The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, and , and the branches from each meet at , from where the route continues southwards via to the coast. The line serves the suburbs of South London, as well as the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.
The distance from the London termini to Brighton is around and the fastest end-to-end journey time is about an hour. A variety of passenger services runs on the line, including limited-stop airport expresses, semi-fast regional and outer-suburban trains, and shorter-distance commuter services. These are operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink), Transport for London (London Overground) and Great Western Railway.
The first part of the Brighton Main Line to be built was the section from London Bridge to Croydon, which was opened by the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) in 1839. Two years later, a separate company, the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR), extended the line to the south coast. In 1846, the L&CR and the L&BR merged to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), which began to run trains to London Victoria via the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway in 1848. The Brighton Main Line was completed in December 1862, when the LB&SCR opened the direct route between Croydon and Victoria via .
The Brighton Main Line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system and the majority of the route has four tracks. There are seven tunnels, including two on the Quarry Line, which allows express services to bypass the junctions at station. The most serious accident on the Brighton Main Line occurred in October 1947, when two trains collided in fog near South Croydon station, killing 32 people. The listed structures on the route include the Ouse Valley Viaduct, the north portal of Clayton Tunnel and all three termini.
Route
Overview The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England. It links the capital to Brighton and passes through Greater London, Surrey and West Sussex. It serves Gatwick Airport and the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill, as well as the South London suburbs. The line starts at two central London termini: the western branch runs from while the eastern branch originates at . The two branches join at Windmill Bridge Junction, to the north of station. The distance from London Victoria to Brighton is around and the line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system.
London Victoria to Windmill Bridge Junction
The London Victoria to Windmill Bridge Junction section of the Brighton Main Line is in length and has nine stations in total. Victoria and stations are managed by Network Rail and have 19 and 17 operational platforms respectively. The other stations (, , , , , and ) are managed by Southern and have four operational platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are: Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton services, operated by Gatwick Express Victoria to , and the South Coast, operated by Southern Suburban services from Victoria via Sutton or , operated by Southern London Bridge to East Croydon stopping services via Norbury, operated by Southern to East Croydon via , operated by Southern
With the exception of the line between Victoria and Battersea Park, this part of the Brighton Main Line has four parallel tracks. The fast lines for longer-distance express services are on the western side of the formation and the slow lines are to the east. In general fast services stop at Victoria and Clapham Junction and do not make scheduled calls at the other stations. The maximum permitted speed is on the fast lines and on the slow lines. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges rail operating centre.
Stations from London Victoria to Windmill Bridge Junction StationDistance from London VictoriaNumber of platformsOpening date Original nameRef.19 (10 for main line)4 (3 for main line)Coulsdon17 (6 for main line)44 4 4Norbury Hill44
London Bridge to Windmill Bridge Junction
The London Bridge to Windmill Bridge Junction section of the Brighton Main Line is in length and has nine stations in total. London Bridge station is managed by Network Rail and has 15 platforms. All other stations (, , , , Sydenham, , and ) are managed by London Overground. Both New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction have five operational platforms, but the intermediate stations have two platforms each, which serve the slow lines only. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are: Thameslink services to destinations in Sussex (including Brighton, and East Grinstead) Outer suburban services from London Bridge to destinations in Surrey (including , and ) operated by Southern VictoriaLondon Bridge and VictoriaWest Croydon via Crystal Palace, operated by Southern London Bridge, operated by Southern London Overground Windrush line services to Crystal Palace and West Croydon
The Brighton Main Line between London Bridge and Windmill Bridge Junction has four parallel tracks. The fast lines for longer-distance express services are in the centre of the formation and the slow lines are to the outside. The maximum permitted speed is on the fast lines and on the slow lines. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges rail operating centre.
