Hendon Thameslink

Hendon Thameslink, formerly the Hendon Overground, Docklands Transit and BoroughRail, is a warp rail company serving stations in and around Hendon, a city on the MRT Northern Line at NE4 and NE5. The company was formed in order to provide services across the city of Hendon and the small towns of New Cainport and Moonlight Bay, north of Hendon.

History of Hendon's Railway Network

The railway network around Hendon and its other towns and cities (such as New Cainport, Moonlight Bay, Hatch End and Harrow) were all crisscrossed by dozens of rail lines all heading for destinations. Before 2019/20, the lines were all served by BoroughRail (2016-2017), Docklands Transit (2017-2019) and Hendon Overground (2019).

The branches and lines that were served by these companies up until 2019 are listed below:

• Hendon Mainline to Moonlight Bay via New Cainport - served by Ajrica Trains and Docklands Transit from the start. Moonlight Bay station did not open until late 2017 so until then, all trains terminated at New Cainport.
• Hendon Mainline to Hatch End via Harrow - Harrow in 2017/18 was owned by Albayuri and Hatch End is still owned by GrumpyGoomba9. Both of which allowed rail access to Hendon for connections to the rest of the MRT. Hatch End's old station is now closed and more of this will be featured later.

In summer 2019, Hendon Council held a meeting over the future of the Hendon rail network, along with its representatives from Creeperville, Winterside, Geneva Bay, New Cainport and Hatch End (Harrow was transferred to London, and therefore isn't included). The bold plan was to ensure there was still rail access from the north and west sides of Hendon to the rest of the MRT.

FrostyRail currently runs services between Hendon Mainline and Creeperville, due to disputes that happened between the company and NewRail. When the meeting happened, Frosty_Creeper10 was announcing during the meeting that there was a plan to run FrostyRail trains from Creeperville around the top of Hendon and into Hendon West station. Since Hendon West was built in early 2019, plans were being drawn up but never got further than the planning stages owing to other obligations that were happening at the time in Hendon, Creeperville and Winterside. This is why the Hendon Thameslink company only serves Hendon West at the current time.

After the meeting, it was then announced that Hendon Council will run trains under the Hendon Thameslink brand. The branding would be blue and white to match the Hendon flag colours (which are blue and white). The council unveiled a costly plan to improve rail services around Hendon and its other cities in early September 2019.

Hendon Thameslink Rail Plan (2019 - 2023)

Since the meeting in 2019, the Hendon Thameslink brand is under ownership by Hendon Council. The council did unveil its plan in September 2019 in front of other council members and neighbouring cities (as part of a cooperation with other cities for opinions and opposition). The plan is below:

• Improvements to stations on the Hendon network, with permission from New Cainport to update signage at its station.
• Track layout changes at Cainport Junction (where the line to New Cainport and Moonlight diverges from the main section).
• New rail depot for stabling and maintenance of rolling stock.
• Closure of Hatch End station and replace with new one further west.
• Obtain new rolling stock to replace the Class 375s and Class 466s which are too large, considering the amount of passengers that use the services.

As the plan was discussed during the council meeting, it was opted to buy new rolling stock and use it on the sections of lines that have remained open. This being the Geneva Bay Airport - Hendon West (calling at Hendon & Geneva, Hendon Mainline, Harrow Road and Hendon West), the Hendon Mainline - Geneva Bay Main shuttle and the Hendon Mainline - Moonlight Bay branch. The line came under the new Hendon Thameslink brand in mid December 2019.

By February 2020, only 4/5 of the plan was met and completed. The old Hatch End station was closed completely in November 2019 and a new Hatch End station opened in late March 2020. The rolling stock was replaced and track layouts have changed. A new rail depot opened near Hendon Mainline in mid January 2020.

The only plan that is ongoing at the current moment is the improvement programme for stations. Currently, Hendon Mainline and New Cainport Riverside have been upgraded with new features. Hendon West, Moonlight Bay and Hatch End are now being built or upgraded with the new features.

The depot at Hendon Mainline was downgraded to a couple of sidings in Summer 2023 to make way for new development. A smaller but newer depot opened at New Cainport and also near to Moonlight Bay in the same period.

The future of Hendon Thameslink (2023 - present)

As time rolls on, Hendon Thameslink services will still be operating well into 2024 and 2025. A number of plans have been made to improve services and stations, as well as future expansion of the network. The following as listed below:

• Gatwick Airport extension - a new line from Hendon West to Gatwick Airport to provide an airport express service has been mooted a few times in the last few years. This extension will not happen until Hendon reaches Governor as the airport may be moved further west to expand better. Gatwick would also need extra platforms to cater for future third party warprail services.
• Geneva Bay Airport - trains on this line (Class 700s) will be more frequent and the platform provided with better facilities to improve the passenger experience
• Replacement of the Class 483s on the Geneva Bay Town branch - the 483 units are now 86 years old and are starting to show their age. Replacement rolling stock will be needed on this line in the next few months to ensure the future of this service. This has been regarded as a priority since the 483s are becoming unreliable.
• Future extension to Central City via AT - this would have to go via Shadowpoint or New Phoenix. This extension is not a priority at the moment
• Future extension to Bawktown and Prismarine/Nuuk - this project extension would work in collabration with Ajrica Trains to expand services and reach more places on the map. This extension is also not a priority but is being looked into as a possible project for another year.

