- How can I keep up to date with what's happening?
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Check this website regularly and stay up to date with the Thameslink Programme developments by signing up to receive the latest news by email.
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- What is the Thameslink Programme?
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Good question. It’s a government-funded £5.5bn programme of work to introduce new and improved stations, new track, new cross-London routes and new longer and more frequent trains with the express purpose of reducing overcrowding. It will transform the Thameslink route.
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- Who’s involved?
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Network Rail will build new track, new stations, extend platforms and improve signalling. First Capital Connect will bring in a new fleet of trains and run the train service, parts of which will be jointly run with train operator Southeastern.
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- What’s in it for me?
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A more comfortable ride! That’s thanks to more space on more frequent, longer, brand new trains running to and through London from better stations across an extended rail network. There are already more rush hour seats thanks to 92 new carriages (that's 23 four-carriage trains) introduced in 2009 and new direct connections from Kent and south London to St Pancras International and beyond. Blackfriars and Farringdon stations will be upgraded significantly in time for the Olympics and London Bridge will be rebuilt by December 2016. Check out the new destinations that may be on offer from December 2016.
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- When's it happening?
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22 March 2009 - completed!
· Preparatory work finished ready for stations at Farringdon and Blackfriars to be redesigned/redeveloped.
· Moorgate branch closed.
· New timetable in place offering new direct destinations from north Thameslink route stations to Kent and south east London
· Double the number of trains (up to 15 per hour) arriving at Blackfriars and City Thameslink stations in the rush hour, matching that of St Pancras and Farringdon
· New fleet of 23 four-carriage Electrostars (delivery completed January 2010)
December 2011:
· Farringdon, Blackfriars and most stations on the Thameslink route main line capable of taking 50% longer, 12-carriage trains plus the capability for these to leave central London stations up to 16 times an hour at peak times.
From December 2016:
· London Bridge station redeveloped
· New fleet of trains
· Up to 24 trains per hour at peak times through central London
· An expanded network
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- Will trains be more frequent?
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There’ll be many more trains per hour and more destinations to choose from on trains across the heart of London. The main goal is to reduce overcrowding.
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- What impact will this have on my day?
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Let’s be honest: while we think you’ll like the end result, the work might well disrupt your journey in the short- term. We’re working closely with Network Rail to keep aggravation to a minimum and doing our level best to keep you updated with what’s going on. We’ll also offer advice on the best way around bottlenecks and station works – a job made much easier if you sign up to our email alerts.
On top of this, we’re working with Network Rail to maintain and in some cases improve train services before the main work begins by making changes to the network.
Network Rail is also investing £40million in Thameslink route infrastructure to ensure it is reliable enough for us to deliver the service our customers expect and deserve during the delivery of the Programme. This includes:
· Investing in spare switch and crossing parts to reduce the time it takes to replace these components when they fail.
· Improving overhead lines in the Bedford area to reduce delays resulting from overhead line problems.
· Reducing the length of the electric section in the West Hampstead area to give more flexibility of where trains can turn around if there are problems with the overhead lines in the area.
· Putting in a turnback at Herne Hill to allow trains to turn around and go back in the direction they have come from. This is very useful in times of disruption and has been installed following a request by FCC.
· Investing in additional resources to better manage incidents when disruption occurs in the core section between St Pancras International and Blackfriars.
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- How is the £5.5bn being spent?
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The £5.5bn will be spent on new track, new stations, longer platforms, better signalling and new trains. A significant portion will be spent on track improvement work, as well as redesigning Farringdon and redeveloping Blackfriars and London Bridge stations.
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- Will there be new trains?
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Yes! New trains have already been delivered.
Now in service
A new fleet of 23 air-conditioned Class 377/5 Electrostar trains (that's 92 carriages) are in service right now. They have a smoother ride, with CCTV and panels showing information about your route.
They are running on the main Bedford to Brighton route, fast between St Albans and St Pancras, and in the rush hour between Bedford and Ashford, Rochester, Gillingham and Bearsted (operated jointly with Southeastern). However, because late night and early morning services between Bedford / London / Three Bridges / Brighton call at all stations between St Albans and St Pancras (including places like Cricklewood, Radlett, Mill Hill etc) there are a few trains formed of Class 377 carriages which call at Radlett, Elstree, Mill Hill, Hendon, Cricklewood, West Hampstead and Kentish Town.
One of the new Thameslink route Electrostars
First Capital Connect has also brought in more of the existing 319 trains boosting the size of the fleet and reducing overcrowding.
All this means that all but 12 of the Thameslink route rush hour services are the maximum eight carriages in length.
December 2011
From December 2011, the first 12-carriage services will begin to operate using existing trains.
2014-2016
And brand new eight and 12-carriage trains are being designed and built too - these will be next-generation trains, entering service between 2014 and 2016.
They will have the effect of significantly increasing capacity - and they'll be more frequent through central London. In fact, from the end of 2016 there will be trains every 2-3 minutes running into and out of central London on the Thameslink route.
