Thameslink and Great Northern
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| Overview | |||||
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| Franchise(s): |
Part of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 14 Sep 2014 - 2021 | ||||
| Main region(s): | London, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Sussex | ||||
| Other region(s): | Norfolk, Surrey, Kent | ||||
| Stations called at: | 129 (approx) | ||||
| Stations operated: | 77 | ||||
| Route km operated: | 778.9 | ||||
| National Rail abbreviation: |
TL (Thameslink) GN (Great Northern) | ||||
| Parent company: | Govia Thameslink Railway | ||||
| Website: | www.thameslinkrailway.com | ||||
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Thameslink and Great Northern are the brand names used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Thameslink and Great Northern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, previously operated by First Capital Connect.
History
Thameslink and Great Northern services were merged into one franchise in 2006 due to the Thameslink Programme. In 2012, it was announced that services of First Capital Connect, Southern (with Gatwick Express) and some Southeastern routes would be merged into a single franchise for the expanding Thameslink network.[1] The Invitation to Tender was to have been issued in October 2012, with the successful bidder announced in Spring 2013 and TSGN originally due to start in September 2013. However, due to the collapse of the InterCity West Coast re-franchising process, all franchising competitions were frozen until January 2013.[2] In January 2013 the government announced that it would extend the contract until March 2014, intending to negotiate with FirstGroup to operate the franchise on a management contract for up to two years.[3]
In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the franchise would again be extended, until 13 September 2014, and that the future franchise would be a management-style contract due to the level of investment and change on the route.[4] In September 2013 a revised invitation to tender was issued.[5] Govia Thameslink Railway was awarded the franchise on 23 May 2014.[6][7]
Services
On 14 September 2014, Thameslink and Great Northern took over from First Capital Connect, serving 122 stations and operating a fleet of 226 trains. In December 2014, full control was taken of the Sevenoaks Thameslink service (this service was previously jointly operated with Southeastern).
As of 13 December 2015, the current routes operated off-peak Monday to Friday are with frequencies measured in trains per hour:[8]
Peak-time-only services on Thameslink routes include:
- Bedford - Beckenham Junction (4 tpd)
- Bedford - Elephant & Castle (2 tpd)
- Bedford - Orpington (1 tpd)
- Bedford - Sevenoaks (4 tpd)
- Bedford - Sutton via Mitcham Junction (4 tpd)
- Bedford - Sutton via Wimbledon (4 tpd)
- Luton - Bromley South via Catford (1 tpd)
- Luton - Sevenoaks (8 tpd)
- Selhurst - Luton (1 tpd)
- Selhurst - Bedford (1tpd)
- St Albans City - Bromley South (1 tpd)
- St Albans City - Sevenoaks (6 tpd)
- West Hampstead Thameslink - Orpington (1 tpd)
Peak-time-only services on Great Northern routes include:
- London Kings Cross - Ely (5 tpd)
- London Kings Cross - Huntingdon (2 tpd)
- London Kings Cross - Royston (10 tpd)
- London Moorgate - Hitchin via Hertford North (2 tpd)
- London Moorgate - Gordon Hill (10 tpd)
- London Moorgate - Stevenage via Hertford North (12 tpd)
Rolling Stock
Current fleet
All Thameslink rolling stock is electrically powered dual-voltage units using 25 kV AC overhead power north of Farringdon and 750 V DC third rail to the south.
Thameslink
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 319 |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 59 | Thameslink Three Bridges ↔ Bedford, Sutton ↔ Luton and Sevenoaks ↔ West Hampstead Thameslink (occasionally Brighton ↔ Bedford and Brighton ↔ London Bridge) |
1987–88 and 1990 |
| Class 377/2 Electrostar |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 9 | Thameslink Brighton / Three Bridges ↔ Bedford Brighton ↔ London Bridge; (also during peak hours: Bedford ↔ Ashford International / Rochester services) |
2002-2003 |
| Class 377/5 Electrostar |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 23 | 2008–09 | |
| Class 387/1 |  |
EMU | 110 | 177 | 29 | Thameslink Brighton / Three Bridges ↔ Bedford Brighton ↔ London Bridge |
2014-15 |
Great Northern
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 313 |  |
EMU | 75 | 120 | 44 | Inner suburban Great Northern Moorgate ↔ Letchworth Garden City / Stevenage / Hertford North / Welwyn Garden City |
1976–77 |
| Class 317 |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 12 | Fast and Semi-fast Great Northern London ↔ Peterborough / Cambridge |
1981–82 |
| Class 321 |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 13 | Fast and Semi-fast Great Northern London ↔ Cambridge |
1989–90 |
| Class 365 |  |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 40 | Fast and Semi-fast Great Northern London ↔ Peterborough / King's Lynn (via Cambridge) |
1994–95 |
1: ^ The Northern City Line between Moorgate and Drayton Park is also electrified at 750V DC using third rail.
Future rolling stock
In 2011 the consortium Cross London Trains Ltd. consisting of Siemens Project Ventures, 3i Infrastructure plc and Innisfree Ltd was announced as preferred bidder with Siemens to manufacture and maintain the rolling stock to run on the Thameslink routes from 2016. This was a politically controversial decision as the competing bidder Bombardier Transportation had a train factory in the UK.[9] Both the procurement process and final close of contract were significantly delayed, resulting in the expected first delivery date moving from 2012 to 2016. The trains are known as Class 700s and the £1.6 billion contract to manufacture and provide service depots for the trains was finalised in mid 2013.[10] A fleet of 115 8- and 12-car trains are expected to enter service between 2016 and 2018. Associated rolling stock depots are being built at Hornsey and Three Bridges.
