Sussex Route Utilisation Strategy

Last updated February 25, 2019

The Sussex Route Utilisation Strategy (Sussex RUS) is a Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), published by Network Rail (NR) in January 2010.^[1] It was the fourteenth RUS to be completed, not counting the partially completed Network RUS. By default, RUSs are established by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) unless the latter objects within 60 days, and the ORR have confirmed no objection to the establishment of the Sussex RUS.^[2]

Sussex, from the Old English Sūþsēaxe, is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English Channel, and divided for many purposes into the ceremonial counties of West Sussex and East Sussex. Brighton and Hove, though part of East Sussex, was made a unitary authority in 1997, and as such, is administered independently of the rest of East Sussex. Brighton and Hove was granted City status in 2000. Until then, Chichester was Sussex's only city.

Network Rail (NR) has an obligation, transferred from the abolished Strategic Rail Authority, to periodically produce Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) documents. The original programme was approved by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in June 2006; under an early version of the programme all but two RUSs were scheduled to be completed by the end of Control Period 3 (CP3), 31 March 2009. The programme and its timescale were reviewed by NR and ORR at regular intervals. Despite this the delivery timescales continually slipped: at the end of CP3 no fewer than 9 remained incomplete, despite the fact that funding for infrastructure developments in CP4 was largely set.

Network Rail is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an arm's length public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways.

Contingent projects
East London Line Extension
Thameslink
Gaps and options
Gap A (peak demand and network capacity) and Options 1 through 3, with sub-options
Gap B (between passenger demand and capacity in the peaks on the Coastway routes) and Option 4, with sub-options (no option 4.3)
Gap C (between passenger demand and capacity on key regional links) and Option 5, with sub-options
Gap D (between passenger journey times on key regional links and aspirations thereto) and Option 6, with sub-options
Gap E (improving access to the network)
Gap F (performance)
Gap G (handling demand during times of engineering access)
Gap H (freight capability on the Channel Tunnel route)
References

The scope of the Sussex RUS is largely the main line, with branches, connecting Brighton, Redhill, Croydon and central London, but also includes the so-called 'Coastway' lines. Most trains are operated by Southern, with the remainder run by First Capital Connect and First Great Western.

First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors of what later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise from April 2006 to September 2014.

The recommendations are grouped into each strategic routes, and, as has become customary with RUSs, provide short-term (to end of Control Period 4, CP4, March 2014), medium-term (CP5, 2019) and some long-term (thereafter) solutions.

Contingent projects

East London Line Extension

Inner suburban services through the London end of the geographical area will be affected by the completion of the East London Line Extension in May 2010. Though these services themselves were covered by the South London RUS, there will be some consequential effects on timetabling of services covered by the Sussex RUS.

Network Rail's (NR) South London Route Utilisation Strategy (SLRUS), published in March 2008 (SLRUS) was the eighth Route Utilisation Strategy to be produced. By default, RUSs are established by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) unless the latter objects within 60 days. The RUS is included in NR's map as established.

Thameslink

This is the largest single programme affecting the RUS area, though in reality it comprises a significant number of related projects. The key objective is eventually to increase the frequency and length of the trains which pass between north and south London, and therefore has much wider scope than the Sussex RUS area. It includes very major works at Blackfriars and Farringdon, currently under way as at March 2010, and at London Bridge and its environs, after the 2012 Olympic Games. It will largely separate train services through London Bridge to/from Charing Cross-bound from those to/from Blackfriars. This programme will cause a number of sequential recasts of services affecting the Sussex RUS area.

The programme is divided into three stages:

Key Output 0, complete
Key Output 1, 2009–2011
Key Output 2, 2012-2018

Train lengthening under the Thameslink Programme will affect a limited number of stations.

The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, is a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London. The development will facilitate cross-London journeys, where passengers will no longer be required to change trains in London. Work includes platform lengthening, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure, and additional rolling stock. The project was originally proposed in 1991 following the successful introduction of the initial Thameslink service in 1988. After many delays, planning permission was granted in 2006 and funding was approved in October 2007. Work started in 2009 and is expected to be complete in December 2019. The Thameslink Programme is being carried out by Network Rail in association with the relevant train operating companies.

In general, the works will have the greatest impact on suburban routes rather than the longer-distance routes featuring in the Sussex RUS area.

Gaps and options

The RUS summarises gaps in the following groups:

Gap A - between passenger demand and capacity in the peaks into London
Gap B - between passenger demand and capacity in the peaks on the West and East Coastway routes
Gap C - between passenger demand and capacity on key regional links
Gap D - between existing and desired journey times on key regional links
Gap E - accessing the rail network
Gap F - achieving performance targets on an increasingly busy railway
Gap G - between passenger demand at the weekend and in the evening and services provided
Gap H - between demand and capacity for freight services

Interventions to address these gaps are themselves divided into 16 options.

