Govia Thameslink Railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Govia Thameslink Railway

A Thameslink Class 700 at Shepreth Branch Junction, south of Cambridge in 2019
Franchise(s):	Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern 14 September 2014 – 1 April 2028
Main region(s):	South East England Greater London East Anglia
Stations operated:	238
National Rail abbreviation:	GN, GX, SN, TL
Parent company:	Govia (Go-Ahead Group 65%, Keolis 35%)

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a British company that runs trains. It operates a large group of train lines called the TSGN rail franchise. Under this franchise, GTR runs trains using different names: Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern, and Gatwick Express. GTR is part of a bigger company called Govia. Govia is a partnership between a British company, Go-Ahead Group (which owns 65%), and a French company, Keolis (which owns 35%).

GTR was chosen to run these train services on May 23, 2014, after some delays. On September 14, 2014, GTR took over from the previous company, First Capital Connect. In July 2015, the Southern and Gatwick Express services also joined GTR. This made GTR the largest train company in the UK. It had the most passengers, staff, and trains. GTR's contract is special because all the money from ticket sales goes directly to the government's Department for Transport (DfT). In return, the DfT pays GTR a set amount of money.

GTR brought in many new trains, like the Class 387 , Class 700 , and Class 717 models. The company also planned to spend £50 million to improve the 239 stations it manages. These improvements included making stations easier to access, updating information screens, and having staff available for longer hours. They also planned to increase the number of trains and improve services. For example, they doubled overnight Thameslink services and added half-hourly trains from King's Lynn to London.

By June 2016, GTR faced criticism about its performance. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, even suggested that GTR should lose its contract. In May 2018, the company introduced a new timetable. This timetable included new routes through the Canal Tunnels. However, due to frequent problems, they had to use a temporary timetable with fewer trains. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused fewer people to travel, GTR greatly reduced its services by mid-2020. GTR is also one of the train companies affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes, which have caused many train cancellations.

History of GTR

How it Started

In 2006, the Thameslink and Great Northern train services were combined. This was because of a big project called the Thameslink Programme. In 2012, the British government announced that even more services would be combined. These included services from First Capital Connect, Southern (which included Gatwick Express), and some routes from Southeastern. All these would become one big franchise called Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise (TSGN).

The government planned to ask companies to bid for this contract in October 2012. They expected to announce the winner in Spring 2013. However, after some issues with another train contract, all new bidding processes were paused until January 2013.

In January 2013, the government decided to extend the current train contracts until March 2014. They also planned to work with FirstGroup to run the franchise for up to two years. In March 2013, the government announced that the contract would be extended again, until September 13, 2014. They also said the new franchise would be a "management-style" contract. This was because of the large amount of money and changes needed for the train lines. In September 2013, a new invitation for bids was sent out. Finally, on May 23, 2014, it was announced that Govia Thameslink Railway had won the contract.

On September 14, 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) began operating services that were previously run by First Capital Connect. At the start, GTR managed 122 stations and had 226 trains. The separate names "Thameslink" and "Great Northern" were kept. In December 2014, GTR took full control of the Sevenoaks Thameslink service. This service used to be run jointly with Southeastern. In July 2015, Southern and Gatwick Express services also became part of GTR. This made GTR the biggest train company in the UK based on passengers, staff, and trains.

This train contract is unique. It is a "management contract," meaning GTR does not keep the money from ticket sales. The Department for Transport pays GTR a set amount of money over seven years. In return, the DfT receives all the money from ticket sales. This type of contract was chosen because of the many engineering works planned around London. These works would be hard to manage with a normal train contract.

Changes and Problems

In December 2015, GTR announced that most of its ticket prices would not increase. The average fare rise for the next year would be only 0.8%.

In June 2016, GTR faced criticism about how its trains were running. Go-Ahead, GTR's parent company, even warned that its profits would be lower than expected. This caused their share price to drop. Passengers had previously rated GTR's Thameslink service as the worst in the country. From April 2015 to March 2016, only 20% of Southern trains arrived on time. There were also ongoing disagreements with staff about how trains were operated. On July 12, 2016, after 15% of Southern services were cancelled for weeks, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan asked for GTR to lose its contract. On July 15, 2016, the Rail Minister, Claire Perry, resigned because of these issues.

