View source for Romford–Upminster line

{{Short description|Railway line in London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width                       = 
| name                            = Romford–Upminster line
| color                           = 
| logo                            = 
| logo_width                      = 
| logo_alt                        = 
| image                           = LO Class 710 passing Butts Lane FC near Emerson Park, 2021.jpg
| caption                         = [[London Overground]] [[British Rail Class 710|Class 710]] between {{stn|Upminster}} and {{stn|Emerson Park}} in 2021
| type                            = [[Suburban rail]]; [[heavy rail]]
| system                          = [[National Rail]]
| status                          = Operational
| locale                          = [[Greater London]]
| start                           = {{rws|Romford}}
| end                             = {{stn|Upminster}}
| stations                        = 3
| routes                          = 1
| daily_ridership                 = 
| open                            = 7 June 1893
| owner                           = [[Network Rail]]
| operator                        = [[London Overground]]
| character                       = [[Branch line]]
| depot                           = Ilford
| stock                           = [[British Rail Class 710|Class 710]]
| linelength                      = {{convert|3|mi|30|chain|km}}
| tracklength                     = 
| tracks                          = 1
| gauge                           = {{RailGauge|sg|allk=on}}
| minradius                       = 
| racksystem                      = 
| routenumber                     = 
| electrification                 = {{25 kV 50 Hz|conductor=overhead}}
| speed                           = {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| map                             = [[File:Romford–Upminster line.png|300px]]<br />([[:commons:File:Romford–Upminster line.png|Click to expand]])
| map_state                       = uncollapsed
}}

The '''Romford–Upminster line''' is a railway line in [[Greater London]] that connects {{rws|Romford}}, on the [[Elizabeth line]] and [[Great Eastern Main Line]], to {{stn|Upminster}}, on the [[London, Tilbury and Southend line]] and [[London Underground]]. The route is {{convert|3|mi|28|chain|km|lk=in}} in length and there is one intermediate station at {{rws|Emerson Park}} which is located {{convert|1|mi|62|chain|km}} from Romford.{{sfn|Oakley|1978|p=6}} The line is part of [[Network Rail Route 7 (Great Eastern)|Network Rail Strategic Route 7]], SRS 07.09, and is classified as a rural line.<ref name="NRR7">{{cite web |title=Route 7 - Great Eastern |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%207%20-%20Great%20Eastern.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607104601/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%207%20-%20Great%20Eastern.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-07 |access-date=2009-05-22 |publisher=[[Network Rail]]}}</ref>

Services on the line are provided by [[London Overground]]; there are no connections to any other lines in the Overground network. In February 2024, TfL announced a re-branding of this service as the '''Liberty line''';<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matters |first=Transport for London {{!}} Every Journey |title=London Overground's new look |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-overground/the-new-look-london-overground |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB}}</ref> the new name took effect in November 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/london-overground-new-line-names-colours-stations-tfl-b1194893.html|title=London Overground: New names and colours to be revealed at stations today after £6.3million rebrand
|first=Ross|last=Lydall|website=London Standard|date=20 November 2024|accessdate=20 November 2024}}</ref> Prior to renaming, it was labelled in [[Transport for London]] timetables as the ''Romford to Upminster route''.<ref name="tfl.gov.uk"></ref>

The line is [[Single-track railway|single-track]] throughout, [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] at {{25 kV 50 Hz}}, has a [[Loading gauge#Great Britain|loading gauge]] of W6, and a maximum speed of {{convert|30|mph}}.<ref name=NRR7/> {{Asof|December 2022}}, there is a service two trains per hour in each direction. The timetabled journey time from one terminus to the other is nine minutes.

==History==
===Origins===
The first line proposed to link Romford to the north shore of the [[River Thames]] was put forward by the [[Thames Haven railway station|Thames Haven Railway and Dock Company]] who proposed a {{convert|16|mile|km|adj=on}} line from Romford to [[Shell Haven]]. An [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act of Parliament]] was obtained in 1836 and powers were renewed 10 years later but no work was ever commenced.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=629}}

Interest in a connection to the Thames waned with the building of the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway]] (LT&SR) but after that company gained independence from the Great Eastern Railway (GER) interest increased again and in 1882 the Romford and Tilbury Railway proposed a line from Romford to the LT&SR at [[Grays, Essex|Grays]]. This line was linked to another proposed line from Tilbury to Gravesend which included a tunnel beneath the Thames but the line failed to gain parliamentary support.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=629}}

The following year the GER themselves proposed a line from Romford passing between [[Hornchurch]] and [[Upminster]] and then connecting directly to [[Tilbury Docks]] and in competition the LT&SR submitted their own proposal and it was this proposal that was authorised the following year.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=630}}

