Thameslink

Thameslink is a main line route on the British railway network which connects destinations north and south of London via tunnels under Central London. It runs from Bedford, Luton, St Albans City, Peterborough, Welwyn Garden City, London Blackfriars and Cambridge to Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Three Bridges, Brighton and East Grinstead. The initial network opened as a through service in 1988 and, as of 2025, calls at 135 stations in regular service. A part of the route, from Bedford to Three Bridges, runs 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods. The Thameslink Programme was a major £7 billion scheme to increase capacity on the central London section by accommodating more frequent and longer trains, and providing additional routes and destinations. The programme was divided into three key phases, with the final Key Output 2 introducing world-first Automatic Train Operation (ATO) technology over European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2, enabling 24 trains per hour through the core section. The new services began operating in 2018, though the full projected timetable of 24 trains per hour has never been achieved. Passenger service on the route use purpose-built Class 700 trains, which were introduced in 2016. Passenger services on the Thameslink route, along with all others operated by Govia Thameslink Railway, transferred to the state-owned Greater Thameslink Railway on 31 May 2026.