Unless otherwise stated the peak-hour trains comprise those arriving in London between 7 and 10am (high peak between 8 and 9) and leaving between 4 and 7pm (high peak between 5 and 6); the hours on either side of the high peak are known as the shoulder peak.

Gap A (peak demand and network capacity) and Options 1 through 3, with sub-options

Gap A concerns the danger of future overcrowding during the peak hours, and possible interventions to alleviate this problem on various routes (Redhill corridor, Tattenham Corner/Caterham routes, and Brighton Main line).

Option 1 increased capacity in the peaks on the Redhill corridor; recommended:
- 1.1 lengthening of high-peak trains by late CP4 or during CP5 (partly included in recent franchise)
- 1.2 in CP5, one extra high-peak train
Option 2 increased capacity in the peaks on the Tattenham Corner, Caterham and Uckfield routes; recommended for CP5:
- 2.1 lengthening of high peak Tattenham Corner/caterham services to/from London termini (Victoria and London Bridge)
- 2.2 lengthening of peak Uckfield services to/from London Bridge to 8-car
- 2.3 lengthening of high-peak Uckfield services to/from London Bridge to 10-car
Option 3 increased capacity in the peaks between Brighton Main line and Victoria; recommended:
- 3.1 lengthening four shoulder peak services to 12-car (CP5)
- 3.2 an additional morning peak hourly service, probably from Brighton (CP5)
- 3.3 adding stops at Clapham Junction in at least two high-peak Gatwick Express services (CP4 or early CP5)

Gap B (between passenger demand and capacity in the peaks on the Coastway routes) and Option 4, with sub-options (no option 4.3)

Gap B concerns the danger of future overcrowding during the peak hours, and possible interventions to alleviate this problem to/from Brighton and Chicester

Option 4 increased capacity in the peaks on the Coastway routes; recommended:
- 4.1 lengthening of electric high peak Southern services that remain at 3-car to 4-car, on West Coastway
- 4.2 lengthening of First Great Western 2-car evening diesel service departing Brighton (on West Coastway) to 4-car (lengthening 3-car morning service possible anyway)

Of the possible options for the East Coastway none was recommended, but the report notes that the Southern operating company was in process of consulting on an option to reduce crowding on the route. The result of the consultation was however not to progress the scheme.

Gap C (between passenger demand and capacity on key regional links) and Option 5, with sub-options

Option 5 enhanced services between the North Downs line and Gatwick Airport
- 5.1 lengthening to 4-car formation of selected services between the North Downs line and Gatwick Airport: one such service recommended
- 5.2 extending more services from Redhill to Gatwick: can only be recommended if any extra unit is not required

Gap D (between passenger journey times on key regional links and aspirations thereto) and Option 6, with sub-options

Option 6
- 6.1 a fast service linking Southampton Central and/or Portsmouth Harbour to Chichester, Worthing and Brighton: not recommended owing to benefits not sufficiently exceeding net costs
- 6.2 Ashford International and Hastings to Brighton: bypass Eastbourne via a new constructed Willingdon Chord, allowing speeded-up services: not recommended owing to net disbenefits to passengers and/or insufficient benefit/costs
  - some other local speeding up might be value for money (subject to development)
- 6.3 avoiding splitting/joining at haywards Heath of services between London and both Coastway routes: no obvious path identified.

Gap E (improving access to the network)

There are already a number of schemes at stations in various stages of progress.

Gap F (performance)

A new platform (platform 0) at Redhill has been looked at; this would give performance benefits, but insufficient on their own to justify the development. However, the initiative is recommended in the broader context (e.g. journey time improvements plus facilitating train lengthening) for implementation in CP5, though very poorly explained in the document (no detailed benefit/cost analysis).

On the Arun valley route, resignalling is due to take place. Over and above like-for-like works, reducing the longest signalling headways between Billingshurst and Christ’s Hospital was appraised and found to be financially positive in respect of performance benefits alone, and hence recommended; it may also provide a small journey time improvement.

Gap G (handling demand during times of engineering access)

Seven-day railway initiatives are already underway in the area, and are not further considered in the RUS.

Gap H (freight capability on the Channel Tunnel route)

Strategic Freight Network initiatives are already underway in the area, particularly in respect of Class 92 electric locomotive operation, and are not further considered in the RUS.

Related Research Articles

Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. In July 2015, the franchisee was subsumed into GTR, but the Southern and Gatwick Express brand identities were retained alongside those of Thameslink and Great Northern.