===Steam era===
The line as originally built was a branch of the [[London, Tilbury and Southend Railway]] (LT&SR) and opened on 7 June 1893 providing the LT&SR with a link to the [[Great Eastern Railway]] (GER) at [[Romford]]. The LT&SR had requested use of {{stn|Romford}} but the GER opposed this and made a counter-offer to lease the line between Romford and Upminster. This in turn found no favour with the LT&SR who eventually constructed a separate station. For the first three years the LT&SR were able to share goods facilities at Romford, but 1896 they constructed their own small goods yard where the branch joins the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] and with access to Victoria Road. Additional freight business came after the [[Midland Railway]] takeover of the LT&SR when a private siding was added at Romford for a builders' merchants.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=630}}

Initially there were 8 trains per day between Romford and Grays with a reduced service on Sundays. Trains were operated by [[Tank locomotive|tank engines]] while freight was usually hauled by a small tender engine.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=630}} With the opening of the station at Emerson Park an additional late train provided connection to a train leaving {{stn|Fenchurch Street}} just after midnight for the use of returning theatergoers.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=631}}
[[File:Captureromford.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Part of a 1904 [[Railway Clearing House]] junction diagram showing the line between Romford and Upminster]]

{{Romford to Upminster Line|collapse=y}}
[[Emerson Park railway station|Emerson Park Halt]] was opened on 1 October 1909, and a run-round loop was constructed {{Convert|500|yd|4=0}} to the west to enable extra trains to run between Emerson Park and Upminster. Push-pull working began in 1934 using [[Midland Railway 1833 Class|MR 0-4-4T engines]] and the service frequency was increased.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=633}} As locomotives were no longer required to run round their trains the loop was no longer needed and was removed in circa 1936. Provision of services reversing at Emerson Park ceased on nationalisation in 1948.{{sfn|Kay|1997|p=83}} 

In the April 1920 timetable there are 27 down (towards Tilbury) and 22 up (towards Romford) trains a day. There were six through trains to Grays, four to [[Tilbury Riverside railway station|Tilbury]] and five short runs between Emerson Park and Upminster, with a similar number of return trains. On Sundays there were nine trains in each direction.<ref>Bradshaw's Railway Guide, April 1920</ref> By 1939 this had increased to 35 down trains and 27 up services on weekdays, still with nine in each direction on Sundays and a similar service pattern.<ref>London Midland & Scottish Railway Timetable, July 1939</ref> The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway was purchased by the [[Midland Railway]] in 1912 and was amalgamated into the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] on 1 January 1923. The line became part of [[British Railways]] on 1 January 1948, initially as part of the London Midland Region and then the Eastern Region from 20 February 1949. The short workings between Emerson Park and Upminster were eliminated with all services on the line calling at Upminster, Emerson Park and Romford from the 1949 timetable.<ref>British Railways, Passenger Services, Eastern Region, 26 September 1949</ref> After this time services were taken over by [[GER Class L77|N7 tanks]] and from February 1951 the Sunday service was removed.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=633}}

===Diesel era===
From 17 September 1956, [[British Rail Metro-Cammell Lightweight|Metro-Cammell Lightweight]] [[Diesel multiple unit|diesel multiple units]] from [[Stratford TMD|Stratford]] replaced the steam service and a twice-hourly service was introduced, effectively doubling the frequency.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=633}} In 1956 {{stn|Upminster}} was enlarged and a new underground depot opened and the end through service from Romford to Grays ceased. To accommodate the truncated service, from 20 April 1957 a new [[bay platform]] numbered six opened at Upminster and as a result the link between the branch and the LT&S line was removed in 1959 effectively making it part of the Great Eastern route.

A survey of passenger numbers was carried out in 1964 as part of the [[Beeching report]] and a closure notice was rapidly published. Local opposition was loud and organised and the closure was rejected, mainly due to the large number of commuters using Emerson Park Halt. A further attempt at closure was made around 1970 but use of the line was increasing and the attempt again failed, but freight traffic was withdrawn with the yard at Victoria Road closing in 1974 after the private siding had succumbed a few years earlier.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|pp=633-634}} By the late 1970s the service was in the hands of [[British Rail Class 105|Cravens DMUs]].{{sfn|Oakley|1978|p=6}}

At the end of diesel operation there were 31 journeys each way every day except Sunday where there was no service. There was also no service on public holidays.<ref>{{cite book |last=BR  |title= British Rail Passenger Timetable 14 May 1984-12 May 1985 |publisher= British Rail |series=  |year= 1984 |page=77  |isbn= }}</ref>

