Brighton Main Line

The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, and, and the branches from each meet at, from where the route continues southwards via to the coast. The line serves the suburbs of South London, as well as the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.
The distance from the London termini to Brighton is around and the fastest end-to-end journey time is about an hour. A variety of passenger services runs on the line, including limited-stop airport expresses, semi-fast regional and outer-suburban trains, and shorter-distance commuter services. These are operated by Govia Thameslink Railway, Transport for London and Great Western Railway.
The first part of the Brighton Main Line to be built was the section from London Bridge to Croydon, which was opened by the London and Croydon Railway in 1839. Two years later, a separate company, the London and Brighton Railway, extended the line to the south coast. In 1846, the L&CR and the L&BR merged to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, which began to run trains to London Victoria via the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway in 1848. The Brighton Main Line was completed in December 1862, when the LB&SCR opened the direct route between Croydon and Victoria via.
The Brighton Main Line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system and the majority of the route has four tracks. There are seven tunnels, including two on the Quarry Line, which allows express services to bypass the junctions at station. The most serious accident on the Brighton Main Line occurred in October 1947, when two trains collided in fog near South Croydon station, killing 32 people. The listed structures on the route include the Ouse Valley Viaduct, the north portal of Clayton Tunnel and all three termini.

Route

Overview

The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England. It links the capital to Brighton and passes through Greater London, Surrey and West Sussex. It serves Gatwick Airport and the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill, as well as the South London suburbs. The line starts at two central London termini: the western branch runs from while the eastern branch originates at. The two branches join at Windmill Bridge Junction, to the north of station. The distance from London Victoria to Brighton is around and the line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system.

London Victoria to Windmill Bridge Junction

The London Victoria to Windmill Bridge Junction section of the Brighton Main Line is in length and has nine stations in total. Victoria and stations are managed by Network Rail and have 19 and 17 operational platforms respectively. The other stations are managed by Southern and have four operational platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are:

Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton services, operated by Gatwick Express
Victoria to, and the South Coast, operated by Southern
Suburban services from Victoria via Sutton or, operated by Southern
London Bridge to East Croydon stopping services via Norbury, operated by Southern
to East Croydon via, operated by Southern

With the exception of the line between Victoria and Battersea Park, this part of the Brighton Main Line has four parallel tracks. The fast lines for longer-distance express services are on the western side of the formation and the slow lines are to the east. In general fast services stop at Victoria and Clapham Junction and do not make scheduled calls at the other stations. The maximum permitted speed is on the fast lines and on the slow lines. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges rail operating centre.

Station	Distance from London Victoria	Number of platforms	Opening date	Original name	Ref.
		19
		4		Coulsdon
		17
		4
		4
		4
		4		Norbury Hill
		4
		4

London Bridge to Windmill Bridge Junction

The London Bridge to Windmill Bridge Junction section of the Brighton Main Line is in length and has nine stations in total. London Bridge station is managed by Network Rail and has 15 platforms. All other stations are managed by London Overground. Both New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction have five operational platforms, but the intermediate stations have two platforms each, which serve the slow lines only.
Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are:

Thameslink services to destinations in Sussex
Outer suburban services from London Bridge to destinations in Surrey operated by Southern
VictoriaLondon Bridge and VictoriaWest Croydon via Crystal Palace, operated by Southern
London Bridge, operated by Southern
London Overground Windrush line services to Crystal Palace and West Croydon

The Brighton Main Line between London Bridge and Windmill Bridge Junction has four parallel tracks. The fast lines for longer-distance express services are in the centre of the formation and the slow lines are to the outside. The maximum permitted speed is on the fast lines and on the slow lines. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges rail operating centre.

Station	Distance from London Bridge	Number of platforms	Opening date	Original name	Ref.
		15
		5		New Cross
		2
		2
		2		Dartmouth Arms
Sydenham		2
		2		Penge
		2		Anerley Bridge
		2		Jolly Sailor

Windmill Bridge Junction to Balcombe Tunnel Junction

The Brighton Main Line between Windmill Bridge Junction and Balcombe Tunnel Junction is long and has twelve stations in total. Gatwick Airport station is managed by Gatwick Express, but the other stations are managed by Southern. Gatwick Airport has seven operational platforms, East Croydon and have six, and have five,, and have four, and the remaining stations have two platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are:

Thameslink services to destinations in Sussex
Outer suburban services from London Bridge to Caterham and Tattenham Corner, operated by Southern
Victoria to East Grinstead, Reigate and the South Coast, operated by Southern
London Bridge to Uckfield, operated by Southern
Hemel Hempstead to East Croydon via Kensington, operated by Southern
Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton, operated by Gatwick Express
to Gatwick Airport via, operated by Great Western Railway

Between Windmill Bridge Junction and there are five parallel tracks, but for the remainder of this section there are four parallel tracks. Between Stoats Nest Junction and the south of Redhill station, the fast and slow lines diverge. The fast tracks are generally known as the Quarry Line, which provides a bypass route to avoid the junctions at Redhill. There are changes in track mileage on both the fast and slow lines to the south of Redhill. The maximum speed on this section of the Brighton Main Line is.
The Brighton Main Line passes in tunnel beneath the North Downs. The slow lines run through the Merstham Tunnel and the fast lines pass through the longer, Quarry Tunnel. There is one additional tunnel on the Quarry Line, Redhill Tunnel, which is long.

Station	Distance from London Victoria	Number of platforms	Opening date	Original name	Ref.
		6		Croydon
		5
		4
		6		Godstone Road
		2		Coulsdon
		2
		4		Reigate
Earlswood		2
		2
		4
		7
		5

Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Brighton

The section of the Brighton Main Line from Balcombe Tunnel Junction to Brighton is long. All seven stations on this section are managed by Southern. Brighton has eight platforms, of which six are connected to the Brighton Main Line. Haywards Heath has four platforms and Preston Park has three. The other four stations have two operational platforms each. Train services that use this section of the Brighton Main Line are:

Thameslink services to Brighton
Victoria to the South Coast, operated by Southern
Victoria to Brighton, operated by Gatwick Express

Between Balcombe Tunnel Junction and Brighton, the Brighton Main Line generally has two tracks, signalled for bi-directional working. There are short three- and four-track sections at and stations respectively. The maximum line speed is.
There are four tunnels on this section of the line: Balcombe tunnel is long; Haywards Heath Tunnel is long; Clayton Tunnel, at the summit of the line, is long; Patcham Tunnel is long. There are two viaducts on this part of the Brighton Main Line: The Ouse Valley Viaduct crosses the River Ouse on 37 brick arches and the shorter Vale Viaduct is long.

Station	Distance from London Victoria	Number of platforms	Opening date	Original name	Ref.
		2
		4
		2		Keymer Junction
		2
		2		Hassocks Gate
		3		Preston
		8