What is "thameslink"

Thameslink is a 68-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport, with a suburban loop serving Sutton, Mitcham and and a suburban line via and to . It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. Almost all the services are currently operated by Thameslink.

The Thameslink Programme is a major £5.5 billion scheme to extend the service to a further 100 stations and to greatly increase capacity on the central London section to accommodate more frequent and longer trains, scheduled for completion in 2018.

In January 2016 a proposal was put out for consultation that responsibility for some local London rail services might be transferred from the Department for Transport to Transport for London, to create a London Suburban Metro.

Thameslink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Govia that operated the Thameslink franchise from March 1997 until March 2006. The franchise was due to end on 31 March 2004, but on 13 February 2004 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded Govia a two-year extension.

Thameslink is a major British railway route running via London.

Related to the above railway route, Thameslink may also refer to:

• Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, a railway franchise
• Govia Thameslink Railway, the train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise
  • Thameslink and Great Northern, brand names used by Govia Thameslink Railway
• Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006), a former train operating company
• Thameslink Programme, a major railway project to upgrade the route