Brighton Main Line

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Brighton Main Line
Ouse Valley Viaduct, one of the most notable structures on the line.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleGreater London
South East England
Termini
Stations37
Service
TypeRegional rail, Suburban rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)Govia Thameslink Railway
Great Western Railway
London Overground
Depot(s)Selhurst Train and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot
Brighton Lovers Walk Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot
Stewarts Lane
Rolling stockClass 165 "Turbo"
Class 166 "Turbo Express"
Class 171 "Turbostar"
Class 377 "Electrostar"
Class 378 "Capitalstar"
Class 387 "Electrostar"
Class 700 "Desiro City"
History
Opened1839-1841
Technical
Line length69mi 34ch (111.72 km)
Number of tracks2-4
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Operating speedMax. 90 mph (140 km/h)
Route map

The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of London Victoria and London Bridge stations respectively, which join up in Croydon and continue towards Brighton as one line.[1] The line is electrified throughout using the third rail system.[1]

Aside from London and Brighton themselves, the line serves multiple large urban areas along its route, including Redhill, eastern Crawley,[a] Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.[1] It also serves the major London suburbs of south-west Battersea,[b] Balham, Streatham, Croydon and Purley, as well as London Gatwick Airport – the second-busiest passenger airport in the country.

In addition, the line operates as a "trunk" route for both mainline and suburban services all across Sussex, east Surrey and the southern boroughs of London. Towns such as Sutton, Epsom, Caterham, Reigate, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove, Worthing, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Chichester do not lie directly on the line, but are instead linked to London by means of a railway line that connects onto the Brighton Main Line.[1][2]

Route[edit]

The line starts at two central London termini: the western branch runs from London Victoria while the eastern branch originates at London Bridge. The Victoria branch is quadruple-track with fast services running on the western pair of tracks and slow services on the eastern pair. Leaving Victoria the branch runs mostly southwestwards until Clapham Junction, where it turns to run southeastwards towards East Croydon. The London Bridge branch starts off running east, but quickly turns southwards just before the first intermediate station (New Cross Gate) and continues approximately south all the way to East Croydon via Norwood Junction; this branch also has four tracks, but with express services using the inner pair of tracks and local services running on the outer pair. The two branches join at Windmill Bridge Junction just north of East Croydon station;[1] the line then continues mostly southwards for the remainder of its route. The track layout south of the junction is the same as that on the Victoria branch (i.e. fast services on the western pair of tracks).

This arrangement continues until Stoats Nest Junction just south of Purley; at this point the line splits into two double-track routes, often called "Redhill line" and "Quarry line".[1] The Redhill line is a continuation of the slow tracks and is used by stopping services via Redhill itself. It is also the only one of the two lines to have a junction with both the North Downs line and the Redhill–Tonbridge line.[1] The Quarry line, meanwhile, bypasses Redhill by means of the Redhill Tunnel (passing under the line to Tonbridge) and is a continuation of the fast tracks. As such, it has no intermediate stops,[1] although Coulsdon North station existed on the line until 1983.

The Quarry line passes over the Redhill line south of Coulsdon South station; this means that when the two lines reunite again at Earlswood, the slow tracks are to the west side of the fast tracks.[1] From there, the line continues south past Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges before the two pairs of tracks merge at Balcombe Tunnel Junction (just north of Balcombe Tunnel itself) and the line reduces to double-track. There is a short quadruple-track section at Haywards Heath and a triple-track section at Preston Park (with a northbound passing loop); aside from these the line remains double-track through to Brighton.[1]

The line is 50 miles 49 chains (81.5 km) long, measured from London Victoria to Brighton via the Quarry line. The London Bridge branch is 9 miles 69 chains (15.9 km) long down to Windmill Bridge Junction (compared to 10 miles 12 chains (16.3 km) on the Victoria branch). The Redhill line is 8 miles 76 chains (14.4 km) long between Stoats Nest Junction and Earlswood (compared to 7 miles 17 chains (11.6 km) between the same points via the Quarry line).[1]