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- Are you building new depots for the trains?
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The new generation of crowd-cutting 12-carriage trains will be maintained at new depots. Plans for base schemes at two sites have been published. One is a new depot south of London, near Three Bridges station. The other is close to Hornsey depot in north London. You can find out more about this here.
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- Will trains be longer?
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All but 10 peak hour services will be made eight carriages long in 2009 (see FAQ Do we really have to wait?). By 2012 most stations will be capable of taking 50% longer 12-carriage trains. A full 12-carriage timetable will be in operation by the end of 2016.
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- Where are the new trains for 2014-2016 coming from?
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The Department for Transport is working on rolling stock plans for this period and we will update you when they are finalised.
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- But what are you doing to relieve overcrowding today?!
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It's true that the biggest improvements won't happen until the new 12-carriage service is introduced, starting in December 2011.
However, First Capital Connect is painfully aware how much you hate packed trains so is doing its level best to do something about overcrowding right now. There's real progress too.
Until new track and stations allow First Capital Connect to run more and longer trains on the Thameslink route, every effort's being made to run as many carriages as possible on the existing line to ease your journey.
Believe it or not this was accomplished with the timetable of December 2009 in which all but 12 rush hour trains are now scheduled to run at the maximum eight carriages in length.
Finding more of the existing trains
It's tough finding more carriages. The problem is they have to be 'dual voltage' to run on the two different types of Thameslink route power supplies, north and south of London. The 20-year-old Class 319 carriages that run on the Thameslink route today obviously have this feature and First Capital Connect has successfully acquired every one of them in existence.
Sourcing new air-conditioned Electrostars
To make up the shortfall, and provide enough trains to operate the new timetable into south-east London and Kent that was introduced in March 2009, First Capital Connect has taken delivery of a further 23 new four-carriage trains (that's 92 new carriages), known as Class 377/5 Electrostars. These air-conditioned trains which are used widely in the south-east have a smoother ride, with CCTV and panels showing information about your route.
These trains are running on the main Bedford to Brighton route and in the peaks between Bedford and Ashford, Rochester, Gillingham and Bearsted (operated jointly with Southeastern).
That gives you longer trains right now!
There were, in January 2009, 25 rush hour trains four carriages in length. Now there are timetabled to be just 12 services that are four carriages long - two in the morning peak and 10 in the evening.
The new Electrostar trains have helped create (approximately) almost 3,400 extra seats in the rush hour - some 970 more in the morning and 2,430 more in the evening. Together with extra changes due to be made in the December 2009 timetable, there will be a total of almost 5,000 extra rush hour seats on the Thameslink route since before the March 2009 timetable change.
Furthermore, the frequency of trains arriving at Blackfriars and City Thameslink stations has now risen from 7-8 trains per hour to up to 15 trains per hour in the rush hour, matching that of St Pancras and Farringdon.
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- Where else will I be able to travel?
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Since 22 March 2009, there are now direct connections from north Thameslink route stations to Kent and south east London. By the end of 2016 the Great Northern route will be linked in. The final route map has yet to be finalised but check out the new destinations that may be on offer.
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- Do you have more station staff?
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From Monday to Friday, First Capital Connect stations within central London now have more Customer Information staff available on the platforms to help you.
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- Will the Thameslink Programme be paid for by big fare increases?
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No - there will not be any direct link between the investment in new trains and infrastructure and the fares charged to customers on the route. The investment is being funded by the Department for Transport.
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- Will the longer trains mean FCC will lift its policy of restricting passengers with off-peak tickets returning home in the peak (evening period restrictions)?
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First Capital Connect has committed to monitor passenger numbers on trains as additional carriages are introduced and review the policy accordingly.
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- Crikey! That tone's a bit flippant, isn't it?
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The Thameslink Programme is extremely important and one of the biggest rail projects in the UK for a number of years. It will impact different people in different ways.
From the beginning it was recognised that clear communication would be key to the success of the project - passengers have to understand what is happening, and in some cases need to plan ahead and make alternative travel plans.
Many options were examined for how to communicate with customers. The winning solution was a unique style aimed at grabbing people's attention. It is direct, totally honest, accessible and straight talking.
The full campaign, from the tone of the language to the design of the multicoloured stripes, was tested with a number of customer groups. The feedback was very positive but there was a small percentage of people who did not like the approach. Research will be carried out continuously to monitor people's views and the effectiveness of the campaign.
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- When will the Thameslink Programme be completed? I've heard 2015 is not possible.
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The Department for Transport remains committed to investing at least £5.5bn to modernise one of Britain's busiest rail routes to deliver a dramatic increase in capacity, with longer trains running up to 24 times an hour through central London, meaning more seats and improved reliability for passengers.
After further detailed planning, Network Rail has revised the infrastructure work planned at London Bridge for a solution that improves access through the station, reduces disruption to passengers during the construction phase and provides a better value for money solution. As such the Thameslink Programme outputs will be delivered from 2016.
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