Loughborough Junction railway station

Loughborough Junction railway station is a railway station in the Loughborough Junction neighbourhood of the London Borough of Lambeth. It was opened as Loughborough Road by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1864. It is between Elephant & Castle and Herne Hill stations and is served by Thameslink.

Loughborough Junction National Rail
The station entrance on 2 January 2007
Loughborough Junction is located in Greater London
Loughborough Junction
Loughborough Junction
Location of Loughborough Junction in Greater London
LocationBrixton
Local authorityLondon Borough of Lambeth
Managed byThameslink
Station code(s)LGJ
DfT categoryE
Number of platforms2
Fare zone2
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19Increase 1.005 million[1]
2019–20Increase 1.089 million[1]
2020–21Decrease 0.398 million[1]
2021–22Increase 0.722 million[1]
2022–23Increase 0.952 million[1]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway
Key dates
Oct 1864Brixton spur platforms opened as "Loughborough Road".
1 Dec 1872Main line and Cambria spur platforms opened. Station renamed "Loughborough Junction"
3 April 1916[2]Brixton spur platforms closed
12 July 1925Cambria spur platforms closed
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°27′58″N 0°06′07″W / 51.4661°N 0.102°W / 51.4661; -0.102
London transport portal

History

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A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Loughborough Junction railway station

On 6 October 1862 the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) opened its City Branch from Herne Hill to Elephant and Castle. Services ran from Victoria to Elephant and Castle via a reversing move at Herne Hill. From 1 May 1863 services ran directly from Brixton to Camberwell via a curve at Loughborough Junction. Services were extended from Elephant and Castle to Blackfriars on 1 June 1894.[3]

In October 1864 the LCDR opened Loughborough Road station on the north-to-west Brixton spur which connects the City Branch to the original Chatham Main Line at Brixton station.

On 1 December 1872 platforms were opened on the City branch and on the north-to-east spur (called the Cambria Road platforms and spur after nearby Cambria Road). The enlarged station was renamed Loughborough Junction.

The Loughborough Road platforms closed during the First World War on 3 April 1916 when the Victoria to Moorgate local service was withdrawn. This also led to the closure of Camberwell and Walworth Road stations to the north and the loss of direct service to Brixton, Clapham, Wandsworth Road, Battersea Park Road and Victoria.

In connection with the Southern Railway suburban electrification the platforms on Cambria Jn spur could not be lengthened so were closed on 12 July 1925.

After nationalisation the station was part of the Southern Region of British Railways and, from 1986, Network SouthEast. Around 1990 the station became part of the Thameslink route.

Services

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Looking north from platform 1 at Loughborough Junction on 2 January 2007

Off-peak, all services at Loughborough Junction are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[4]

During the peak hours, a small number of Southeastern services between Beckenham Junction and London Blackfriars call at the station. The station is served by five trains to London Blackfriars in the morning peak and two trains to Beckenham Junction in the evening peak.

A small number of late evening Thameslink services are extended beyond St Albans City to Bedford. On Sundays, there are also direct services beyond St Albans City to Luton.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Thameslink
Southeastern
Peak Hours Only
  Historical railways  
Camberwell   London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  Brixton
Camberwell   London, Chatham and Dover Railway
  Denmark Hill

Connections

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London Buses routes 35, 45, 345, P4 and P5 and night route N35 serve the station.

Future proposals

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Map of rail & tube lines passing through Brixton, showing the location of Loughborough Junction and the route of London Overground
 
The South London line, seen from Loughborough Junction

The South London line passes across the south end of Loughborough Junction station via a bridge but has never had platforms there. As part of phase 2 of the East London line extension project, this line is now part of the London Overground network operated by Transport for London. Completed on 9 December 2012, this extension connected the South London Line to the East and West London lines, allowing rail services to run across South London from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction.[5] This creates an orbital network around Central London, fulfilling the Orbirail concept.[6]

The new route passes over both Loughborough Junction and Brixton stations,[5] and the proposals were criticised for not including new interchange stations at these locations.[7][8] No London Overground platforms are planned at Loughborough Junction as the line is on high railway arches, making the cost of any station construction prohibitive.[9] It has been proposed, as an alternative, that the disused East Brixton could be reopened instead as the site is close to both stations.[10][11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ^ Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley
  3. ^ Marshall, Chapman Frederick Dendy (1963). A History of the Southern Railway. I. Allan. p. 511.
  4. ^ Table 52, 173, 179, 180, 195 National Rail timetable, December 2022
  5. ^ a b Transport for London (2006). "The Tube in 2010". Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007. (map illustrating future development phases as proposed by TfL in 2006, subject to change)
  6. ^ Rail Express issue 154, March 2009
  7. ^ "Junction joy South". South London Press (archived). 24 April 2004. Archived from the original on 9 May 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  8. ^ Martin Linton MP (4 August 2006). "Parliamentary Debate: London Orbital Rail Network". Hansard. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  9. ^ "East London Line Extensions – Loughborough Junction". AlwaysTouchOut. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  10. ^ "Connecting Brixton to the London Overground. Petition launched to reopen East Brixton station". Brixton Buzz. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  11. ^ Cobb, Jason (21 March 2017). "Lambeth Council starts review to look at business case for reopening East Brixton train station". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
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