London Crosslink was a passenger train service operated by

Anglia Railways Anglia Railways was a train operating company in England, owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup, that operated the Anglia franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. History The Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Ra ...

between

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

, using the North London Line to bypass

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. Class 170 ''Turbostar'' diesel multiple units were used, and the service operated between 22 May 2000 and 28 September 2002, supported by funding from the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. It ...

through its Rail Passenger Partnership fund.

Rolling stock

Although the majority of the routes served were electrified (25 kV AC overhead electrified lines on the Anglia route, 750 V DC third rail on the South Western network and dual-voltage on the North London line), diesel trains had to be used as the section of railway from Old Kew Junction to South Acton Junction — i.e. between the Hounslow Loop Line and the North London line — was not electrified.

Service patterns

Due to capacity restrictions on the North London Line, the service only ran infrequently with unequal headways. The majority of services did not go the full length of the route, although all served Basingstoke; Stratford,

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Witham Witham () is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in the county of Essex, England. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 25,353. It is twinned with the town of Waldbröl, Germany. Witham stands on the Roman road between the ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

were all starting or terminating points on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

. Another drawback with the service was the varied stopping patterns employed; for example trains only stopped at Camden Road on weekends,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

calls were only made from May 2001 and then only during the morning and evening on weekdays and all-day Sundays, and

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

only received one service per day in the early morning. There were six daily departures Monday to Saturday and five on Sundays.South West Trains Complete Timetable Booklet May 2001 Below is an extract of the timetable, showing the service offered on weekdays heading eastbound: {, class="wikitable" border="1" , - ,

, 08:27 , 10:30 , 12:32 , 13:42 , 16:33 , 18:06 , - , Farnborough , 08:40 , 10:43 , 12:45 , 13:54 , , 18:19 , - ,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, 08:51 , 10:53 , 12:55 , 14:04 , 16:53 , 18:29 , - , Staines , 09:12 , 11:13 , 13:14 , 14:31 , 17:13 , 18:54 , - ,

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston (UK Parliament constituency), Felt ...

, 09:19 , 11:21 , 13:21 , 14:37 , 17:21 , 19:01 , - ,

, 09:27 , , , , , , - ,

Willesden Junction Willesden Junction () is an interchange station located in Harlesden, north-west London. It is situated on the Bakerloo line of the London Underground and the Lioness and Mildmay lines of the London Overground. The station is located close to ...

, , , , , 17:29 , 19:09 , - ,

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

, 09:58 , 11:44 , 13:46 , 14:59 , 17:36 , 19:29 , - , Highbury & Islington , 10:13 , 11:58 , 14:02 , 15:14 , 17:57 , 19:43 , - , Stratford , 10:29 , 12:15 , 14:23 , 15:35 , 18:14 , 20:02 , - ,

Ingatestone Ingatestone is a village and former civil parish in Essex, England, with a population of 5,409 inhabitants at the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census. Just north lies the village of Fryerning; the two now forming the parish of Ingatestone ...

, , 12:36 , 14:45 , , , , - ,

, 11:02 , 12:42 , 14:51 , , , 20:26 , - ,

, , 12:51 , , , , 20:34 , - ,

, 11:21 , , , , , 20:53 , - ,

, , , , , , 21:12 , -

References

External links

Great Train Service
Anglia Railways Railway lines in London Railway lines in the East of England Standard gauge railways in England