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Thameslink Upgrades - Introduction

From 2009 to 2018, the Thameslink network is undergoing some major changes. Four chief elements of the Thameslink Programme are:

  • increasing capacity by lengthening trains
  • expanding the Thameslink network to serve new destinations
  • longer term introduction of a "new-generation" fleet of dual voltage EMUs
  • but in the interim introduction of a fleet of Class 377/5 units

The Thameslink Programme is divided into a number of phases, the outcomes of which are referred to as "Key Outputs". The first target of which - Key Output Zero (KO0) - was on 22nd March 2009 and involved the closing of the terminus platforms at Blackfriars, the permanent closure of the Great Northern Farringdon to Moorgate Branch and introduction of a fleet of Class 377/5 units. The second phase, Key Output 1, was primarily the extension of platforms to allow 12 car trains, completed by mid-2012. Key Output 2 is primarily the remodelling of London Bridge and Bermondsey, to increase capacity through Thameslink to 24 trains per hour.

This feature will report on the infrastructure changes involved in the Thameslink programme and will be updated periodically.