The third rail is electrified at 750 V DC, and in the early part of the 21st century had its power supply upgraded for the introduction of Electrostar stock by Southern. Traction current supply is supervised by Lewisham, Selhurst and Brighton electrical control rooms which will be superseded by the Three Bridges ROC.[3]

Services[edit]

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates the Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink brands, operates the majority of passenger services on the line, including all services to and from the two London Terminals:[2][4]

The only two other train operating companies that operate on the line are:

Bi-directional signalling[edit]

Normal-running and 'bi-directional' signals outside Haywards Heath tunnel

Between Balcombe Tunnel Junction and Preston Park, the line reduces from four tracks to two, with only a short quadruple-track passing loop between Copyhold Junction and Haywards Heath South Junction (through Haywards Heath station).[8] A broken-down train in this section causes the most disruption; therefore, to minimise the effects, the line is divided into four sections of bi-directional signalling, which allows trains to cross over and run on the right-hand track (i.e. "the wrong way"). These are:[9][10]

  • Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Copyhold Junction;
  • Copyhold Junction to Haywards Heath South Junction (outer tracks only);
  • Haywards Heath South Junction to Keymer Junction;
  • Keymer Junction to Preston Park station.

At the passing loop through Haywards Heath, the two inner tracks are only signalled bi-directionally south of Haywards Heath station itself, which allows trains to reverse at the station to/from the south. North of the station these tracks can only be used in their respective directions.[9][10]

History[edit]

London and Croydon Railway (1834–1846)[edit]

The junction between the London and Greenwich Railway and the London and Croydon Railway to the east of London Bridge in 1840

The first part of the Brighton Main Line to be constructed was the section between London Bridge and Croydon. It was proposed in 1834 by the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) company.[11] Much of the route, surveyed by Joseph Gibbs, followed the course of the Croydon Canal, the southern terminus of which would be used for Croydon station (now West Croydon).[12][c] The line would diverge from the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) around 1.75 mi (2.82 km) east of London Bridge station and the L&CR would have running powers into the terminus.[12][13]

Passenger trains began running on the L&GR between Deptford and its temporary London terminus at Spa Road on 8 February 1835. London Bridge station, the first permanent terminus in the capital, opened on 14 December the following year.[17][18] The L&CR was authorised by act of parliament on 12 June 1835[19] and a second act, permitting the company to build its own terminus at London Bridge, was given royal assent on 14 July 1836.[20][d] The line between the capital and Croydon was built by the engineer, William Cubitt, and construction began in 1838.[16][22] The cost of the line was originally estimated to be around £400,000, but difficulties encountered during the excavation of the cutting at New Cross, meant that an additional £216,000 was required.[22] The route originally surveyed by Gibbs was also modified to ease curves and to reduce the maximum gradient from 1 in 80 to 1 in 100.[16]

Jolly Sailor station (now Norwood Junction) in 1845

The official opening ceremony for the L&CR took place on 1 June 1839, although passenger trains for the general public did not start until four days later.[22][23] Since the area between New Cross and Croydon was sparsely populated and largely undeveloped countryside, the majority of passenger journeys on the line were between the two termini. Nevertheless, when the line opened, intermediate stations were provided at New Cross (now New Cross Gate), Dartmouth Arms (now Forest Hill), Sydenham, Penge (now Penge West), Anerley Bridge (now Anerley) and Jolly Sailor (now Norwood Junction).[24] Initially nine steam locomotives operated on the line: five Sharp, Roberts and Co. and two J. and G. Rennie 2-2-2 engines were used to haul trains and two 0-4-2 locomotives were used as banking engines for the steep climb to New Cross from the junction with the L&GR.[22]

London and Brighton Railway (1837–1846)[edit]

In the early 1830s, several different routes for a railway between London and Brighton were proposed. John Rennie the Younger favoured a line via Merstham and Horley, while the engineers Robert Stephenson and Nicholas Cundy preferred longer, but cheaper routes via Dorking and Shoreham-by-Sea.[17][20][25] The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) company, formed to promote Rennie's more direct route,[26] received parliamentary approval for its scheme on 15 July 1837.[21][27] The line was to leave the L&CR about a mile from its southern terminus, to head southwards towards Brighton. The L&BR purchased the defunct Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway in order to use part of its abandoned trackbed for the new railway.[28]

