Thameslink Programme

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The Thameslink Programme, formerly known as Thameslink 2000, is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations,^[1] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford, Dartford.^[2] The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaduct) and additional rolling stock.

Contents 1 Project history 1.1 Background 1.2 Initial planning 1.3 Beginning of planning process 1.4 First public inquiry 1.5 Further delays 1.6 Second public inquiry 1.7 Current status 2 Project details 2.1 Summary of works 2.2 King's Cross Thameslink / St Pancras Thameslink 2.3 Farringdon & the Moorgate branch 2.4 City Thameslink 2.5 Blackfriars 2.6 Borough Market Viaduct 2.7 London Bridge 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Project history

[edit] Background

The Thameslink network was fully inaugurated in May 1990, two years after services began.^[3] A unique feature of Thameslink is that the network crosses the centre of London between north and south (via the Snow Hill tunnel), which reduces the requirement to use the Underground for cross-London journeys.^[4] 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.^[5]

[edit] 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.^[6] 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.

[edit] Beginning of planning process

Railtrack applied for Transport and Works Act powers on 21 November 1997.^[7] 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 the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) (also branded as 'High Speed 1') announced that they required further direct government grants worth £1.2 billion (in 1995 real prices) in order to finance the construction of the CTRL.^[8] 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 (currently named St Pancras Thameslink) 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,^[8] which allowed the construction of CTRL (and the concrete box) to proceed. Meanwhile Railtrack took the opportunity to carry out an extensive public consultation exercise, which resulted in the revision of their original proposals and subsequently they submitted a Supplementary Order on 29 September 1999.^[7]

[edit] First public inquiry

Given the size of the project, the Deputy Prime Minister decided to call for a public inquiry. The inquiry commenced in June 2000 and was brought to a close in May 2001.^[1] 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 did not recommend that the project should be given approval,^[9] since there were three 'deficiencies' that he was not satisfied with:

• The poor quality proposals for the redevelopment of London Bridge station;
• The lack of proposals for the 'missing tooth' near Blackfriars station;
• The lack of proposals for the replacement of listed buildings around the historic area of Borough Market.

[edit] Further delays

As a result the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the project would not receive approval and that Network Rail (who replaced Railtrack) was required to submit an improved set of proposals (i.e. with no deficiencies) and a new Environmental Statement on January 29, 2003.^[10] 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 the project funds were subsequently transferred to the Strategic Rail Authority.^[11]

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^[12]). 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.^[13]

As a result of the Railways Act of 2005, the Department for Transport took over funding responsibility for the project from the Strategic Rail Authority on 25 July 2005.^[14]

[edit] Second public inquiry

The second public inquiry commenced on 6 September 2005 and was brought to a close in December 2005.^[15] The Inspector's report (dated 17 February 2006^[16]) was subsequently submitted to the Department for Transport for consideration.

[edit] Current status

On Wednesday 18 October 2006, the Department for Transport 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.^[17] 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, but as yet the Department for Transport has not allocated any funding.^[1] A final decision on funding, and consequently the whole project is expected from the Secretary of State for Transport by summer 2007.^[18]

[edit] Project details

[edit] Summary of works

A major aim of the project is to allow the introduction of 12-car trains on the Thameslink network. In order to achieve this, platform extension works will be required at more than 50 stations,^[19] particularly north of the Thames on the existing Thameslink route where all stations (City Thameslink excepted) are restricted to a maximum length of 8 cars. Platform extensions will also be provided as part of major remodelling works at Farringdon and Blackfriars, although Radlett may not be subject to platform extension works.^[20]

The second aim is to massively increase the capacity of the central London section in terms of trains per hour. A new viaduct will be built over Borough Market to provide trains to Blackfriars and trains to Charing Cross with their own dedicated routes; and a grade separated junction will be created at Bermondsey.^[21]

All of the above is planned to take place prior to the 2012 Olympics and would result in 10,000 extra peak hour seats.^[22] After the Olympics London Bridge will be subject to major remodelling works as part of the Masterplan project.^[22] Once the project is completed, the Thameslink network will be able to handle a nominal peak period frequency of 24 trains per hour (tph), or one train every 150 seconds between St Pancras Thameslink and Blackfriars.^[19]

The Strategic Rail Authority specified that as part of the project a standardised train fleet would operate across the network^[23] which would allow a three-aspect solid state interlocking signalling system to be implemented as a consequence.^[23] 41 electricity feeder stations will also be created/upgraded in order to provide a more robust electricity supply for the network.^[24]

