Redhill to Tonbridge Line

Redhill to Tonbridge Line
Overview
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Kent Surrey South East England
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Southern
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge

Legend

North Downs Line to Guildford

Redhill

Brighton Main Line

Quarry Line

Nutfield

M23 motorway (Coopers Hill Viaduct)

Bletchingley Tunnel

Circa 1 km

Godstone

East Grinstead Branch

Crowhurst Spur

Closed 1970s

Uckfield Branch

Penshurst Tunnel

A21 Tonbridge Bypass

Tonbridge West Yard

South Eastern Main Line to Sevenoaks

Tonbridge

Hastings Line

South Eastern Main Line to Ashford

Looking east towards the Bletchingley Tunnel

The Redhill to Tonbridge Line is a railway line running from Redhill, Surrey to Tonbridge, Kent in southeast England. It branches off the Brighton Main Line at Redhill station and, after 20 miles, joins the South Eastern Main Line at Tonbridge station.^[1]

The line was electrified in 1993.

History

It was originally part of the South Eastern Railway having been sanctioned by Act of Parliament in 1836 as part of the first rail route from London to Dover. This may explain its remarkably straight route: serving the settlements en route was a secondary consideration. Following the completion of new South Eastern Main Line in 1868, along which services run a more direct route between London and Tonbridge, the Redhill-Tonbridge line's function as the trunk route between London and Dover was transferred to the new line.

Aircraft coming into London's Croydon Airport in the early part of the 20th Century used this line as a point of navigation. All the stations along this route had their names written in bold white paint on the roofs.

It starts with an initial curve just outside Redhill where it passes over the Quarry Line which is in Redhill tunnel (649 yards). The Bletchingley Tunnel (grid reference TQ340486), about a mile southeast of Bletchingley is about ½ mile long. At grid reference TQ400480 the "Crowhurst Spur"^[2] connected with the East Grinstead branch of the Oxted Line but this was lifted in the early 1970s. Just west of Edenbridge, in a hamlet called Troy Town it crosses, but does not connect with, the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line.^[3]

The line was electrified (750 V DC third rail) in 1993 and services started to run through to London rather than being an extension of the Reading to Redhill North Downs Line service. The electrification also created a diversionary route for Eurostar services until 2007 from Waterloo International through Tonbridge and Ashford International.

Stations and services on the line are operated by Southern using Class 377 units. They provide an hourly service from Tonbridge to London Victoria via East Croydon.^[4]

Accidents

On 28 July 1845, a passenger train was run into by a steam locomotive at Penshurst, injuring about 30 people.^[5]
On 21 January 1846, a bridge over the River Medway collapsed in a flood. The driver of a freight train was killed when he tried to jump clear of the train.^[6]

Gallery

The Redhill to Tonbridge Line, shown with other railway lines in Kent. Note the line's relation with the South Eastern Main Line.
A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of the interaction of the Oxted Lines and the Redhill to Tonbridge Line.
A 1905 Railway Clearing House map of the western end of the Redhill to Tonbridge line.

External links

References

↑ Rail Maps - National Rail. Retrieved on 7 March 2009.
↑ Southern E-Group article on the Crowhurst Spur
↑ Collins Road Atlas Britain 2008 (Paperback) ISBN 0-00-725047-9
↑ Redhill, Tonbridge and Oxted services timetables - Southern railway. Retrieved on 7 March 2009.
↑ "Accident on the Dover Railway" The Times (London). Tuesday, 29 July 1845. (18988), col A, p. 5.
↑ "Fearful and Fatal Accident on the South Eastern Railway" The Times (London). Wednesday, 21 January 1846. (19139), col D, p. 5.

Railway lines in the South East

Primary

International	High Speed 1 (Ashford • Ebbsfleet)

National	Great Western Main Line (Slough • Maidenhead • Reading • Didcot Parkway) West Coast Main Line (Milton Keynes Central)

Secondary

Berks/Bucks/Oxon to London	Aylesbury Line Chiltern Main Line Waterloo to Reading Line (and in Surrey) Windsor & Eton Riverside Line (and in Surrey) Crossrail (under construction) (and past London to Essex)

Kent to London	Bexleyheath Line Chatham Main Line Dartford Loop Line Kent Coast Line Maidstone Line Medway Valley Line North Kent Line Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) Line Sheerness Line South Eastern Main Line Tonbridge Line (and in Surrey)

Surrey/Sussex/Hants to London	Ascot to Guildford Line Alton Line Arun Valley Line Brighton Main Line Caterham Line Fareham Line Hampton Court Branch Line Hastings Line (and in Kent) Chertsey Branch Line Epsom Downs Branch New Guildford Line Oxted Line (and in Kent) Portsmouth Direct Line Shepperton Branch Line South Western Main Line Sutton and Mole Valley Lines Tattenham Corner Line Thameslink (and past London to Beds/Herts) West of England Main Line

Others	Cherwell Valley Line Cotswold Line Eastleigh to Romsey Line East Coastway Line (inc Marshlink Line) Henley Branch Line Island Line, Isle of Wight Lymington Branch Line Marlow Branch Line Marston Vale Line North Downs Line Oxford to Bicester Line Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line Reading to Taunton Line West Coastway Line Wessex Main Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line Reading to Basingstoke Line Seaford Branch Line

Heritage

Non-passenger/
Defunct

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