London Overground North London Line is a Transport for London operated Overground line in London, England. Running between Richmond, Clapham Junction and Stratford, it passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle between the south-west and the north-east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail and London Overground.
Although much of it originated as part of the North London Railway, the current route is the result of a series of amalgamations, closures and reopenings, and has a mix of third-rail and overhead electrical power supply. It is an important freight route and is used by the Richmond to Stratford service of the London Overground, as part of the National Rail network. Also, between Richmond and Gunnersbury, London Underground's District line shares tracks with London Overground services, although this part is also owned and maintained by Network Rail
History[]
The AC electrification of the eastern part of the North London line uses the previously unelectrified northern pair of tracks, which were also partially singled at the same time. Between Canonbury and Highbury & Islington, there is a line which links to the East Coast Main Line at Finsbury Park. This used to carry passenger trains to and from various main line stations (such as Edgware, Alexandra Palace, High Barnet, Welwyn Garden City and others) over part of the North London line to Broad Street Station; however, with the electrification of the Great Northern Electrics suburban lines in 1976, trains were diverted into Moorgate and London King's Cross stations, so since then this link has only been used for freight trains. It too was singled concurrent with the AC electrification of the eastern part of the North London line.
In 1979, the North Woolwich to Stratford service was extended to Camden Road as the CrossTown LinkLine service, using the same Cravens-built diesel multiple unit trains. There were no intermediate stations until, in 1980, Hackney Wick was opened, near the site of the former Victoria Park station and Hackney Central was re-opened; then Homerton re-opened in 1985 (the two latter stations had closed in 1944). New platforms were built at West Ham for interchange with the adjacent Underground station.
In the 1980s, Broad Street station closed and the Tottenham Hale–Stratford link and the station at Lea Bridge ceased to be used by regular passenger trains. The line between Dalston and North Woolwich was electrified on the third-rail system and Broad Street services were diverted to North Woolwich using former Southern Region 2-EPB types built in the 1950s. The two-car trains soon proved too small and were replaced by three-car Class 313 electric multiple units. The new service was branded by British Rail as the North London Link, and some signs using this name still exist.
In December 2006, as with the Poplar branch (see above), the line between Stratford and North Woolwich was permanently closed to make a way for a future DLR extension from Canning Townto Stratford International (opened February 2011). The section south of Canning Town was not used by the DLR, as it is largely duplicated by the DLR King George V branch. Instead, the section will become part of Crossrail's branch to Abbey Wood (opening 2018). The section south of Stratford had always been the 'Cinderella' end of the line, in that when there were operating problems it was common for trains to be turned short at Stratford.
On 11 November 2007, the route was included in the sale from Silverlink's Wilesden depot to London Overground.
On 29 July 2009, brand new Class 378 Capitalstars were introduced.
The line closed in February 2010 between Gospel Oak and Stratford for the installation of a new signalling system and the extension of 30 platforms, ultimately to allow four-car trains to run on the London Overground network. The line reopened on 1 June 2010 with a reduced service and none on Sundays, and with the upgrade work completed, the full seven-day service resumed on 22 May 2011.
On 13 September 2010, the Class 313s were replaced by brand new Class 378 Capitalstars.
On 14 September 2010, the line was converted to a full Class 378 Captialstar operation.
Current Route[]
The North London Line operates via these primary locations.
- Richmond
- Kew Gardens
- Gunnersbury
- South Acton
- Acton Central
- Wilesden Junction
- Kensal Rise
- Brondesbury Park
- Brondesbury
- West Hampstead
- Finchley Road & Frognal
- Hampstead Heath
- Gospel Oak
- Kentish Town West
- Camden Road
- Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
- Highbury & Islington
- Canonbury
- Dalston Kingsland
- Hackney Central
- Homerton
- Hackney Wick
- Stratford
Clapham Junction branch
- Clapham Junction
- Imperial Wharf
- West Brompton
- Kensington Olympia
- Shepherd's Bush
Gallery[]
