Romford–Upminster line

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The Upminster Branch Line is a 3.4 mile (5.5 km) branch line between Romford and Upminster in the London Borough of Havering. It forms Network Rail route EA 1040.

History and specification

The line was originally built as a branch of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and opened on 7 June 1893 providing the LT&S with an inroad into Great Eastern Railway territory at Romford and a small goods yard where the branch joins the Great Eastern Main Line. At Romford the branch had a separate station to the Great Eastern meaning that passengers would have to exit from either company's station and cross South Street to continue their journey. This was eliminated in later years with the provision of a cast iron footbridge (still in situ) at platform level that provides a direct interchange.

The branch is known colloquially as the Romford Push and Pull as it is single-track throughout. It is electrified at 25 kV AC. Electrification of the line saw an end to years of speculation about its future. There is only one intermediate station, at Emerson Park. At Upminster there is no longer a connection to the LT&S line as the District Line tracks form a physical barrier.

The branch is not signalled. It was planned to link the line to the tracks from platform five (District Line) to the depot, to transfer D Stock units onto the main line to be hauled away for refurbishment. These plans were scrapped due to fears of signalling requirements on the branch. The plans are evident from the point-work which was half installed (visible from the eastern end of platform 5.)

Operation

The line is entirely within Travelcard Zone 6. Passenger services are currently operated by National Express East Anglia, who replaced the previous operator, First Great Eastern, on 1 April 2004. Trains are normally formed by a Class 315 electric multiple unit (which are currently being refurbished with new interiors) or occasionally by a Class 321 electric multiple unit.

The current service pattern on the route (as of 2006) is one train every 30 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays between approximately 6.00 and 20.00. There is a slightly increased service during peak hours where the line runs at full capacity. The journey time from one end of the line to the other is 8 minutes.