===Electric era===
The line was electrified in the 1980s and [[Electric multiple unit|electric trains]] using a single [[British Rail Class 315|Class 315 unit]] based at [[Ilford EMU Depot|Ilford]] began operating on 17 April 1986.<ref>{{harvnb|Kay|1997|p=80}}</ref> Following the [[privatisation of British Rail]], passenger services were operated by [[First Great Eastern]] from 1997 to 2004, [[National Express East Anglia]] from 2004 to 2012 and [[Greater Anglia (train operating company)|Greater Anglia]] from 2012 to 2015. Under this franchise services were operated by [[British Rail Class 321|Class 321 units]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.branchlinebritain.co.uk/index.php?page=easternupminsterreview1 |title= Eastern - Upminster review 1 |author= MC |date= 17 May 2007 |website= Branch Line Britain |publisher=  |access-date= 26 February 2023}}</ref> The line transferred to become part of the [[London Overground]] network in May 2015 and services were again provided by a single Class 315 unit.<ref name="chingford trains">{{cite web |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/more-emus-for-london-overground.html |title=More EMUs for London Overground |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=9 April 2014 |website= Railway Gazette|access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref> Sunday service was restored from the 13 December 2015 timetable. From 5 October 2020 the line has been operated using [[British Rail Class 710]] rolling stock, taking over from [[British Rail Class 315]] and [[British Rail Class 317]] rolling stock.

===Renaming===
In July 2023, TfL announced that it would be giving each of the six Overground services unique names by the end of the following year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Naming London Overground lines |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/naming-overground |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Transport for London }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-25 |title=London Overground lines to be given unique names |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66609039 |access-date=2024-02-11 |work=[[BBC News]] }}</ref> In February 2024, it was confirmed that the Romford–Upminster service would be named the ''Liberty line'' ("to reference the historical independence of the people of the [[borough of Havering]]") and would be coloured grey on the updated network map.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68296483 London Overground: New names for its six lines revealed], BBC News, 15 February 2024</ref> The name references the [[Royal Liberty of Havering]], and the wider freedom that is a "defining feature of London".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cairns |first1=Dan |title=London Overground: Six new rail line names and colours revealed in rebrand |url=https://news.sky.com/story/london-overground-six-new-rail-line-names-and-colours-revealed-in-rebrand-13072008 |access-date=15 February 2024 |work=Sky News |date=15 February 2024}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
The branch is known colloquially as the "Romford Push and Pull" and has always been single-track throughout. The only structure of any note on the line is the bridge across the [[River Ingrebourne]] which is just over {{convert|100|ft|m}} in length. When first opened the LT&SR constructed a separate station building at Romford where a cast-iron footbridge over South Street was provided to link to the GER station, this only being opened when an LT&SR train was due. This building itself was directly opposite the GER station entrance and was of 3 storeys with the booking hall on the ground floor and including accommodation for the stationmaster.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=630}} In April 1934 the LT&SR building ceased use as a station and the ground floor was rented as a shop and the [[London and North Eastern Railway]], the successor of the GER, took control of the whole station. The barriers that had restricted access between the two stations at rail level were then removed. The branch has just one signal, on approach to Romford.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} 

At {{stn|Upminster}} a small engine shed was initially provided in the area which is now occupied by the underground depot,{{clarify|date=November 2024|reason=The Underground depot is 1km away in Cranham. Do you mean the signal box?}} and the station was substantially rebuilt in the early 1930s to accommodate the [[District Railway]] extension with a separate Grays-facing bay platform being added at this time.{{sfn|Jackson|1979|p=632}} The connection west of the station to the LT&S main line remained after the works, but was severed in 1968 with a further rebuilding of the station.<ref>{{harvnb|Kay|1997|p=81}}</ref> There were plans to link the line from platform six at Upminster to the reception tracks of the [[London Underground]] depot there in order to enable the transfer of [[London Underground D78 Stock]] units onto the main line to be hauled away by diesel locomotive for refurbishment at the Ilford depot. These plans were scrapped when the refurbishment work was transferred to Wakefield in Yorkshire and the transfer was done by road.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trainweb.org/districtdave/html/d78_stock_programme.html |title=D78 Stock Programme |access-date=28 June 2011 }}</ref> The point-work for this connection, which was half installed, is still visible from the eastern end of platform five at Upminster.

There is only one intermediate station, at [[Emerson Park railway station|Emerson Park]]. In the year 2017/18 there were over 300,000 passenger journeys to/from Emerson Park, more that three times the number 10 years previously, but still a small enough number for the line to come top of the list of least busy Overground stations.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://citymonitor.ai/transport/romford-upminster-romford-again-ode-transport-london-s-most-obscure-branch-line-4732 |title= Romford to Upminster to Romford again: An ode to Transport for London's most obscure branch line |author= Suchandrika Chakrabarti |date= 7 August 2019 |website=  City Monitor  |publisher= New Statesman Media Group |access-date= 26 February 2023}}</ref>

In the mid-1980s the line was [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] at [[25 kV AC]]. Electrification of the line saw an end to years of speculation about its future.

