System National Rail Stations 7 | Status Operational Owner Network Rail | |
 | ||
Type Suburban rail, Heavy rail Locale Kent
Surrey
South East England Termini Tonbridge, Kent
Redhill, Surrey | ||
The Redhill–Tonbridge line is a railway line running from Redhill, Surrey to Tonbridge, Kent in southeast England. It branches off the Brighton Main Line at Redhill and, after 20 miles, joins the South Eastern main line at Tonbridge
Contents
History
It was originally part of the South Eastern Railway having been sanctioned by Act of Parliament in 1836 as part of the first rail route from London to Dover. This may explain its remarkably straight route: serving the settlements en route was a secondary consideration. Following the completion of new South Eastern Main Line in 1868, along which services run a more direct route between London and Tonbridge, the Redhill–Tonbridge line's function as the trunk route between London and Dover was transferred to the new line.
Aircraft coming into London's Croydon Airport in the early part of the 20th Century used this line as a point of navigation. All the stations along this route had their names written in bold white paint on the roofs.
It starts with an initial curve just outside Redhill where it passes over the Quarry line which is in Redhill tunnel (649 yards). The Bletchingley Tunnel (grid reference TQ340486), about a mile southeast of Bletchingley is about ½ mile long. At grid reference TQ400480 the "Crowhurst Spur" connected with the East Grinstead branch of the Oxted line but this was lifted in the early 1970s. Just west of Edenbridge, in a hamlet called Troy Town it crosses, but does not connect with, the Uckfield branch of the Oxted line.
The line was electrified (750 V DC third rail) in 1993 and services started to run through to London rather than being an extension of the Reading to Redhill North Downs Line service. The electrification also created a diversionary route for Eurostar services until 2007 from Waterloo International through Tonbridge and Ashford International.
Stations and services on the line are operated by Southern using Class 377 units. They provide an hourly service from Tonbridge to London Victoria via East Croydon.