Crosstown Linkline was a railway service that operated from 14 May 1979 to 11 May 1985 between Camden Road and North Woolwich in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The service was operated by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

with financial support from the Greater London Council. It reintroduced passenger trains to sections of line that had not been served for over thirty years. It benefited from several improvements during its brief existence as new stations were added and trains started running on Saturdays in 1983. Operated by diesel trains, it was replaced with the electric North London Link service between Richmond and North Woolwich from 13 May 1985.

History

Background

The

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC) and the Docklands Development Organisation jointly funded the service that was operated by

, intending to improve transport in the Docklands regeneration area of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. It was an extension of the existing Stratford to North Woolwich service. The service reintroduced passenger trains to areas that had not been served since the 1940s.

Infrastructure

Initially the service called at Camden Road, Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, Highbury & Islington, Canonbury, Stratford, West Ham, Canning Town, Custom House, Silvertown and North Woolwich. New platforms were provided at

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

to coincide with the introduction of the service on 14 May 1979. Stations at Canning Town, Custom House, Silvertown and North Woolwich were upgraded. The initial publicity for the route indicated three stations would be built between Canonbury and Stratford.

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney, London, Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail area ...

and

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in East London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, namely Fish I ...

stations were opened to passengers on 12 May 1980.Salmon, S., Smith, P. (2019). Directory of British Railways: New and Reopened Stations 1948–2018. United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books. The stations were funded by the GLC. There was a formal opening on the stations by

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of ...

of British Rail and

Horace Cutler Sir Horace Walter Cutler (28 July 1912 – 2 March 1997) was a British Conservative politician who served as leader of the Greater London Council from 1977 to 1981. He was noted for his showmanship and flair for publicity, and some of his right ...

of the GLC on 11 June 1980. Dalston Kingsland station was opened on 16 May 1983.

Services

The route length was 11 miles with a journey time of 37 minutes. In 1981 the GLC asked British Rail to better publicise the service. The Railway Development Society published a survey of passenger opinions of the route in 1981. Passengers complained that the diesel trains were old and uncomfortable, there was no service at weekends and trains were frequently cancelled because of staff shortages. At the May 1982 timetable the off-peak service was two trains an hour with three trains an hour at peak times. Saturday service was introduced from 16 July 1983.

Replacement

The line was already third rail electrified between Camden Road and Canonbury where the service shared tracks with electric Broad Street services to Richmond and Watford. The

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...

electrification was extended to North Woolwich in November 1984. The diesel Crosstown Linkline service was replaced with the electric North London Link service between Richmond and North Woolwich from 13 May 1985, with Homerton station between Hackney Central and Hackney Wick opening on the same day.Batten, M. (2022). London's Transport and the Olympics: Preparation, Delivery and Legacy. United Kingdom: Amberley Publishing. Regular service was withdrawn between Canonbury and Broad Street, with Dalston Junction effectively replaced by Dalston Kingsland station.

Gallery

File:Terminating Service - geograph.org.uk - 2707535.jpg, Service arriving at Camden Road in May 1985, shortly before the service is replaced File:North-Woolwich-DMU1 (48235811217).png, Train for Camden Road at Stratford File:Custom House (Victoria Dock) station geograph-3092414-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Custom House station in 1983 File:Canning Town station geograph-3099691-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Canning Town station in 1983

References

{{reflist London Overground Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the London Borough of Islington Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Newham 1979 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England