The Ouse Valley Viaduct

The first construction contracts were let in 1838 and the first track was laid at Hassocks on 4 February the following year.[29] The engineer was John Urpeth Rastrick and the stations were designed by David Mocatta. In total, around 6000 navvies are thought to have worked to build the railway.[28] The line, which required five tunnels and a viaduct over the Ouse valley, cost £2.63M (around £57,000 per mile). Completion was delayed due to bad weather during the winter of 1840-41 and the first section, from Croydon to Haywards Heath, did not open until 12 July 1841.[30] The initial timetable included four trains each way on weekdays between the capital and Haywards Heath, with intermediate calls at Red Hill, Horley and Three Bridges (calls were made at other stations on request). The journey time was two hours from London and a coach, taking a further two hours to reach Brighton, was provided for onward travel.[31]

The final section of the Brighton Main Line, between Haywards Heath and Brighton, opened on 21 September 1841.[30] The initial service on the whole line was six trains per day in each direction, with most trains taking 2+14 hours to complete the journey and one non-stop service in each direction taking 1+34 hours.[32] The station at Merstham opened on 1 December 1841, but was closed two years later. A station was opened at Stoats Nest (later Coulsdon North) in the spring of 1842 to cater for racegoers at Epsom.[33] Work to widen the shared section of the L&GR viaduct was completed on 10 May that year.[34] The new L&CR London Bridge station, designed by Henry Roberts, opened in 1844.[35] Since the new terminus was not designed to handle freight, a spur line primarily for goods trains was built to Bricklayers Arms and opened on 1 May that year.[36][e]

Redhill station c. 1853: The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1842

The South Eastern Railway (SER) company was formed to promote a railway from London to Dover. Under the terms of the act of parliament passed on 21 June 1836, the company was empowered to build a line that left the L&CR at Penge,[19] but the following year, parliament instructed the company to instead form a connection to the L&BR at Redhill.[37] The Redhill to Tonbridge section of the SER opened on 26 May 1842.[38] In 1839, anticipating that disputes might arise over the use of the line north of Redhill, parliament instructed the L&BR to sell the Coulsdon–Redhill section to the SER. A price of £340,000 was agreed and the transfer of ownership took place in July 1845.[39]

On 27 July 1846, parliamentary authority was granted to merge the L&CR and L&BR to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).[40]

Under the LB&SCR (1846–1922)[edit]

A branch line from Sydenham to Crystal Palace was opened 10 June 1854 by the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WELCPR). The company extended its line to Balham on 1 December 1856 and to Pimlico in March 1858.[41] A west–south spur linking Crystal Palace and Norwood Junction stations was opened in 1857, allowing trains from Brighton to reach the Pimlico terminus. The LB&SCR purchased the WELCPR in 1859.[42] In 1860, the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway constructed Grosvenor Bridge across the River Thames, opening Victoria station on 1 October that year.[43][f]

Although LB&SCR trains could access Victoria station via Crystal Palace,[45] John Rastrick advised that a shorter route to the West End of London would be "most desirable".[42] The company therefore decided to build a "cut-off" line between Croydon and Balham via Streatham Common. The proposal was authorised by parliament on 3 July 1860[45] and the new double-track line opened on 1 December 1862 with intermediate stations at Thornton Heath and Streatham Common.[46][g] A further act of parliament was passed on 18 July 1864 authorising a link between the Victoria and London Bridge arms of the Brighton Main Line that allowed trains to travel between Norwood Junction and Thornton Heath without a reversal.[48] Selhurst station, on the Victoria arm opened on 1 May 1865 and South Croydon opened that September.[49]

A third track had been laid between New Cross and Croydon in August 1844 for atmospheric trains.[50] This method of train propulsion was abandoned by the LB&SCR in 1847,[51] but the extra track was retained to provide additional capacity for northbound locomotive-hauled trains. A fourth track, used for southbound services, was added to this section of line by 1854.[52]

The Quarry Line was built at the end of the 19th century to bypass the station and junctions at Redhill.

Between Stoats Nest and Redhill, the Brighton Main Line was owned by the SER.[39] Congestion at the junctions at the south end of Redhill station prompted the LB&SCR to propose a two-track bypass of this section of line. The new line, which included two new tunnels and extensive cuttings, was authorised by parliament on 20 July 1894.[53] A second act, permitting minor changes to the route, was given royal assent on 20 July 1896.[54] The Quarry Line, as the bypass became known, opened to freight services on 5 November 1899 and to passenger trains on 1 April the following year.[55]

Five stations opened on the Brighton Main Line in the 1870s and 1880s. Brockley opened on 6 March 1871 to serve a new area of residential development.[56] Norbury was built on a speculative basis, with one third of the cost being contributed by developers, and opened on 1 January 1878.[57] Similarly, the cost of Honor Oak Park station, which opened on 1 April 1886, was also part-paid by developers.[58] On 1 August that year Wivelsfield opened and trains began calling at Coulsdon South on 1 October 1889. The final station to be built on the line in the 19th century was Purley Oaks, which opened on 5 November 1899.[49]

Work to quadruple the Brighton Main Line continued in the first decade of the 20th century. Two additional tracks were brought into use between Streatham Common and Windmill Bridge Junction (north of Croydon) in July 1903.[59][60] The line between Redhill and Three Bridges was quadrupled in 1907[55][61] and from Three Bridges to the southern limit of four-tracking at Balcombe Tunnel Junction in 1911.[62]

Overhead line electrification at Balham in 1911

The first parts of the Brighton Main Line to be electrified, were the approaches to London Bridge and Victoria stations. The chosen system used overhead wires, energised to 6,700 V AC, and multiple units equipped with pantographs for current collection. The new infrastructure allowed electric trains to start running between the two termini via the South London Line on 1 December 1909.[63][64][65] On 12 May 1911, the electrification was extended from Battersea Park to Crystal Palace via Balham[66] and to Norwood Junction and Selhurst on 3 March 1912.[67]

Soldiers at London Victoria station during the First World War

During the First World War, the Brighton Main Line was the target of two Zeppelin attacks. The line at the south end of East Croydon station was damaged on 13 October 1915[68] and Streatham Common station was hit by a bomb in September 1916.[69] Salfords station was opened on 8 October 1915 initially for the use of workers at the nearby Monotype Corporation factory. It continued to operate as a private halt after the war and was not opened to the general public until 1932.[70]

Grouping (1923–1948)[edit]

A 4-LAV electric multiple unit approaching Coulsdon North: These trains were used on the Brighton Main Line between 1933 and 1969.[71]

Under the Railways Act 1921, the Brighton Main Line became part of the Southern Railway in 1923.[72] The overhead electrification of the line as far south as Coulsdon North was completed in April 1925,[73] but in August the following year, the company decided that all future electrification projects would use the DC third-rail system and that the existing overhead wire system would be replaced.[74][75] The conversion of the existing electrified sections was completed in September 1929[23] and third-rail electrification reached Three Bridges in July 1932.[76][77][78] The electrification of the entire line was completed on 1 January 1933, when the section between Three Bridges and Brighton was commissioned.[23][79][80]

A major resignalling project on the southern part of the Brighton Main Line was undertaken in 1932. Colour light signalling was commissioned between Coulsdon North and Balcombe Tunnel Junction on 4 June 1932. Six signal boxes were closed and control of this section of line was transferred to Three Bridges.[71] In October 1932, colour light signalling was commissioned between Balcombe Tunnel Junction and Brighton. Haywards Heath station was rebuilt with two island platforms, each with two platform faces able to accommodate 12-car trains. Platforms 3 to 6 at Brighton were also lengthened as part of the same project.[71][81][82]

Redhill station was substantially rebuilt in 1932 as part of the electrification programme. A new sorting office was opened in the town in 1933,[81][83][84] replacing the previous facility which had been built in 1884.[85] Further upgrades to enable larger volumes of mail to be handled at the station were undertaken in 1935 and 1938.[83] Rail transport of Post Office mail ceased following the opening of the Willesden postal rail hub in 1996.[86]

