Great Northern route

Great Northern

A Class 717 standing at Bowes Park in 2019
Overview
Franchise(s)	Thameslink 2 March 1997 – 31 March 2006 West Anglia Great Northern 5 January 1997 – 31 March 2004 Great Northern 1 April 2004 – 31 March 2006 Thameslink and Great Northern 1 April 2006 – 14 Sep 2014 Part of Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 14 Sep 2014 – 1 April 2028[1]
Main region(s)	East of England Greater London
Fleet size	39 Class 387 Electrostar sets 25 Class 717 Desiro City sets
Stations called at	54
Parent company	Govia Thameslink Railway
Reporting mark	GN
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE 750 V DC third rail
Other
Website	www.greatnorthernrail.com
Route map

v t e Great Northern route
Legend
King's Lynn Watlington Downham Market Littleport Ely Waterbeach Cambridge North Cambridge M11 motorway Foxton Shepreth Peterborough Meldreth Huntingdon Royston St Neots Ashwell & Morden St Neots South/Tempsford Sandy Baldock Biggleswade A1(M) motorway Arlesey Letchworth Garden City Hitchin Stevenage Knebworth Watton-at-Stone Welwyn North Hertford North Welwyn Garden City Bayford Hatfield Cuffley Welham Green M25 motorway Brookmans Park Crews Hill Potters Bar Gordon Hill M25 motorway Enfield Chase Hadley Wood Grange Park New Barnet Winchmore Hill Oakleigh Park Palmers Green New Southgate Bowes Park Alexandra Palace Hornsey Harringay Finsbury Park London King's Cross Drayton Park London St Pancras International Highbury & Islington Thameslink route Essex Road Old Street Moorgate

The Great Northern route, formerly known as Great Northern Electrics, is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from London King's Cross and London Moorgate. Destinations include Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, and Cambridge, and in peak hours, additional services run to Peterborough and King's Lynn. Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk.

The route forms a major commuter route into London from Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and eastern Bedfordshire: ridership has grown rapidly over recent years. In 2009, rolling stock was transferred from other lines to allow additional services and longer trains to be run. In early 2018, the line was connected to the Thameslink route via a junction just south of the High Speed 1 bridge, north of King's Cross, allowing through services to the south of London.

Since September 2014, the services have been operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Thameslink and Great Northern service brands were maintained and separated from each other.^[2]