Stations from London Bridge to Windmill Bridge Junction StationDistance from London BridgeNumber of platformsOpening date Original nameRef.15 (6 for main line)5 New Cross222Dartmouth ArmsSydenham2 2Penge2Anerley Bridge2Jolly Sailor
Windmill Bridge Junction to Balcombe Tunnel Junction The Brighton Main Line between Windmill Bridge Junction and Balcombe Tunnel Junction is long and has twelve stations in total. Gatwick Airport station is managed by Gatwick Express, but the other stations are managed by Southern. Gatwick Airport has seven operational platforms, East Croydon and have six, and have five, , and have four, and the remaining stations (, , Earlswood and ) have two platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are: Thameslink services to destinations in Sussex (including Brighton, Horsham and East Grinstead) Outer suburban services from London Bridge to Caterham and Tattenham Corner, operated by Southern Victoria to East Grinstead, Reigate and the South Coast, operated by Southern London Bridge to Uckfield, operated by Southern Hemel Hempstead to East Croydon via Kensington (Olympia), operated by Southern Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton, operated by Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport via , operated by Great Western Railway
Between Windmill Bridge Junction and there are five parallel tracks, but for the remainder of this section there are four parallel tracks. Between Stoats Nest Junction and the south of Redhill station, the fast and slow lines diverge. The fast tracks are generally known as the Quarry Line, which provides a bypass route to avoid the junctions at Redhill. There are changes in track mileage on both the fast and slow lines to the south of Redhill. The maximum speed on this section of the Brighton Main Line is .
The Brighton Main Line passes in tunnel beneath the North Downs. The slow lines run through the Merstham Tunnel and the fast lines pass through the longer, Quarry Tunnel. There is one additional tunnel on the Quarry Line, Redhill Tunnel, which is long.
Stations from Windmill Bridge Junction to Balcombe Tunnel Junction StationDistance from London VictoriaNumber of platformsOpening date Original nameRef.6Croydon546 (4 for main line)Godstone Road2Coulsdon2 4ReigateEarlswood2 2 4 7 5 (4 for main line)
Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Brighton The section of the Brighton Main Line from Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Brighton is long. All seven stations on this section are managed by Southern. Brighton has eight platforms, of which six are connected to the Brighton Main Line. Haywards Heath has four platforms and Preston Park has three. The other four stations (, , and ) have two operational platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are: Thameslink services to Brighton Victoria to the South Coast, operated by Southern Victoria to Brighton, operated by Gatwick Express
Between Balcombe Tunnel Junction and Brighton, the Brighton Main Line generally has two tracks, signalled for bi-directional working. There are short three- and four-track sections at and stations respectively. The maximum line speed is .
There are four tunnels on this section of the line: Balcombe tunnel is long; Haywards Heath Tunnel is long; Clayton Tunnel, at the summit of the line, is long; Patcham Tunnel is long. There are two viaducts on this part of the Brighton Main Line: The Ouse Valley Viaduct crosses the River Ouse on 37 brick arches and the shorter Vale Viaduct is long.
Stations from Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Brighton StationDistance from London VictoriaNumber of platformsOpening date Original nameRef.242Keymer Junction2 2Hassocks Gate3Preston8 (6 for main line)
History London and Croydon Railway (18341846)
The first part of the Brighton Main Line to be constructed was the section between London Bridge and Croydon. It was proposed in 1834 by the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) company. Much of the route, surveyed by Joseph Gibbs, followed the course of the Croydon Canal, the southern terminus of which would be used for Croydon station (now ). The line would diverge from the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) around east of London Bridge station and the L&CR would have running powers into the terminus.
Passenger trains began running on the L&GR between and its temporary London terminus at on 8 February 1835. London Bridge station, the first permanent terminus in the capital, opened on 14 December the following year. The L&CR was authorised by act of parliament on 12 June 1835 and a second act, permitting the company to build its own terminus at London Bridge, was given royal assent on 14 July 1836. The line between the capital and Croydon was built by the engineer, William Cubitt, and construction began in 1838. The cost of the line was originally estimated to be around £400,000, but difficulties encountered during the excavation of the cutting at New Cross, meant that an additional £216,000 was required. The route originally surveyed by Gibbs was also modified to ease curves and to reduce the maximum gradient from 1 in 80 to 1 in 100.
The official opening ceremony for the L&CR took place on 1 June 1839, although passenger trains for the general public did not start until four days later. Since the area between New Cross and Croydon was sparsely populated and largely undeveloped countryside, the majority of passenger journeys on the line were between the two termini. Nevertheless, when the line opened, intermediate stations were provided at New Cross (now New Cross Gate), Dartmouth Arms (now Forest Hill), Sydenham, Penge (now Penge West), Anerley Bridge (now Anerley) and Jolly Sailor (now Norwood Junction). Initially nine steam locomotives operated on the line: five Sharp, Roberts and Co. and two J. and G. Rennie 2-2-2 engines were used to haul trains and two 0-4-2 locomotives were used as banking engines for the steep climb to New Cross from the junction with the L&GR.
London and Brighton Railway (18371846)