East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in the town of Croydon, Greater London, England, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. It is 10 miles 28 chains measured from London Bridge. It is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, as well as in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of three railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon with Croydon in their name, the others being West Croydon and South Croydon.

Brighton railway station railway station in Brighton, East Sussex, England

Brighton railway station is the southern terminus of the Brighton main line in England, and the principal station serving the city of Brighton, East Sussex. It is 50 miles 49 chains (81.45 km) from London Bridge via Redhill.

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The Oxted line is a railway in southern England and part of the Southern franchise. The railway splits into two branches towards the south and has direct trains throughout to London termini.

Purley railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon on the Brighton Main Line, 13 miles 29 chains (21.50 km) measured from London Bridge, in Travelcard Zone 6. It is a junction, with branches to Caterham and Tattenham Corner.

The Tattenham Corner line is a railway line in Southern England that runs between Purley in South London and Tattenham Corner in Surrey.

The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line divided in the north into two sections running from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 51 miles (81 km) long, and is electrified throughout. Nearly all passenger trains are provided by Govia Thameslink Railway which operates the Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink brands. A small section has Great Western Railway services, currently sole operator of the line from Gatwick Airport to Reading, Berkshire known as the North Downs Line. The many Sussex services to Central London use the line and generally its branches as do south London, East Surrey and Tonbridge, Kent services.

The West Coastway line is a railway line in England following closely the south coast of Sussex and Hampshire, between the cities of Brighton and Southampton. It has short southward branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. Some trains using part of the route operate as direct continuations of passenger services to/from London, particularly those to the branch stations mentioned.

South Croydon railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, in Travelcard Zone 5. It is on the Brighton Line at its junction with the Oxted Line, 11 miles 21 chains (18.1 km) measured from London Bridge.

North Downs Line railway line in England, linking Reading and Reigate

The North Downs Line is a passenger-train line connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Redhill and Gatwick Airport, along the Brighton Main Line, linking many centres of population in that part of the North Downs which it traverses en route.

Lewes railway station serves the town of Lewes in East Sussex, England. It has five platforms and is on the East Coastway Line, 49 miles 74 chains (80.3 km) from London Bridge via Redhill. Train services are provided by Southern.

Wivelsfield railway station is on the Brighton Main Line in West Sussex, England. The station is located in northern Burgess Hill and primarily serves the town's neighbourhoods of World's End and Sheddingdean. It is 40 miles 52 chains (65.4 km) down the line from London Bridge via Redhill and is situated between Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill on the main line. It is managed by Southern which is one of two companies serving Wivelsfield; the other one being Thameslink. Until May 2018, Gatwick Express also served the station with a single early-morning service towards London.

Ford railway station is a railway station in Ford, West Sussex, England. It is located on the West Coastway Line which runs between Brighton and Southampton and it is 60 miles 48 chains (97.5 km) down the line from London Bridge via Redhill. The station and the trains serving it are operated by Southern.

Electrostar is the name given to a series of related electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England. Since the privatisation of British Rail, it has become the most common new EMU type in Britain, where different variants referred to as Class 357, Class 375, Class 376, Class 377, Class 378, Class 379 and Class 387, are most common on the high-volume suburban commuter routes in South, North and East London, and mainline services south to Surrey, Sussex, Kent & South Essex coasts and north to Cambridge and Stansted Airport. It shares the same bodyshell and core structure as the Turbostar, which is in turn the most common post-privatisation diesel multiple unit (DMU) family, and both evolved from the Class 168 Clubman design by ADtranz.

The Wealden Line is a partly abandoned double track railway line in East Sussex and Kent that connected Lewes with Tunbridge Wells, a distance of 25.25 miles (40.64 km). The line takes its name from its route through the chalk hills of the North and South Downs of the Weald, England.

The Greater Anglia Route Utilisation Strategy is a Route Utilisation Strategy published by Network Rail in December 2007. It was the sixth RUS to be produced. The area covered includes the whole of Route 5 West Anglia (WA) and Route 7 Great Eastern (GE), which both focus for passenger purposes on London Liverpool Street, and the London Fenchurch Street services from Route 6. As with other RUSs, the Greater Anglia RUS took into account a number of responses, including the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

The East Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), published by Network Rail in February 2008, was the seventh RUS.

The Kent Route Utilisation Strategy (KRUS) is a Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), published by Network Rail (NR) in January 2010. it was the thirteenth RUS to be completed, not counting the partially completed Network RUS. By default, RUSs are established by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) unless the latter objects within 60 days; and the ORR have confirmed no objection to the establishment of the Kent RUS.

References

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[1] Sussex RUS

[2] ORR letter confirming establishment