cityrailconnections

The Crossrail project has long hailed itself as a great leap forward for London's rail network - a national rail service running at high frequency, right through the heart of London to far doing destinations. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, let me introduce Thameslink, The Northern City Line and Widened Lines. Thameslink I'm sure you've heard of and is basically the "Crossrail 1" that no one talks about and has been for decades. The other two however might need a little more explaining... The Northern City Line This is probably my favourite railway in London - "the tube that's not a tube" as one might call it, it's easily the creepiest. It was once renowned for its almost complete Network SouthEast signage that once adorned the entire route and largely original Class 313 stock - a true step back into the past as one would use it. These days, much of the NSE era signage and tiling is gone, and the trains replaced with the new Class 717 -...

Intro For the railway enthusiast, London is one of the greatest cities in the world. Its network covers the city like a rash, made up of a diverse range of different types of railway. From light rail with the DLR to the world's most iconic metro network with London Underground, to the trams of Croydon and to the manic heavy rail hub that is Clapham Junction (200 trains per hour pass through it in the peak), it is a simply marvellous spectacle. London's railways have a fascinating history to tell too - they have been developed over the course of hundreds of years, with lines coming into and falling out of use, freight lines closing and passenger lines opening and operation changing ownership more times than almost anyone can care to remember. They illustrate the social and economic changes of London - one of the best is (if you hadn't read the title), The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway . The Beginnings The line opened all the way back in 1846, betwe...