The Brighton Main Line is a major British railway line running from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. The route is approximately 50 miles (80 km) in length. It is operated by Southern and First Capital Connect and is electrified throughout. The other operator that uses the line is Gatwick Express, which is now part of Southern.
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History and geography of the line
Main article London and Brighton Railway
The countryside between London and Brighton was largely rural, but the new line had to traverse the North Downs, the Wealden ridge and the South Downs whilst maintaining only moderate gradients throughout.
Original proposals
There were no fewer than six original proposals to build a railway between London and Brighton. The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) emerged with an Act of Parliament of 15 July 1837, after a prolonged and expensive battle, for the most direct of these alternative routes. The scheme was to build a line from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood to Brighton. The existing L&CR route from Norwood to London Bridge would also be used. One complication however, insisted on by the UK Parliament, was that the new railway should share its line between Croydon and Redhill with the South Eastern Railway main line to Dover. This clause in the act gave rise to sixty years of disputes between the two companies concerned.
Brighton line
Due to the difficult terrain and relatively limited population between Croydon and Brighton, the line by-passed several towns and villages on the London-Brighton road, such as Reigate and Crawley. It nevertheless included substantial earthworks, notably at Merstham, where there was one of the largest cuttings in the country; seven tunnels (Merstham, Quarry, Redhill, Balcombe, Haywards Heath, Patcham and Clayton); and several embankments. The railway also had a 1,475 ft long, 96 ft high viaduct over the river Ouse near Balcombe. As a result the line was opened in two stages.
- 12 July 1841: Norwood Junction, London (L&CR) to Haywards Heath.
- 21 September 1841: the final section from Haywards Heath to Brighton.
Branch lines
The branch line from Brighton to Shoreham-by-Sea was finished 12 May 1840, before the main line, as it did not involve significant civil engineering works (all the materials for the line having arrived by sea). The Newhaven section did not materialise until 1846, when the Brighton - Hastings line was opened by the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway. A few weeks later the L&CR, L&BR and other railways in Sussex amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).
Lines to Victoria
A branch line from Norwood to Crystal Palace was built in 1851, extending to Sydenham in 1854, Balham and Wandsworth in 1856, Battersea in 1858, and London Victoria in 1860. A cut-off line shortening the distance between Croydon and Balham was opened in 1862.
Quarry line
There were frequent disputes resulting from the two companies sharing the busy section of line between Croydon and Redhill. The LB&SCR owned that section between Croydon and Coulsdon North, and the SER (later the South Eastern and Chatham Railway owned the line from Coulsdon to Redhill. Eventually LB&SCR built an avoiding line between Coulsdon North and Earlswood which became known as the Quarry Line, and which is still used by fast trains avoiding Redhill. It was opened on 8 November 1899 (1 April 1900 for passenger traffic).
Electrification
The LB&SCR began electrification of its lines on 1 December 1909 when its South London Line was equipped with high-tension single-phase system with overhead conductors; within three years many more of its suburban services were converted. After the 1923 grouping the main line as far as Coulsdon North came into use using overhead conductors, but the new Southern Railway had by now decided upon the third-rail system, as adopted by another of its constituents, the London and South Western Railway. In 1928/29 the entire network was converted to third rail operation, and subsequent conversion followed on that basis. The third rail system is electrified at 750V DC and underwent a recent power supply upgrade prior to the introduction of the new Electrostar stock operated by Southern. Traction current supply for the whole route is overseen by Lewisham, Selhurst and Brighton electrical control rooms.[1]
Dates of electrification were are follows:
- 12 May 1911: Victoria – Balham – (Crystal Palace)
- June 1912: Balham – Selhurst
- 1 April 1925: Selhurst – Coulsdon North
- July 1932: Coulsdon North – Three Bridges
- 1 January 1933: Three Bridges – Brighton (and also to West Worthing)
Services
There are now many more trains from Victoria to Brighton than from London Bridge: a reversal of the original services. The line is four-tracked as far as Balcombe Tunnel junction, where it becomes a single pair all the way through to Preston Park station. With the exception of a pair of platform loop lines at Haywards Heath station there are no passing places.
The fastest services from Brighton to Victoria stop only at East Croydon and Clapham Junction, though some "express" services also call at Gatwick Airport. First Capital Connect services from Brighton to London Bridge using the Thameslink route continue across London to Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon and St Pancras, and then on to Luton and Bedford.
Contingency options
From Balcombe Tunnel junction southwards to Preston Park station the tracks reduce from two pairs of running lines to just one pair.[2] Consequently any train which failed in this part of the route would cause major disruption, so two provisions are in place to keep the service running.
1) Bi-directional signalling
The line is divided into three sections of bi-directional signalling, which allows trains to cross over onto the opposite line and run in the “wrong direction”. These are:
- Balcombe Tunnel junction to Copyhold Junction (just north of Haywards Heath station).
- Haywards Heath to Keymer junction (just south of Wivelsfield station).
- Keymer junction to Preston Park station.
2) Diversionary route
The section of line from Wivelsfield station to Preston Park station can be bypassed by turning eastwards onto the Lewes line at Keymer Junction. Once at Lewes, a reversing move is made and the train returns westwards to Brighton via the East Branch line, rejoining the Main Line at Montpelier Junction. This prevents the train from calling at Burgess Hill, Hassocks, and Preston Park.
Branching routes
From Victoria, the following other services use the Line, but branch off where shown:
- at Battersea Park, the South London Line to London Bridge
- at Balham, where the line via Crystal Palace diverges
- at South Croydon, the Oxted Line
- at Purley, the Caterham and Tattenham Corner Lines
- at Redhill, the branch to Reigate and the North Downs Line to the west; and the Tonbridge line to the east
- at Three Bridges, the Arun Valley Line services to Portsmouth and Horsham; here was also the line to East Grinstead, closed 1967
- at Haywards Heath, the line via Ardingly and Horsted Keynes, closed 28 October 1963: Currently Network Rail Sidings to Ardingly only; Horsted Keynes section is now part of the Bluebell Railway
- at Wivelsfield (Keymer Junction), the East Coastway Line to Eastbourne and Hastings via Lewes
- at Preston Park, the West Coastway Line service to Littlehampton, avoiding Brighton
- at Brighton, the West Coastway Line; and the East Coastway Line to Eastbourne and Hastings and also to Seaford all via Falmer
External links
- London to Brighton in two minutes - time-lapse video.
References
- ^ Network Rail: Sectional Appendix module KSW2/LOR SO500 Sequence 010
- ^ "Quail Route Map 5". http://www.trackmaps.co.uk/book5.htm.
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