Hampton Court branch line

Hampton Court branch line
Hampton Court branch line
	The line at Thames Ditton station
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London; Surrey; South East England
Stations	2
Service
Type	Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	South Western Railway
History
Opened	1849
Technical
Line length	1.54 miles (2.48 km) (1 mi 51 chains)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	Sedate
Route map
	; (Click to expand)

Legend

0 mi 00 ch
0.00 km

London Waterloo

South West Main Line

Surbiton

14 mi 78 ch

Hampton Court

14 mi 01 ch

Thames Ditton

Hampton Court Bridge

New Guildford line

to Guildford

to Weymouth/Salisbury

The Hampton Court branch line is a short branch line off the South West Main Line. It has a through station at Thames Ditton and a terminus at Hampton Court, both currently in Transport for London's Zone 6. The line is electrified, using 750 V DC third rail.

History[]

The branch was inaugurated 1 February 1849, when Hampton Court railway station was opened. Originally carriages were hauled by horses to Kingston station (later renamed Surbiton) where they were attached to Southampton trains and taken to London.

Services[]

Train services are currently operated by South Western Railway. There is a half-hourly direct service to London Waterloo which calls at all stations on the route except for Queenstown Road (Battersea). A change can be made for the fast tracks at Surbiton.

Rolling stock[]

The line is served by the British Rail Class 455, and British Rail Class 707, consisting of 4, 5, 8 or 10 car formations, 4 cars are mostly used on weekends. Class 450s have also deputised for the usual 455s on occasions.

Until 2022, Class 456 trains were often attached to Class 455 units to form ten carriage trains, but these were withdrawn on 17th January with the introduction of a new timetable. ^[1]

Future[]

As part of the proposed Crossrail 2 lines (principally involving a new long underground railway through London), Hampton Court has been proposed by business group London First as the terminus for a potential service to Cheshunt via Central London, opening in the "early 2030s". Additional services may or may not stop at Thames Ditton depending on volume and tourist demand. The proposed services via Victoria and Kings Cross will replace most via Waterloo services.^[2]

References[]

^ "SWR withdraws '456s' following service cuts". Rail. No. 949. 26 January 2022. p. 10-11.
^ "Crossrail 2 stations proposed by London business leaders". BBC News. 5 February 2013.