Because of the delay in procuring the Class 700 trains, 29 Class 387 trains were ordered for the Thameslink route, facilitating the release of existing Class 319 trains to newly electrified routes. In the longer term, these new trains will in turn also be cascaded, to the Thames Valley service. Delivery was completed in 2014 and the trains entered service later that year. The order includes provision for an extra 140 vehicles.[11][5] Once the Class 700s begin entering service, the Class 387s will be transferred to Great Western Railway for use on routes in the Thames Valley.[12]
In addition to the introduction of the new Class 700 units, GTR also plan to procure a further 25 new 6-car trains for use on Great Northern suburban services that originate from London Moorgate, replacing the 35-year-old Class 313 trains.[13][14] In December 2015 it was announced that Siemens would be providing these new trains as a follow-on to the Class 700 order.[15][16]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Cars per set | Number | Seat layout | Routes operated | Built | Years operated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | |||||||||
| Class 700 | |
EMU | 100 | 160 | 8 | 60 | n/a | Thameslink route
Great Northern route |
2015- | From early 2016 |
| 12 | 55 | |||||||||
| 6 | 25 | Transverse | Moorgate routes | From 2018 | ||||||
Franchise commitments
This franchise is different from other franchises let since privatisation in 1996. Now the operator, in this case Govia, gives all revenue to the government, rather than paying set premiums. The Department for Transport will pay Govia, totalling around £8.9bn over the franchise period of seven years, from the expected revenues of £12.4bn. With this Govia expects to make a 3% profit, and the risks on costs will be Govia's, while the DfT will profit or lose from fluctuations in revenue.[13]
Govia plans to invest £50m in all 239 stations it will manage. It plans to:[17]
- Enhance all 239 stations including improving access, replace electronic information screens and working with local authorities on the redevelopment of St Albans and Luton stations.
- Increase staffing hours at many stations, with the 100 busiest stations staffed from first to last train, like London Overground stations.
- Extension of 'the key' smartcard which Southern has been introducing.
- Provide 104 stations with free wifi.
- £1.5m on station access improvements including increased cycle storage and electrical vehicle charging points.
Other plans include:[18]
- Half-hourly King's Lynn to London services
- Direct Peterborough, Cambridge, Welwyn Garden City and Finsbury Park to Tattenham Corner, Caterham, Horsham services.[19]
- Increasing Great Northern suburban services to four trains per hour via Enfield Chase and New Barnet
- Great Northern suburban services to run to Moorgate at weekends and on weekday evenings
- 50% increase in capacity from Uckfield to London in the peaks.
- Doubling overnight Thameslink services
- Sevenoaks Thameslink services to run on Saturdays
- Working to extend Oyster to Epsom, Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport Parkway, Welwyn Garden City and Hertford North[20]
- Class 377 Electrostars for King's Lynn express services, releasing Class 317s, 321s and some Class 365s for newly electrified routes elsewhere.[21]
- Creating an Alliance arrangement with Network Rail in 2016, like South West Trains.[22]
Performance
In February 2015, Thameslink and Great Northern came at the bottom of Which? magazine's Best and worst UK train companies customer survey, scoring a customer satisfaction score of 43%. Thameslink and Great Northern was also scored 2/5 stars in each of the specific categories covered by the survey (including Reliability, Punctuality and Cleanliness of toilets) - which is the worst performance of any UK train operator.[23]
Future of the franchise
On 21 January 2016 Transport for London announced that in 2021 it will take over the London suburban parts of the franchise, rebranding the routes as London Overground from that point.[24]
References
- ↑ "Consultation on the combined Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise". Department for Transport. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "Expanding and improving the rail network". Department for Transport. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ Rail franchising future programme. Department for Transport. 31 January 2013.
- ↑ "Railway plan puts new focus on passengers". Secretary of State for Transport statement 26 March 2013.
- 1 2 Thameslink Southern & Great Northern Invitation to Tender. Department for Transport. 26 September 2013.
- ↑ "Govia chosen for new Thameslink contract". Railnews. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ↑ "Govia wins TSGN franchise, beating FirstGroup". Rail Technology. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ↑ Timetables : Thameslink
- ↑ "Siemens beats Bombardier to Thameslink train order". BBC News. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ Millward, David (13 June 2013). "Bombardier blow as Siemens wins £1.6bn Thameslink deal". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "Bombardier to manufacture 116 new train carriages for Thameslink rolling stock cascade" (Press release). Southern. 17 July 2013.
- ↑ First Great Western plans AT300s to Cornwall Railway Gazette 23 March 2015
- 1 2 Topham, Gwyn (23 May 2014). "FirstGroup loses Thameslink franchise to Go-Ahead joint venture". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway)". Govia Thameslink Railway. 2-15. Retrieved 2 December 2015. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Siemens selected to supply Moorgate suburban EMU fleet". Railway Gazette (London). 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ↑ Clinnick, Richard (22 December 2015). "Siemens favoured for new GN trains". Rail (Peterborough). Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ↑ "Govia awarded TSGN franchise" (Press release). Govia. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ↑ "TSGN". Govia. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "Proposed Thameslink service pattern" (PDF). Thameslink Programme. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ↑ "Easier journeys and better information". Govia. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ↑ "New Trains". Govia. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ↑ "More reliable and faster services". Govia. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ↑ "Best and worst UK train companies". Which?.
- ↑ http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/tfl-to-control-all-london-commuter-services-and-new-metro-network-
External links
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Media related to Govia Thameslink Railway at Wikimedia Commons - Thameslink and Great Northern website
| Preceded by First Capital Connect Thameslink Great Northern franchise |
Sub-brand of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise 2014 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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