Due to a big drop in passenger travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, GTR significantly reduced its services by mid-2020. Gatwick Express services were completely stopped between March 30, 2020, and April 3, 2022.

In March 2022, the DfT gave GTR a new contract that will last until April 1, 2028.

GTR is one of several train companies affected by the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes. These were the first national rail strikes in the UK in 30 years. GTR workers voted to take industrial action because of disagreements over pay and working conditions. GTR can only run a very limited number of trains on strike days because so many staff are involved.

Thameslink and Great Northern Services

Govia Thameslink Railway has been running Thameslink and Great Northern services since September 14, 2014. Thameslink is a main train line with 68 stations. It runs for 225 kilometers (140 miles) from north to south through London. It goes from Bedford to Brighton. It also serves both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. There is a loop that serves Sutton, Mitcham, and Wimbledon. On weekdays, there is also a line via Catford and Bromley South to Sevenoaks.

Great Northern is the name for the local train services. These run on the southern part of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its connecting lines. Trains operate to or from London King's Cross and Moorgate. Destinations include Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Peterborough, Cambridge, and King's Lynn.

In May 2018, the company introduced a new timetable. This included the first regular services through the Canal Tunnels. It also added new destinations that Thameslink had not served before. However, because of frequent problems across the network, Govia decided to create a new temporary timetable. This timetable had fewer trains and started in July 2018.

Great Northern Service Changes

Since May 2018, many GTR services on the East Coast Main Line were renamed from "Great Northern" to "Thameslink." Most of these services now run through central London. They are now part of the Thameslink network. However, some services are still waiting to be extended. The only services that still use the "Great Northern" name are those on the Northern City Line. This also includes the local trains to/from Cambridge and Letchworth Garden City. The express trains to/from Cambridge, Ely, King's Lynn, and Peterborough (at peak times) also keep the Great Northern name.

Southern and Gatwick Express Services

Southern Class 377 at Watford Junction

The Southern and Gatwick Express train services joined Govia Thameslink Railway on July 26, 2015. Southern routes run from London Victoria and London Bridge. They go through south London areas like Battersea, Norbury, Peckham, Sydenham, Crystal Palace, Norwood, Croydon, Streatham, Purley, and Sutton. They also connect to towns near London, such as Caterham, Epsom, and Tadworth. Further away, Southern also serves Redhill, Tonbridge, Uckfield, East Grinstead, Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Ashford (Kent), Worthing, Hastings, Portsmouth, Eastbourne, Horsham, Southampton, Littlehampton, and Bognor Regis. Southern also runs West London route services from Milton Keynes to South Croydon. These services go via Watford and Clapham Junction. Since 2008, Southern has also operated the Gatwick Express service. This service runs from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.

What GTR Promised to Do

An example of widescale upgrade works at Harpenden station including the extension of platforms for 12 carriage trains, a new footbridge with lifts, new waiting rooms, brighter lighting, new ticket gates and automatic passenger information screens

This train contract is different from many others since trains became private in 1996. Under this agreement, Govia gives all the money it earns from tickets to the government. Instead of paying a fee, the government's Department for Transport pays Govia. This payment is about £8.9 billion over seven years. Govia expects to make a small profit from these payments. Govia is responsible for its running costs. The government gains or loses money based on how much ticket revenue there is.

Before the contract started, Govia said it would invest £50 million in all 239 stations it would manage. Here are some of their plans:

• Improve all 239 stations. This includes making them easier to access. They would also replace electronic information screens. They planned to work with local councils to redevelop St Albans and Luton stations.
• Increase the hours staff are available at many stations. The 100 busiest stations would have staff from the first to the last train, similar to London Overground stations.
• Expand the "the key" smartcard system that Southern had already started using.
• Provide free Wi-Fi at 104 stations.
• Spend £1.5 million on improving station access. This includes more bike storage and electric vehicle charging points.

Govia also planned to make these changes:

• Have King's Lynn to London services run every half hour.
• Offer direct services from Peterborough, Cambridge, Welwyn Garden City, and Finsbury Park to Tattenham Corner, Caterham, and Horsham.
• Increase Great Northern local services to four trains per hour via Enfield Chase and New Barnet.
• Have Great Northern local services run to Moorgate on weekends and weekday evenings.
• Increase train capacity from Uckfield to London by 50% during busy times.
• Double the number of overnight Thameslink services.
• Have Sevenoaks Thameslink services run on Saturdays.
• Work to extend the Oyster card system to Epsom, Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport Parkway, Welwyn Garden City, and Hertford North.
• Use Class 387 Electrostars for King's Lynn express services. This would free up older trains for new electrified routes.
• Create a partnership with Network Rail in 2016, like South West Trains did.

