (overhead lines on the Anglia route, third rail on the South Western network and a mixture on the North London line), diesel stock had to be used as the section between Old Kew Junction and South Acton Junction — ie between the Hounslow Loop Line and the North London line — was (and still is) not electrified.
Due to capacity constraints on the North London Line the service only ran infrequently with uneven headways. The majority of services did not run the full length of the route, although all served Basingstoke; Stratford, Chelmsford, Witham, Colchester and Ipswich were all starting or terminating points on the Great Eastern Main Line. Another drawback with the service was the varied stopping patterns employed; for example trains only stopped at Camden Road on weekends, Brentford calls were only made from May 2001 and then only during the morning and evening on weekdays and all-day Sundays, and Romford only received one service per day in the early morning.
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