System National Rail Locale Greater London Services 1 | Status Operational Stations 8 Owner Network Rail | |
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Type Suburban rail, Heavy rail Depot Grove Park Depot and Sidings Rolling stocks British Rail Class 319, British Rail Class 375, British Rail Class 465, British Rail Class 466 Terminis Nunhead railway station, Ravensbourne railway station |
The Catford Loop Line is a railway line in southeast London. It carries a suburban stopping passenger service from central London to Sevenoaks, and is also a relief route for the Chatham Main Line carrying passenger trains from London Victoria to the Kent coast. There is also much freight activity as this is the main route to Willesden and the north via Latchmere junction, with intermodal traffic from Thamesport and international workings from Dollands Moor.
Contents
The line begins at Brixton junction, where it diverges from the Chatham Main line, and ends when it rejoins the Chatham main line (now extended to pairs of fast and slow lines) at Shortlands Junction, west of Shortlands station.
Stations
History
Incorporated as the Shortlands and Nunhead Railway in 1889 it was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway on 1 July 1892. The line left the former Crystal Palace High Level branch and the Nunhead to Lewisham link (the former Greenwich Park branch) at a junction east of Nunhead.
The five stations on the original route were:
The length of the Catford Loop is nearly eight miles (12.5 km).
The line was electrified with the other SECR urban routes on 12 July 1925 by the Southern Railway on its 660 DC third-rail system.
As of 12 January 2015, Southeastern operates an hourly service from London Victoria to Dover Priory over the line; Denmark Hill is the only station on the line called at by this service. All other services originate from London Blackfriars and Thameslink Core and call at all stations.
Services
Off-peak / Weekends:
Peak