Trains Used by GTR

To replace older trains and to run the bigger Thameslink network, 115 new Class 700 trains were ordered. These trains have eight or twelve carriages. They started running between 2016 and 2019.

Because the Class 700 trains were delayed, 29 Class 387 trains were also ordered for the Thameslink route. These trains helped replace the older Class 319 trains. The Class 387 trains were delivered in 2014 and started service that same year. It was first planned that these Class 387 trains would move to Great Western Railway once the Class 700s arrived. However, plans changed. Great Western Railway ordered their own new Class 387 trains. So, the Thameslink Class 387 units were instead moved to the Great Northern route after the Class 700s arrived.

GTR also ordered 25 new six-carriage trains. These were to replace the 40-year-old Class 313 trains. These older trains were used on the Great Northern local services from Moorgate. In December 2015, Siemens was chosen to build these new trains. They were named the Class 717 in June 2016 and first started running in September 2018.

In May 2023, the Southern Class 313 trains were taken out of service.

Current Trains

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built
				mph	km/h
Southern
Bombardier Turbostar	171		DMU	100	161	11	2	Oxted line Marshlink line	2003–2004
						6	4
Bombardier Electrostar	377		EMU			28	3	Entire Southern network apart from sections between Hurst Green and Uckfield & between Ore and Ashford International	2001–2005
						152	4
						34	5		2012–2014
	387			110	177	4	4	Entire Southern network apart from sections between Hurst Green and Uckfield & between Ore and Ashford International	2016–2017
Gatwick Express
Bombardier Electrostar	387		EMU	110	177	18	4	Gatwick Express services between London Victoria & Brighton	2015–2016
Great Northern
Bombardier Electrostar	387		EMU	110	177	39	4	Great Northern express services between London King's Cross & Ely / King's Lynn / Peterborough and Great Northern semi-fast services between London King's Cross & Letchworth Garden City / Cambridge	2014–2017
Siemens Desiro	717 Desiro City			85	137	25	6	Northern City Line services between Moorgate & Welwyn Garden City / Stevenage via Hertford North	2018
Thameslink
Siemens Desiro	700 Desiro City		EMU	100	161	60	8	All Thameslink services	2015–2018
						55	12

Past Trains

Here are some trains that used to be operated by Thameslink, Southern, and Great Northern:

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Carriages	Number	Built	Routes	Withdrawn
			mph	km/h
365 Networker Express		EMU	100	161	4	40	1994-95	Express services between London King's Cross and / Ely / King's Lynn / Peterborough	2018–2021
313			75	121	3	64	1976–1977	Northern City Line West Coastway line East Coastway line Seaford branch line	2019 (Great Northern) 2023 (Southern)
319			100	161	4	86	1987–1988 1990	All Thameslink services	2015–2017
321			100	161	4	13	1989–1990	Express services between London King's Cross to Peterborough and Cambridge	2016
377 Electrostar						26	2008–2009	Some Thameslink services	2017
455			75	120	4	46	1982–1984	Metro and commuter services from London Victoria & London Bridge	2022
171		DMU	100	161	4	3	2003-2004	Oxted line Marshlink line	2022

How GTR Performed

Govia and Thameslink passenger numbers 2010–11 to 2018–19 Q4, annual rolling average

In February 2015, Thameslink and Great Northern were at the bottom of a customer survey by Which? magazine. This survey ranked the "Best and worst UK train companies." GTR scored only 43% for customer satisfaction. Thameslink and Great Northern also received only 2 out of 5 stars in all specific categories. These categories included "Reliability," "Punctuality," and "Cleanliness of toilets." This was the lowest score of any UK train company. In the Which? 2017 survey, Thameslink and Great Northern improved slightly, with a rating of 46%. They were still second to last in the table. Southern was in last place, but it had faced many problems due to staff disagreements.

The number of passengers on Govia Thameslink Railway has increased. This includes Southern and Gatwick Express. Passenger numbers rose from 262 million per year in 2010–11 to 327 million per year in 2015–16.