West Anglia Main Line

The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main railway lines that start from Liverpool Street; the other is the Great Eastern Main Line to Ipswich and Norwich. It travels north through places like Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Audley End (near Saffron Walden) before reaching Cambridge. There are also branches that go to Stratford, Hertford and Stansted Airport. For a long time, this line was the main way to travel from London to Cambridge, Ely and King's Lynn. After the Cambridge Line was electrified in 1988, the West Anglia Main Line became more of a route for people commuting between Cambridge and London, and it also became important for fast trains going to Stansted Airport. It was also used to carry goods, especially coal from Yorkshire, and sometimes freight trains still run to places like Harlow and the Rye House Power Station, as well as a Network Rail base at Broxbourne. For more information about routes in the London area, see the Lea Valley lines.

History

The West Anglia Main Line started in 1840 with the first part built by the Northern and Eastern Railway from Stratford to Broxbourne. Over the next few years, it was extended north, reaching Bishops Stortford by 1843. By 1845, it had reached Cambridge.

In the 1860s, many railways in East Anglia were in trouble, and they joined together to form the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. The line was later taken over by British Railways in 1948. Electrification began in the 1960s, with the full line to Cambridge finished in 1987. A branch to Stansted Airport opened in 1991. In 2015, some services started running on the London Overground.

Services

Trains run from Liverpool Street to Cambridge, Hertford East, and Stansted Airport. These trains are operated by a company called Greater Anglia.

There are also fast trains from Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport operated by Stansted Express, which is part of Greater Anglia. From Stansted Airport, trains continue to Cambridge and even further to Birmingham New Street through Peterborough. This line is managed by Network Rail and is considered a commuter line for people living around London and the south-east. In London, it is part of the Tottenham Hale branch of the Lea Valley Lines.

Infrastructure

The West Anglia Main Line was originally built with a wider track, but it was changed to the common track width we use today in 1844.

Today, most of the line has two tracks side by side, except near Stansted Airport and at Ware, where there is only one track. There is a small part near London with four tracks. The trains on this line get their power from electricity, using a special system.

There are important pieces of equipment along the tracks to help watch over the trains.

Locomotives and rolling stock

During the time when trains were powered by steam, most trains on this line were pulled by locomotives from the Great Eastern Railway. Even after steam engines stopped being used in the 1960s, some of these old engines were still used for a while.

Later, diesel engines took over, with smaller ones working some express trains. Bigger diesel engines came after that. In 1987, the line was fully electrified, and special electric engines started working the trains.

For shorter trips near cities, different types of trains were used. In 2011, new trains made by Bombardier started working, replacing older ones. In 2020, even newer trains were introduced, changing the types of trains on the line again.

Future developments

Plans are in place to add more tracks along the West Anglia Main Line. Two new tracks may be built from Cheshunt as part of Crossrail 2. This would allow more trains to run, especially during busy times. Stations between Tottenham Hale and Meridian Water might get new tracks too, so up to eight trains could stop there each hour during peak times.

Another project called East West Rail wants to add two more tracks between the Shepreth Branch Junction and Cambridge, which would also help more trains run on the West Anglia Main Line.