A Class 403 (5-BEL) unit in Pullman livery at Purley Oaks in 1964

A Pullman dining service between London and Brighton, nicknamed the Brighton Belle, was launched on 29 June 1934. It used five-car 75 mph (121 km/h) capable Class 403 (5-BEL) units, the first all-electric Pullman trains in the world.[87][88][89] Initially, three return trips ran each day, but the service was increased to four in 1963. The Class 403 sets were withdrawn on 30 April 1972.[87][90]

The Beehive, the original terminal building at Gatwick Airport, opened in mid-1936. It was served by Tinsley Green station, which had opened in September the previous year and which was renamed Gatwick Airport on 1 June 1936.[91][92] The station was relocated northwards to its current site at the South Terminal on 27 May 1958.[91][93]

During the Second World War, the Brighton Main Line was a target for enemy bombing. Bombs caused damage to the tracks at Norbury on 19 October 1940[94] and outside Victoria station on 21 December that year.[95] Both London termini were damaged in a raid on 11 May 1941 and a V-1 flying bomb caused extensive damage to the station offices at Victoria on 12 June 1944.[96] Further bomb damage occurred at Forest Hill on 23 June 1944.[97]

Nationalisation (1948–1996)[edit]

Balham signal box opened on 12 October 1952 and closed on 7 June 1981.[98]

Under the Transport Act 1947, the Brighton Main Line became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. During the 1950s, work continued to modernise the signalling system, which included the installation of colour lights between Selhurst and East Croydon in March 1954.[99] In the same decade, the number of signal boxes on the line was reduced and new boxes were commissioned at Balham,[98] Norwood Junction,[100] Gloucester Road Junction[101] and Purley.[102]

The South Terminal at Gatwick Airport was opened on 9 June 1958. The new terminal was directly linked to a new railway station on the Brighton Main Line, which had opened on 27 May that year. The former airport station, located close to the redundant Beehive terminal, had closed on 18 May 1958.[91][103]

A Class 455 unit at Sydenham in Network SouthEast livery

On 4 January 1982, the Brighton Main Line and the majority of the Southern Region of British Railways, became part of the new "London & South Eastern" sector of British Rail. Four years later, on 10 June 1886, the sector was rebranded to become Network SouthEast.[104]

In the early 1980s, a major resignalling project was undertaken that involved the closure of the majority of the signal boxes on the line and the transfer of control to Victoria and Three Bridges signalling centres.[105] London Bridge panel box, which had opened in 1975, retained control of the line north of Norwood Junction.[23][106] Remodelling of Windmill Bridge Junction was undertaken, with the creation of an additional flyover to eliminate conflicting movements between trains on the slow lines.[23][h] The arrangement of the tracks at East Croydon was changed to route all fast services through platforms 1, 2 and 3 on the west side of the station.[108]

A Class 73 locomotive in InterCity livery operating a Gatwick Express service in push mode

Gatwick Express services were launched by Network SouthEast on 14 May 1984 using 90 mph (140 km/h) capable Class 73 locomotives in push-pull mode, each hauling a rake of Mark 4f coaches and a Class 414 (2-HAP) driver motor brake unit.[109][110] The journey was timetabled to take 30 minutes and seven trainsets were required to operate the service.[109][111][112] In the first seven months of the service, the number of passengers travelling by rail to Gatwick Airport went up by 38% and revenue on the route increased by 52%.[111] Responsibility for running the Gatwick Express was transferred to the InterCity sector of British Rail in April of the following year.[113] A service from Reading to Gatwick via Guildford and Redhill, later branded the North Downs Line, was introduced in May 1980.[114] A third new route launched by Network SouthEast was the Bedford–Brighton Thameslink service via the Snow Hill tunnel under central London, which began on 16 May 1988.[115][116][117]

Two major stations on the Brighton Main Line were rebuilt in the early 1990s. A new circular station building at Redhill station, designed by the architecture firm, Troutham & Macasum, was completed towards the end of 1990.[86][118] East Croydon station, designed by Alan Brookes Associates, opened on 19 August 1992.[119]

Privatisation (1996–present)[edit]