==Services==
The line is entirely within [[London fare zones|fare zone 6]].

Services are currently operated by [[London Overground]], which replaced the previous operator, [[Abellio Greater Anglia]], in May 2015.<ref name=tfl /> 

As of June 2021, the service pattern on the route is one train every 30 minutes between approximately 6:15 am and 10 pm Mondays to Saturdays, and approximately 8:30 am and 8 pm on Sundays. The journey time from one terminus to the other is timetabled as nine minutes.<ref name="tfl">{{cite web|date=May 2021|title=London Overground timetable - Romford to Upminster - 16 May until 11 December 2021|url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/lo-timetable-ru-may-2021.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726221407/https://content.tfl.gov.uk/lo-timetable-ru-may-2021.pdf|archive-date=2021-07-26|access-date=2021-07-26|publisher=[[Transport for London]]}}</ref>

Annualised entry/exit data from Transport for London for London Overground trips is as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=crowding.data.tfl.gov.uk |url=http://crowding.data.tfl.gov.uk/ |website=Transport for London |access-date=11 January 2023}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Station 
! 2017
! 2018
! 2019
! 2020
! 2021
|-
| Emerson Park
| 275,227 
| 282,798 
| 322,550 
| 119,939
| 183,964
|-
| Romford
| 676,281 
| 612,231 
| 638,445 
| 289,814
| 413,924
|-
| Upminster
| 605,174 
| 541,652 
| 596,487 
| 232,361
| 318,551
|}

<section begin=service-table/>
{{As of|2024|11}}, the typical off-peak service pattern is:<ref name="tfl.gov.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-overground/london-overground-timetables|title=London Overground timetables|publisher=[[Transport for London]]|location=[[London]]|access-date=20 November 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="3" style="border-color:#{{rail color|London Overground|Romford to Upminster}}; border-width:3px 0px" | Liberty line
|-
! Route !! tph !! Calling at
|-
| {{rws|Romford}} to {{stn|Upminster}} || 2 || {{cslist|{{rws|Emerson Park}}}}
|}

== Route map ==

{{gallery|mode=packed |width=250
| title = London Overground network
|File:London Overground map sb.svg|Schematic map of the London Overground network
|File:Overground Route.svg|Geographic map showing London Overground
}}
{{center|{{Overground RDT|collapse=|float=none}}}}

==Geology==
During the construction of the railway in 1892, the geologist T. V. Holmes discovered a five-metre layer of boulder clay underlying the gravel and sand in a section just north of what is now [[St Andrew's Park]]. This is now the [[Hornchurch Cutting]] [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]], which exhibits the southernmost limit of the [[Anglian (stage)|Anglian]] ice sheet 450,000 years ago, the furthest south that any ice sheet reached.<ref>{{cite web |title= Geology Site Account, Hornchurch Railway Cutting | publisher=The Essex Field Club| url=http://www.essexfieldclub.org.uk/portal/p/Geology+Site+Account/s/Hornchurch+Railway+Cutting+SSSI| access-date=2012-06-03}}</ref>

==References==
===Citation===
{{Reflist}}

===References===
* {{cite magazine| last = Jackson| first = Alan A| date = December 1979| title = Romford to Grays| magazine = Railway World| publisher = Ian Allan}}
* {{cite book |title=The London Tilbury and Southend Railway Vol 2 |first=Peter |last=Kay |isbn=1-899890-19-X |year=1997 }}
* {{cite book |last= Oakley |first= Michael |title=Eastern Region South |publisher= Bradford Barton |series= Diesel Enthusiast's Pocket Guide |volume= 1 |year= 1978 |location= Truro |isbn= 0-85153-402-3}}

==Further reading==
{{commons category}}
*{{citation | title=The New Railway from Grays Thurrock to Romford: Sections between Upminster and Romford | url=http://jgslegacy.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/abstract/48/1-4/365 | last=Holmes | first=T. V. | year=1892 | journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society | volume=48 | issue=1–4 | pages=365–372 | publisher=The Geological Society
| doi = 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1892.048.01-04.21 | s2cid=130901888 | url-access=subscription }}

{{London Overground navbox|Emerson=y}}
{{Railway lines in London}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romford-Upminster Line}}
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Havering]]
[[Category:Railway lines in London]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in London]]
[[Category:Railway branch lines]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1893]]
[[Category:25 kV AC railway electrification]]