The Greenwich line is a short railway line in South London that follows part of the route of the

London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for t ...

, which was the first railway line in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The line diverges from the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are t ...

at North Kent East junction and runs as far as Charlton junction where it connects with the

North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Line ...

Stations

* * * *

History

Bricklayers Arms & New Cross, Midhurst RJD 91

The line was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

with the other SE&CR local routes to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on 6 June 1926 by Southern Railway. From 12 January 2015, services using the Greenwich line were no longer able to serve

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...

. This is due to the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the ...

work, which removed the

diamond crossing A double junction is a railway junction where a double-track railway splits into two double track lines. Usually, one line is the main line and carries traffic through the junction at normal speed, while the other track is a branch line that ...

at Spa Road Junction, located between London Bridge and Deptford. As a result of this, trains using the Greenwich line could no longer reach the lines going into Charing Cross. To compensate for the loss of this, London Cannon Street was given revised service times, with it being open seven days a week and until the end of service.

Service patterns

Passenger services on the line are operated by Southeastern using Class 376, 465 & 466 trains and Thameslink using Class 700. The current service pattern () is as follows: Off-peak & Saturday: *2tph between

London Cannon Street Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is o ...

& Slade Green, continuing to

via Bexleyheath Line *2tph between

& Slade Green, continuing to

via

Dartford Loop Line The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line (or Woolwich Line) and the Bexleyheath Line. Informally, the line is known as the Sidcup L ...

*2tph between

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

& Rainham Sunday: *2tph between

*2tph between

& Rainham

References

{{Railway lines in London Railway lines in London Standard gauge railways in Kent Standard gauge railways in London Railway lines opened in 1836