Rolling stock

1938 Tube Stock

The rolling stock that the Hendon Thameslink brand uses are vintage 1938 'Tube' Stock formed of 2 or 3 carriages. The reason behind this type of stock is because of the low tunnel near Moonlight Bay and also due to platform lengths. An example test of whether a high speed train or a domestic suburban train was deemed not suitable for the Hendon network.

A brief history of the stock IRL, the 1938 Stock has retired from regular passenger service at the age of 83 years old. The fleet was introduced on London Transport in 1938/39. The trains were transferred from London Transport to the Isle of Wight in 1989. On the 4th January 2021, the last 1938 Stock departed Ryde Pier Head for the last time at 23:11 UTC.

A reflection of life on the Isle of Wight, the 1938 Stock was built on the MRT in London's Rail & Redstone Workshop in 2020 to commemorate over 80 years in service IRL and to preserve the iconic train. The train itself in the workshop is 2 cars long, however when the order came through from Hendon Council to acquire the trains for the Geneva Bay Airport service, the third carriages were added to the order and was connected to the trains at Hendon Works.

The colours of these trains are red with yellow cab ends. This is designed to preserve the identity and to preserve the trains from when it last served on the Isle of Wight in 2021.

The final 1938 Tube Stock unit ran from Moonlight Bay to Hendon Mainline on 31st July 2022 at approx 23:15 BST. These units would be superseded by the Class 466s temporarily for a week and then from 6th August 2022, the Class 484s started life on the Moonlight Bay line, replacing both the temporary 466s and the 1938 Stock altogether.

Three units of the 1938 Stock are now in preservation. One is currently stabled at Moonlight Bay for historical purposes, another is now on display at Hendon TMD, where it joins its older B86 DLR stock unit. Only the leading carriage of the third train is to be displayed at Dergen's Rail Museum as part of MRT history of warprail.

Class 700 'Desiro City'

During mid 2021, a transport meeting took place at Hendon Town Hall. This was to outline the future of the lines in operation currently. During the meeting, a lot of things were brought up and one in particular was the replacement of 1938 Tube Stock on the Hendon Riverside - Geneva Bay Airport route.

3 trains that were shortlisted were on display to the public to see which train would replace the old trains. These were:

• 1973 Tube Stock - these trains have airport luggage and wheelchair/pushchair spaces.
• Class 395 'Javelin' - capable of high speed, has air conditioning
• Class 700 'Desiro City' - uses third rail and overhead pantograph, has air con and also contains luggage space

The decision at the meeting was brought to a close and was decided to buy 10 Class 700 units to run the service. They are 4 coaches in length and will be introduced to the network in the early autumn 2021, just in time for the Christmas rush.

Class 484 'D Train'

In early 2022, more trains were required due to the uptick in passenger numbers. This lead to delays on other lines as Hatch End's new station was opened and that there were no trains able to serve it for weeks due to shortages of rolling stock; the majority of the Class 700s as above were used on the Hendon Riverside to Geneva Bay Airport route, with the 1938 Tube Stock being used on the Moonlight Bay branch.

Such rolling stock was proving costly, partly due to the rise in price of manufacturing but also due to a lack of train manufacturers as well. It was therefore decided that in order to run trains to Hatch End, new trains would be required, and the only ones that would ideal for the line was the Class 484s, which are similar to the ones currently in service on the Isle of Wight.

The 484s were put into service on the Hatch End to Hendon West route in April 2022, at a cost of $3.5m MRT. A total of 7 trains would be needed, and replacement of the 1938 Tube Stock was needed on the Moonlight Bay branch eventually; having been life expired on the main route in 2021.

Soon after the 1938 Stock was retired from Moonlight Bay services, the 484s were allowed to be tested. However it had a few issues regarding the tripcock system on the Moonlight Bay branch (the tripcock system on the branch is a precautionary measure to ensure trains do not overrun the terminating platform at Moonlight Bay and also to protect the single line section between Wembley Stadium and Moonlight Bay). The 484s were allowed to start passenger services on 6th August 2022 at 09:00 BST from Moonlight Bay to Hendon Mainline.

Since their introduction, both the 484s and the 700s have air conditioning, meaning that all routes (except the Hendon Mainline to Geneva Bay Main) now have air conditioned trains, providing passenger comfort and ventilation in hot summers.