Northern City Line facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Northern City Line |
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| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Locale | Greater London |
| Termini | Finsbury Park London Moorgate |
| Stations | 6 |
| Service | |
| Type | Commuter rail, Suburban rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Operator(s) | Great Northern |
| Depot(s) | Hornsey |
| Rolling stock | Class 313 Class 717 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | Two |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Loading gauge | W6 |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE (Drayton Park and north) 750 V DC third rail (Drayton Park and south) |
The Northern City Line is a commuter line in England, which runs from London Moorgate to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branch of the East Coast Main Line (ECML). It is underground from Moorgate to Drayton Park in Highbury, from which point it runs in a cutting until joining the ECML south of Finsbury Park. Its stations span northern inner districts of Greater London southwards to the City of London, the UK's main financial centre. Since December 2015, its service timetable has been extended to run into the late evenings and at weekends, meeting a new franchise commitment for a minimum of six trains per hour until 23:59 on weekdays and four trains per hour at weekends.
The official name for this line is the Moorgate Line, but it is rarely referred to as this because of the confusion with another line with the same name which runs between Kentish Town and Farringdon. Until recently, it also served Moorgate surface-level station on the London Midland Region. The Northern City Line's name is derived from the fact that it was formerly part of London Transport's Underground network where it was described or managed as part of both the Metropolitan and Northern lines (sometimes as the "Highbury Branch"), although never connected to either. Built as an isolated route with a northern terminus at Finsbury Park, reconstruction connected it to the British Rail network in 1976 and began its modern service pattern. One of London's deep-level railways, the Northern City unlike the others, is owned by Network Rail and served by commuter trains operated by Great Northern from Moorgate to Finsbury Park and onwards to Hertfordshire.
In 2016, it was proposed that all London rail services should be transferred to Transport for London to create a London Suburban Metro, which would bring the line back under the jurisdiction of TfL.
Images for kids
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The planned 1930s Northern Heights extensions, showing the diversion of the Northern City Line to Alexandra Palace, Bushey Heath and High Barnet. Sections marked in solid green were ultimately taken over. The line from Highgate to Finsbury Park already existed but was to be absorbed by London Transport; this never happened and it closed to passengers in 1954. After being used to transfer tube trains from Highgate depot to the Northern City line, it closed permanently in 1970.
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Network SouthEast branding at Essex Road station.
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Class 313 unit at Moorgate
