Editing Thameslink (section)

{{Short description|Mainline route in the British railway system}}
{{About|the railway route|the main operator of services on the route|Govia Thameslink Railway||Thameslink (disambiguation)|For see all other lines on Govia Thameslink Railway, see|Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway)|and|Great Northern Route}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox rail service
| name               = Thameslink
| logo_filename      = <!-- remember that this article is about a railway route which does not have a logo -->
| image              = Class 700s at Blackfriars.jpg
| image_size         = 250px
| caption            = Two [[Govia Thameslink Railway]] [[British Rail Class 700|Class 700 ''Desiro City''s]] at {{rws|Blackfriars}}.
| operator           = [[Govia Thameslink Railway]], {{nowrap|14 September 2014 –}} {{nowrap|1 April 2028}}<ref name = dft22 >{{Cite web |title=National Rail Contract Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern | url = https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1097662/govia-thameslink-railway-limited-2022-national-rail-contract.pdf | date = 24 March 2022 | access-date = 7 March 2023 | publisher = Department for Transport }}</ref>
| predecessor        = {{indented plainlist|
* [[Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006)|Thameslink]], {{nowrap|2 March 1997 –}} {{nowrap|31 March 2006}}
* [[First Capital Connect]], {{nowrap|1 April 2006 –}} {{nowrap|13 September 2014}}
}}
| locale             = {{unbulleted list|[[South East England]]|[[Greater London]]|[[East of England]]}}
| stock              = [[British Rail Class 700|Class 700 ''Desiro City'']]
| start              = {{cslist|{{rws|Bedford}}|{{rws|Peterborough}}|{{rws|Cambridge}}}}
| end                = {{cslist|{{rws|Sutton|London}}|{{rws|Orpington}}|{{rws|Sevenoaks}}|
{{rws|Rainham|Kent}}|{{rws|Horsham}}|{{rws|Three Bridges}}|{{rws|Brighton}}|{{rws|East Grinstead}}}}
| line_used          = {{unbulleted list|[[Brighton Main Line]]|[[Chatham Main Line]]|[[East Coast Main Line]]|[[Midland Main Line]]|[[Snow Hill tunnel (London)|Snow Hill tunnel]]|[[South Eastern Main Line]]|[[North Kent Line]]|[[Sutton Loop Line]]}}
| trainnumber        = TL
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| map                = [[File:Thameslink.svg|300px|Thameslink]]
| owners             = [[Network Rail]]
| gauge              = {{RailGauge|sg|allk=on}}
| el                 = {{plainlist|
*{{25 kV 50 Hz|conductor=overhead}}
*{{750 V DC|conductor=third rail}}
}}
}}
'''Thameslink''' is a mainline route on the [[Rail transport in Great Britain|British railway network]], running from {{rws|Bedford}}, {{rws|Luton}}, {{rws|St Albans City}}, {{rws|Peterborough}}, {{rws|Welwyn Garden City}}, {{rws|London Blackfriars}} and {{rws|Cambridge}} via central London to {{rws|Sutton|London}}, {{rws|Orpington}}, {{rws|Sevenoaks}}, [[Rainham railway station (Kent)|Rainham]], {{rws|Horsham}}, {{rws|Three Bridges}}, {{rws|Brighton}} and {{rws|East Grinstead}}. The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. All the services are currently operated by [[Govia Thameslink Railway]]. Parts of the network, from {{rws|Bedford}} to {{rws|Three Bridges}}, run 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods.<ref name="BedfordLondonTimetable"/>

The [[Thameslink Programme]] was a major £5.5{{nbsp}}billion scheme to increase capacity on the central London section by accommodating more frequent and longer trains, and providing additional routes and destinations. The new services began operating in 2018. In 2016, new {{brc|700}} trains started operating on the route and replaced the {{brc|319}}, {{brc|377}} and {{brc|387}} trains which were withdrawn and transferred elsewhere.