Editing Thameslink (section)

==History==

Passenger services operated across London through the [[Snow Hill Tunnel (London)|Snow Hill Tunnel]] from mid-[[Victorian era|Victorian times]] until [[World War I]], when services terminated at [[Moorgate station|Moorgate]] from the Midland line to the north, and at [[Holborn Viaduct railway station|Holborn Viaduct]] from the south, at a time when most inner cross-London traffic had been lost to buses and trams. There were low-level platforms under the main part of Holborn Viaduct station known as the Snow Hill platforms: these can still be seen when leaving City Thameslink station travelling northwards.

On 14 June 1941, railway manager [[George Dow]] proposed in an article in the London evening newspaper ''[[The Star (1888)|The Star]]'' that new routes be built in tunnels from Marylebone south to Victoria, and from King's Cross south to Charing Cross.  Both were to connect with a Paddington–Liverpool Street tunnel that he proposed, anticipating [[Crossrail]] by 40{{nbsp}}years. He also proposed a north-east to south-west such link (Liverpool Street to Charing Cross), all giving seamless, key, main-line connections.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dow |first=Andrew |title=Telling the Passenger Where to Get Off |date=1 January 2005 |publisher=Capital Transport Publishing |isbn=9781854142917 |pages=52–55}}</ref>

The Snow Hill Tunnel route remained open for cross-London freight trains until 1970, when the short section between Farringdon and Holborn Viaduct was closed.

Overhead electrification, completed in 1982, allowed the northern section to run as the ''Midland City Line'' from [[Bedford railway station|Bedford]] via the [[Midland Main Line]] to [[St Pancras railway station|St Pancras]], and via the [[Widened Lines|City Widened Lines]] to [[Moorgate station|Moorgate]].{{efn|This service was colloquially known as the [[Bedpan]] Line from the contracted names of the terminal stations, as had happened with the [[Bakerloo line]]. In general limited-stop trains served St Pancras, and all-stations trains Moorgate.}}

The [[Snow Hill Tunnel (London)|Snow Hill tunnel]] was re-opened by [[British Rail]] to passenger trains after 72{{nbsp}}years, with Thameslink beginning in May 1988.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/s/snow_hill_station/index.shtml| publisher = Subterranea Britannica| work = Disused Stations News| date = 8 December 2007| access-date = 17 June 2008| title = Station Name: Snow Hill/Holborn Viaduct Low Level}}</ref> On 29 January 1990, the section between Blackfriars and Farringdon was temporarily closed to permit the construction of a new alignment. The route through the site of the long-closed [[Ludgate Hill railway station|Ludgate Hill station]], over Ludgate Hill to [[Holborn Viaduct railway station|Holborn Viaduct]] was abandoned and demolished. The replacement route under Ludgate Hill was opened on 29 May 1990 by the [[Network SouthEast]] (sector of [[British Rail]]) concurrently with {{stnlink|City Thameslink}} station, which was initially called St Paul's Thameslink but was renamed in 1991 to avoid confusion with [[St. Paul's station]] on the Underground (Central line), about {{convert|500|m|yd|abbr=on}} away.

[[King's Cross Thameslink railway station|King's Cross Thameslink]] on [[Pentonville Road]] closed on 8 December 2007, when the Thameslink platforms at nearby [[St Pancras railway station|St Pancras]] opened.

In the south the services divide: many main-line trains run almost due south through [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]] to [[East Croydon station|East Croydon]] and many continue to [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]], but the other routes and branches evolved, as follows:
*From 1988 to 1991 such trains went variously
**via Bromley: to Orpington or to Sevenoaks, (both since resumed) or; 
**via Herne Hill and East Croydon to Purley (off peak only). 
*From 1991 to 1994, such trains went only via [[Elephant & Castle railway station|Elephant & Castle]] and [[Streatham railway station|Streatham]] to [[West Croydon station|West Croydon]], [[Wallington railway station|Wallington]], [[Sutton railway station (London)|Sutton]], [[Epsom railway station|Epsom]], [[Leatherhead railway station|Leatherhead]] and [[Effingham Junction railway station|Effingham Junction]], to [[Guildford (Surrey) railway station|Guildford]].
*From 1994 to 1995 such trains terminated at West Croydon (cutting franchise zone-crossing due to [[privatisation of British Rail|rail privatisation]]).
**From the latter year such trains have run "to and from" a nominal furthest point of a true circular loop, [[Sutton railway station (London)|Sutton]], the [[Sutton loop]] calling at stations including [[Mitcham Junction station|Mitcham Junction]], Streatham and [[Wimbledon railway station|Wimbledon]].
*From 2018 the service was greatly recast and expanded following the completion of the [[Thameslink programme]]:
**A regular service to Rainham has been added.
**A regular service to Horsham has been added.
**In the north the present termini of the trains are Luton, Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough, St Albans and in peak hours, Welwyn Garden City.

===Franchise owners===
As of the early 1990s [[privatisation of British Rail]], Thameslink was franchised to [[Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006)|Thameslink]], a subsidiary of [[Govia]].

By late 1998, more than 28,000 passengers were carried at morning peak times.<ref>{{cite press release|url = http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=181549&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False|publisher=[[Strategic Rail Authority]]|date = 29 March 1999|access-date = 17 June 2008|title = Sustained Passenger Growth in London}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

From 1 April 2006, the franchise was taken over by [[First Capital Connect]] along with some services that had been operated by [[West Anglia Great Northern|WAGN]].<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=181549&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False |title=Department for Transport Announces Winner of Thameslink/GN Franchise |publisher=Department for Transport |date=13 December 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070310142714/http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=181549&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False |archive-date=10 March 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= FirstGroup wins rail franchises |date= 13 December 2005 |work= BBC News |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4523592.stm |access-date= 13 November 2024}}</ref> The branding of most trains, stations, and signs was changed to match the name of the new company, but [[City Thameslink railway station|City Thameslink]] and [[West Hampstead Thameslink railway station|West Hampstead Thameslink]] were not renamed as ''Thameslink'' referred to the route.{{efn|[[King's Cross Thameslink railway station|King's Cross Thameslink]] kept the Thameslink suffix until it closed on 8 December 2007.}} After criticism of the loss of the apt name for this group of routes,<ref>{{cite web|title=Letter from TfL to FCC|url=http://uk.transport.london.narkive.com/9fxPexxo/letter-from-tfl-to-fcc|url-status=dead|website=Narkive.com|access-date=12 February 2015|archive-date=12 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212084126/http://uk.transport.london.narkive.com/9fxPexxo/letter-from-tfl-to-fcc}}</ref> First Capital Connect's publicity began calling this set of services its "Thameslink route" to distinguish it from the former WAGN services.

On 14 September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway took over operations from [[First Capital Connect]].<ref name="DFT20140523">{{cite press release |publisher= Department for Transport |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rail-franchising-deal-set-to-transform-passenger-services-across-london-and-south-east |title=New rail franchising deal set to transform passenger services across London and south east |date=23 May 2014 |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref>