North Kent East Jn to Hayes and Dartford

As a companion to the Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Bridge simulation, this continues from the North Kent East junction and includes all the North Kent lines through to Dartford, the line to Hayes and the through section to Grove Park, including the Grove Park Depot. This is a big area to control but it is possible with concentration. If you get half of these services to their right destination on time, you will be doing better than the current operator.

North Kent East Jn to Hayes and Dartford
DescriptionA companion to the Charing Cross, Cannon Street & London Bridge simulation, running from North Kent East Junction to Hayes, Grove Park and Dartford
Country United Kingdom
Time period2018
Train Operating CompanySoutheastern, Thameslink
Simulation difficulty5/10 stars
AuthorAnthony Sheehy
WebsiteNorth Kent East Jn to Hayes and Dartford
Route map

London Bridge
New Cross
St Johns
Deptford
Greenwich
South London
Maze Hill
Westcombe Park
Lewisham
Blackheath
Ladywell
Angerstein Wharf
Catford Bridge
Blackheath Tunnel
Hither Green
Kidbrooke
Lower Sydenham
Charlton
New Beckenham
Eltham
Southeastern Main Line
Grove Park Sidings
Beckenham Junction
Woolwich Dockyard
Clock House
Falconwood
Lee
Woolwich Arsenal
Elmers End
Welling
Mottingham
Plumstead
Eden Park
Bexleyheath
New Eltham
Plumstead Sidings
West Wickham
Barnehurst
Sidcup
Abbey Wood
Hayes
Belvedere
Sidcup Down Siding
Erith
Albany Park
Slade Green
Bexley
Crayford
Slade Green Up Sidings
Dartford
Dartford Up Sidings
North Kent Line

Timetable

The timetable is taken from the May 2018 update and includes not-in-timetable services out of and to Grove Park that are needed to start/finish the Charing Cross/Cannon Street services. The standard off peak frequencies are below.

North Kent East Jn to Hayes and Dartford Services
Train Operating Company Origin Destination Frequency (tph)
Southeastern London Victoria Gravesend 2
London Charing Cross 2
Dover Priory 1
Ramsgate 1
Hastings 2
Tunbridge Wells 2
Dartford via Bexleyheath 2
Dartford via Sidcup 2
Dartford via Woolwich Arsenal 2
Sevenoaks 2
Hayes 2
London Cannon Street 2
Orpington 2
London Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal 4
London Cannon Street via Bexleyheath 2
London Cannon Street via Sidcup 2
Thameslink Luton Rainham 2

Operational Tips

  • For ease of operation I have taken a few liberties that may not be true to life – All depot bound trains enter the sidings and depart from the carriage sheds.
  • Don’t be afraid of red signals, especially around the Dartford Junctions. Services due to start from Barnehurst (for example) arrive earlier than through trains and need to be held to allow the through train first. This is also true of trains using Blackheath – Charlton link.
  • At the North Kent East Junction Rainham Trains arrive on line 3, but Blackfriars bound trains must exit at line 3 so once again don’t be afraid of the red signal needed to hold them until the line is clear. All Cannon Street bound trains must exit on line 2 or 3. All Charing Cross trains must exit Line 6.
  • All Grove Park Trains may exit on either the slow or fast lanes, but Orpington and Sevenoaks trains should be slow.
  • Most cross-overs are not used; the exception being Sidcup: There are two services that start from the Sidcup sidings between 8am and 9am after which it is not used.
  • There are no trains timetabled for Beckenham Junction.
  • No freight is timetabled so Angerstein Wharf can be ignored
  • Plumstead sidings and Slade Green Sidings are not used.
  • Dartford Platform allocations: 1 and 3 – turning platforms, 2 – Up through trains, 4 – Down through trains.
  • Watch the destination on trains coming from the depot – Cannon Street is specifically mentioned otherwise they are Charing Cross bound.