Points of the compass

St Pancras to Ashford International via High Speed One - Southeastern Class 395 Javelin 16/05/15

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• published: 16 May 2015
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Certainly been a long time since I did one of these journeys, but you join me aboard Southeastern Class 395, 395003, as we travel from the beautifully restored London St Pancras station to Ashford International in the heart of Kent, one of the major junction stations of the Southern Region. The Class 395 Javelin units are a fleet of 29 dual-voltage units built by Hitachi of Japan in 2009. The units have a top speed of 140mph, and can be powered by 25kv AC overhead wires whilst on High Speed One, and 750v DC 3rd Rail on the rest of the Southern Region. All 29 units are operated by Southeastern Trains from London St Pancras to Margate, Gillingham, Dover, Ashford and Canterbury. 1. We start our journey under the magnificent Barlow Trainshed at St Pancras, lavishly restored from the era of neglect it suffered under British Rail, with its once soot stained glass panels now crisp and clean to illuminate the international platforms and trains below. Eurostar services commenced from St Pancras on the 13th November, 2007, after the second half of HS1 was completed and trains could be transferred from the previous terminal at Waterloo in the South Bank. 2. Upon departure from St Pancras, we see the new and heavy developments taking place in the King's Cross area, with the former Gasworks now being replaced by towering office and residential blocks. On our way to the 6 mile long London Tunnel 1, we cross the Regents Canal, still open to navigation by an armada of Narrowboats, and then the East Coast Mainline between Gasworks and Copenhagen Tunnels on its way out of the adjacent King's Cross station. 3. 5 minutes later, and we arrive at our first stop of Stratford International, opened in 2010 to correspond with the 2012 London Summer Olympics at the adjacent Olympic Park. Original intentions were to have an international service call at this station, but starting and stopping Eurostar trains after such short distance was deemed inefficient, and thus the International Platforms 1 & 4 have never been used. The station does however see a half-hourly Southeastern service in both directions, and splitting the station in two is the rising flyover that takes Class 373 Eurostar sets to the Temple Mills Depot a couple of miles to the north. 4. Back up to our top speed of 140mph, and we burst from the 8 mile London Tunnel 2, immediately passing the Ford Car Factory at Dagenham, and the chord that connects HS1 to the Ripple Lane Freight Connection, allowing freight trains to access the High Speed Route. 5. On a flyover, we cross the London, Tilbury & Southend Line via Purfleet twice before shooting under the approach ramp to the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, part of the large Dartford Crossing. The original tunnel built in 1963 can briefly be seen below, whilst the bridge that passes above was opened in 1991 to alleviate congestion. 6. Immediately afterwards, we dive down into the Thames Tunnel, a 2 mile bore underneath the River Thames between Thurrock and Ebbsfleet. 7. Immediately after leaving the tunnel, we arrive at Ebbsfleet International, built to be Britain's international parkway station for Europe. On the bridge high above, a pair of Class 465's can be seen on a semi-fast working along the North Kent Line to Gravesend, and a gradient just before the station platforms provides a chord for Javelin services to join the same route. 8. Shortly after departure from Ebbsfleet, Fawkham Junction marks the boundary between the 1st and 2nd Phase of HS1. Phase 1 was 46 miles long and built as far as this point, opened in 2003 using the former trackbed of the long closed Gravesend West Line to connect it to the Chatham Main Line, with Eurostar sets changing power from overhead to 3rd Rail before proceeding into London Waterloo. Upon the completion of Phase 2 in 2007, this spur was put out of use. 9. After Fawkham Junction, we pass the Singlewell Infrastructure Maintenance Depot, used for the storage of maintenance trains and looping of proposed freight services. 10. Travelling parallel to the M2 Motorway, we cross the River Medway on a 0.75 mile viaduct. The original motorway viaduct opened in 1963, but was replaced in 2003 alongside the construction of the HS1 viaduct. Briefly glimpsed also are the two railways that occupy the valley, the first route at the top of the hill being the Chatham Mainline from London Victoria to Ramsgate, and the second at the bottom of the valley being the Medway Valley Line from Strood to Paddock Wood. 11. Going at full throttle, we leave the clouds and the cars in the weeds as we bolt along at 140mph. 12. 64 miles from St Pancras, we pass the Lenham Heath passing loops, again built for the possibility of freight services on HS1. 13. Finally, we arrive at Ashford International, where Javelin services diverge from HS1 and the final stop for Eurostar trains before the Channel Tunnel. Even today, the station is still a vibrant and busy junction for services across the South East. Enjoy!