[edit] King's Cross Thameslink / St Pancras Thameslink

King's Cross Thameslink station will be closed and replaced with a new station under St Pancras station, known as either St Pancras Thameslink or St Pancras Midland Road. The need for a replacement station arises 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.^[25] If the current station was upgraded to modern standards, it would have required in excess of £60 million (which is similar to the cost of fitting out St Pancras Thameslink anyway^[26]) and serious disruption on the nearby Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines and highways would occur as a direct consequence.^[27]

The new station will accept 12 car trains^[26] (the present station is limited to 8 cars) and allow better interchange with other forms of transport, particularly Eurostar. It will also have a CCTV system, seven escalators and two lifts, which will allow people with impared mobility to use the station.^[26] 'Fit-out' works began in the summer of 2006 and a completion date of December 2007 has been set, following the decision by the Department for Transport to provide a further £60-65 million for the CTRL project.^[26]

Because of the change in location, passengers who currently use King's Cross Thameslink to access the Underground lines will have to walk towards the entrance to King's Cross St Pancras in order to access the lines once King's Cross Thameslink is closed. For this reason, London TravelWatch has suggested that the Thameslink station should be converted into an entrance/exit facility for London Underground passengers. The Department for Transport has decided against pushing this forward, stating that it is a matter for London Underground.^[28]

[edit] Farringdon & the Moorgate branch

Farringdon station is limited to 8 cars, and therefore requires platform extensions in order to allow 12 car trains to serve the station. Extensions towards the north are not planned mainly due to the steep gradient (1 in 27) of the Thameslink line immediately north of Farringdon.^[29] Northward platform extensions therefore would not comply with safety standards, which leaves the alternative of re-aligning both the Thameslink and Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines, given that the latter crosses over the former via a bridge. This has been deemed impractical due to the constrained space in the area.^[29] The platforms will therefore be extended southwards, physically severing the two-station branch to Moorgate.^[30]

Other planned major works within Farringdon include the construction of a new Thameslink ticket hall, construction of new roof canopies over both Thameslink and LUL platforms, reconstruction of the Cowcross Street bridge and the pedestrianisation of Cowcross Street.^[31] This is in order to faciliate passenger movements around and within the station, particularly during the peak; and to protect passengers from external weather elements.

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) do not stop. Once the branch is closed, passengers wanting to travel to or from Barbican or Moorgate stations will have to change at Farringdon onto London Underground trains on the Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines. Although this will be inconvenient for some passengers (the disbenefits are estimated at £65 million over a 60 year appraisal period^[32]), the benefits accrued by other Thameslink passengers are deemed to be significantly greater (£5.7 billion over the same period^[33]).

[edit] 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.^[34]

[edit] Blackfriars

Blackfriars station will be completely rebuilt and the office building above it demolished and replaced. The LUL station at Blackfriars will close for 24 months.^[35]

The platforms will be extended along Blackfriars Railway Bridge over the River Thames in order to accommodate 12 car trains (in place of 8 today). The platform layout will also be altered such that the through platforms will be located on the east side of the station (currently the west side), and the terminus platforms will be located on the west side of the station (currently the east side).^[36] This means trains to and from London Bridge will no longer have to cross the lines that lead to the terminating platforms.

The works will involve making use of the disused piers which lie west of the existing railway bridge. The number of terminating 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. In addition there will also be an additional station entrance on the South Bank and the ticket offices for both National Rail and LUL services will be combined.^[36]

[edit] 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, causing a major bottleneck in the area. To relieve this, a new double-track viaduct will be built to the south of the existing one for trains to Charing Cross^[36], giving Thameslink trains a dedicated route to Blackfriars, which is key to the nominal peak hour frequency of 24tph on the core route. However, this proposal is controversial because construction of the new viaduct will require the demolition (and subsequent replacement) of a group of listed buildings within Borough Market, which is a conservation area.^[36]

[edit] London Bridge

London Bridge station will undergo a major transformation as part of a wider project known as Masterplan. One aspect of the proposals involves the closure of 3 terminus platforms and the creation of 3 through platforms in order to allow additional services to continue to either Cannon Street, Charing Cross or Thameslink stations north of the River Thames. The increase in through platforms will also allow London Bridge to function as an emergency terminus for services approaching the station from the west.^[37] In order to faciliate 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.^[38]

In order 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).^[39] The space relinquished by the existing concourse will allow Network Rail to expand the adjecent bus station,^[40] 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.^[41]

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.^[42]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Thameslink Programme website
• alwaystouchout.com - Website for transport projects in London
• Thameslink 2000 Public Inquiry 2005 - Official website for the second public inquiry
• Thameslink Programme (DfT) - Projects and infrastructure
• Thameslink Programme (DfT) - Decision letters
• Thameslink Programme (DfT) - Inspectors' reports