Thameslink Programme
Building works at Blackfriars station
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| Location | South-East England |
|---|---|
| Status | Under construction |
| Groundbreaking | 2009 |
| Estimated completion | 2018 |
| Website | www |
| Companies | |
| Contractor | Network Rail |
| Manager | Department for Transport |
| Technical details | |
| Cost | £6.5 billion |
| Proposed | 1997 |
The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, is a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London without requiring passengers to change trains in London. Work includes platform lengthening, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure, and additional rolling stock. The project was originally proposed in 1991 following the successful introduction of the initial Thameslink service in 1988. After many delays, planning permission was granted in 2006 and funding was approved in October 2007. Work started in 2009 and is expected to be complete in 2018. The Thameslink Programme is being carried out by Network Rail in association with the relevant train operating companies.
The original Thameslink rail network was created by joining the electrified network south of the Thames with the then recently electrified line between Bedford and St. Pancras to the north via the Snow Hill tunnel, allowing passengers to travel between stations to the north and south of London, including Bedford, Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport and Brighton, without changing trains or using the London Underground. New dual-voltage rolling stock was required for the service on account of differing electrification standards north and south of London; lines south of the river are electrified using a 750-volt third rail and those to the north by the more modern 25 kV overhead system. Services began in 1988 and the route was fully inaugurated in May 1990.
Passenger traffic between destinations in north and south London served by Thameslink services quadrupled after the first year of operation. The success of this initial project encouraged British Rail to develop proposals to extend the network.
British Rail proposed to expand and upgrade the original network in the early 1990s, with plans to increase the number of stations served from 50 to 169 and to increase passenger capacity by allowing 12-carriage trains and allowing more trains per hour. In 1993 responsibility for the project, intended to be complete by 2000, was transferred to Railtrack as detailed in the Railways Act of 1993. This privatisation, combined with a recession in the UK economy, caused the first of many delays to the project.
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