A Class 460 in Gatwick Express livery at Clapham Junction

The Gatwick Express franchise was one of the first parts of the UK rail network to be transferred to a private operator, when National Express began running the trains on 28 April 1996.[111][120] The company introduced Class 460 units to their services in 1999, although the final locomotive-hauled trains were not withdrawn until 2005.[111]

A Class 421 (4-CIG) unit in Connex South Central livery at Horley

Connex was awarded a seven-year franchise in 1996 to operate passenger trains on the Brighton Main Line as Connex South Central. The company introduced a Gatwick Airport–Rugby service, which ran via the West London Line, and also deployed Class 319 units to Victoria–Brighton express services.[121] Following concerns over Connex's management and performance, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority decided to re-tender the franchise in 2000. In October that year, the competition was won by Govia,[122] which took over the running of trains in August 2001, having bought out the final two years of Connex's contract for £30M.[123][124]

Govia's ten-year franchise formally began in May 2003, when it introduced the "Southern" brand name. The agreement required the company to retire the final slam-door trains, achieved in 2005, and to invest £853M in new rolling stock.[125][126] The Gatwick Express and Southern franchises were merged in May 2008, to allow capacity increases and better use of train paths on the Brighton Main Line.[127][128] The new arrangement allowed Gatwick Express services to be extended to Brighton, initially during peak periods, but required the replacement of the ten Class 460s with seventeen Class 442 units.[111][128] The third South Central franchise, awarded again to Govia, began in 2009 and required the operator to increase capacity on its routes by 10% by December 2013.[128] In 2014, 700 more services were running on the South Central network on weekdays than at privatisation in 1996.[129] In May 2010, London Overground began running stopping services on the Norwood Junction–New Cross Gate section of the Brighton Main Line, allowing trains that had previously terminated at London Bridge to run via the East London Line to Dalston Junction.[130]

A Class 319 unit in First Capital Connect livery at Gatwick Airport

The Thameslink franchise, which included services from Brighton to Bedford, was awarded to Govia in 1997. It was initially due to end in 2004, but delays in the Thameslink 2000 project resulted in the company being awarded a two-year extension to 2006.[131] The new franchise, also incorporating services on the Great Northern Route, was awarded to FirstGroup, which began operating trains under the First Capital Connect brand on 1 April 2006.[132] The company introduced 12-car trains to the Brighton Main Line in December 2011.[133]

The South Central franchise was terminated two years early in 2014, allowing Southern- and Gatwick Express-branded services to be combined with those run by First Capital Connect, to create the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. Awarded to Govia, the new franchise took the form of a management contract, reducing the risks to the operator arising from the introduction of new services as part of the Thameslink programme.[129][134][135] During the lifetime of the franchise, the Bermondsey dive-under was constructed, reducing the conflict between Southern trains departing from London Bridge and northbound Thameslink services heading towards London Blackfriars,[136] and an extensive refurbishment of London Bridge station was completed.[137] Govia was heavily criticised for the poor implementation of a new timetable in May 2018, which routed additional services from the Brighton Main Line via the Thameslink core.[138][139][140] The company was also criticised for its role in the 2016–2019 United Kingdom railway strikes.[141][142] In 2022, Govia was awarded a three-year extension to its management contract, which took effect on 1 April that year.[143]

Major accidents[edit]

  • 21 August 1854: An SER excursion train collided with an LB&SCR locomotive hauling ballast waggons between East Croydon and Windmill Bridge. Three passengers sustained fatal injuries.[144][145][146]
  • 25 August 1861, Clayton Tunnel rail crash: Two trains collided in the tunnel due to a signaller's error, killing 23 passengers.[147][148]
  • 30 April 1866: An SER passenger train collided with an LB&SCR goods train near Caterham Junction station (now Purley), killing two passengers and a guard.[149][150] The fireman of the passenger train later died of his injuries.[151]
  • 23 December 1899: A Pullman express from Brighton ran into the back of a train from Newhaven in fog at Wivelsfield. Six people were killed.[152][153]
  • 29 January 1910: A passenger express train from Brighton to Victoria derailed at Stoats Nest station (later Coulsdon North). Five passengers and two people standing on the station platform were killed.[154][155]
  • 2 April 1937: Two passenger trains, one from Coulsdon North to Victoria and the other from Victoria to London Bridge, collided at Battersea Park due to a signaller's error, killing six passengers and the guard of the London Bridge train. A further three passengers subsequently died of their injuries.[156][157][158]
  • 24 October 1947, South Croydon rail crash: Two passenger trains, both travelling to London Bridge, collided in fog due to a signaller's error. A total of 32 people died, including the driver of the second train.[159][160]
  • 4 March 1989 Purley station rail crash: Two passenger trains, both travelling to Victoria, collided north of Purley station. Part of the front train fell down the embankment, killing five people.[161][162]

Listed buildings[edit]

There are 13 listed structures associated with the Brighton Main Line.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Three Bridges station
  2. ^ Clapham Junction station
  3. ^ The Croydon Canal closed on 22 August 1836. Its route was followed by the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) between New Cross and West Croydon.[13][14] Only the southernmost part of the line was directly laid over the course of the former canal. For the remainder, the L&CR followed the general corridor of the waterway.[15] Several sections of canal that were not built over were deliberately retained (some were even stocked with fish) in hope that they would attract potential residents to new housing developments.[16]
  4. ^ The London and Croydon Railway's London Bridge terminus was to the north of that of the London and Greenwich Railway. The two companies swapped stations in 1844.[21]
  5. ^ Although Bricklayers Arms was primarily intended to handle freight, it also provided a stopping place for coaches and so passenger trains were also run to the station although London Bridge remained the primary terminus for the capital.[36]
  6. ^ The Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway was authorised by act of parliament on 23 July 1858. The new terminus station, London Victoria, was built on the site of the former Grosvenor Canal basin.[44]
  7. ^ An independent proposal for a line linking East Croydon to Wandsworth Common had been presented to parliament in 1851, but had been withdrawn the following year.[47]
  8. ^ The embankments required for the creation of the new flyovers at Windmill Bridge Junction were constructed using spoil from Betteshanger Colliery in Kent.[23][107]
  1. ^ The date given is the date used by Historic England as significant for the initial building or that of an important part in the structure's description.
  2. ^ Sometimes known as OSGB36, the grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system used by the Ordnance Survey.
  3. ^ The "List Entry Number" is a unique number assigned to each listed building and scheduled monument by Historic England.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain (3rd ed.). Platform 5. 2017. pp. 12, 14, 20, 112–113, 116–120. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
  2. ^ a b Train Times – Southern Railway
  3. ^ Network Rail: Sectional Appendix module KSW2/LOR SO500 Sequence 010
  4. ^ Train Timetables – Thameslink
  5. ^ "Table R". timetables.southernrailway.com. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  6. ^ London Overground timetables – Transport for London
  7. ^ Train Times and Timetables – Great Western Railway
  8. ^ "Quail Route Map 5". Archived from the original on 20 April 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Three Bridges to Brighton on YouTube
  10. ^ a b "Brighton to Gatwick (Airport)" on YouTube
  11. ^ "London and Croydon Railway". The Observer. 16 November 1834. p. 4.
  12. ^ a b Turner 1977, pp. 26–27.
  13. ^ a b Baker 1989, pp. 23–24.
  14. ^ Oppitz 1987, p. 8.
  15. ^ Turner 1977, p. 53.
  16. ^ a b c Turner 1977, pp. 47–48.
  17. ^ a b Turner 1977, p. 28.
  18. ^ Baker 1989, p. 20.
  19. ^ a b Turner 1977, pp. 23–24.
  20. ^ a b Turner 1977, pp. 30–31.
  21. ^ a b Oppitz 1988, pp. 14–15.
  22. ^ a b c d Baker 1989, pp. 25–26.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Clarke, Jeremy (April 2020). "The 'Croydon Tangle'". Southern Way. No. 50. Manchester: Crécy Publishing Ltd. pp. 61–78. ISBN 978-1-90-932895-2.
  24. ^ Turner 1977, p. 151.
  25. ^ Turner 1977, pp. 72–74.
  26. ^ Baker 1989, p. 28.
  27. ^ Turner 1977, pp. 21–23.
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Sources[edit]

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External links[edit]