National Rail › Great NorthernData updated
Great Northern
Commuter trains on the southern end of the East Coast Main Line, from King's Cross to Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn, and from Moorgate through former tube tunnels to Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North and Stevenage. Every Moorgate train has been a Siemens Class 717 since 2019, and Great Northern has been publicly owned since May 2026.
2026Current operator since
714 miles (1,149 km)Route miles, all of GTR
44Stations served
316 millionJourneys a year, all of GTR, ORR (2025–26)
Facts
- Current operator since
- 31 May 2026
- London terminals
- King's Cross, Moorgate
- Type
- Commuter train brand
- Depots
- Hornsey (north London)
- Main routes
- From Moorgate on weekdays, or King's Cross in the late evening and at weekends, to Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North, Stevenage, Hitchin and Letchworth; and from King's Cross to Peterborough, and to Cambridge, Ely and King's Lynn.
- Stations managed
- 236, for all of GTR (Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express)
- Operating company
- Thameslink Southern Great Northern Ltd, owned by DfT Operator (public ownership since 31 May 2026). It runs Great Northern with Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express as the Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR).
Routes 5 routes · 44 stations
Moorgate – Royston 26
London King's Cross – Royston 22
London King's Cross – Cambridge 15
London King's Cross – Peterborough 13
Kings Lynn – Royston 12
Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one service route with its stops in order. Where fast and stopping trains share a route, the strip shows the one with most stops, and a route whose stops all lie on a longer one is left out. Station order from TfL open data.
| Station | Zone | Interchanges |
|---|---|---|
| Moorgate | 1 | Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern |
| Old Street | 1 | Northern |
| Essex Road | 2 | |
| Highbury & Islington | 2 | Victoria, Overground (Mildmay, Windrush) |
| Drayton Park | 2 | |
| Finsbury Park | 2 | Piccadilly, Victoria |
| Harringay | 3 | |
| Hornsey | 3 | |
| Alexandra Palace | 3 | |
| Bowes Park | 3/4 | |
| Palmers Green | 4 | |
| Winchmore Hill | 4 | |
| Grange Park | 5 | |
| Enfield Chase | 5 | |
| Gordon Hill | 5 | |
| Crews Hill | 6 | |
| Cuffley | 9 | |
| Bayford | ||
| Hertford North | ||
| Watton-at-Stone | NA | |
| Stevenage | NA | |
| Hitchin | NA | |
| Letchworth Garden City | NA | |
| Baldock | NA | |
| Ashwell & Morden | ||
| Royston | ||
| London King's Cross | 1 | Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria |
| Meldreth | ||
| Shepreth | ||
| Foxton | ||
| Cambridge | ||
| Arlesey | ||
| Biggleswade | ||
| Sandy | ||
| St Neots | ||
| Huntingdon | ||
| Peterborough | ||
| Kings Lynn | ||
| Watlington | ||
| Downham Market | ||
| Littleport | ||
| Ely | ||
| Waterbeach | ||
| Cambridge North |
Stations, zones and interchanges from TfL open data (2026-10-06). National Rail interchanges are listed where TfL groups the stations together.
Fleet
| Class | Units | Formation and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Class 717 Desiro City | 25 | six-car, 150 carriages in all, built by Siemens for the Moorgate services |
| Class 387 Electrostar | 14 | four-car 387/1s (387101–387114), kept for King's Cross services after the 2025 cascade; GTR planned to need 12 of them |
| Class 379 Electrostar | 30 | four-car, built in 2011 for Stansted Express and leased from Porterbrook; in service from February 2025 |
History 10
- British Rail's Class 313 electric trains enter service on the Great Northern suburban lines.
- First Capital Connect takes over, combining the Thameslink and Great Northern franchises.
- Govia Thameslink Railway takes over from First Capital Connect.
- The first Class 387/1, moved from Thameslink, carries passengers between King's Cross and Cambridge.
- The first Class 717 carries passengers through the tunnels to Moorgate.
- The last Class 313s run; every Moorgate train is now a Class 717.
- The last Class 365 leaves King's Cross for Peterborough, after 25 years in service.
- The first Class 379s, built for Stansted Express in 2011, carry Great Northern passengers.
- Great Northern passes into public ownership with the rest of GTR.
- A Class 717 from Welwyn Garden City to Moorgate is the first passenger train to use digital in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line.
Sources 19
- TOC key statistics: Govia Thameslink Railway, April 2025 to March 2026, Office of Rail and Road, 6 August 2026 (all of GTR: 1,149 route km, 236 stations managed, 316 million journeys, 2025–26)
- Table 6314: rolling stock vehicles by traction type and operator, Office of Rail and Road, 20 November 2025 (GTR's 2,531 electric and 47 diesel vehicles, March 2025)
- Transfer of Govia Thameslink Railway's services into public ownership, Department for Transport, 1 June 2026 (public ownership, TSGNL, more off-peak Moorgate services from December)
- Britain's biggest train operator's services enter public ownership this weekend, Department for Transport, 28 May 2026 (public ownership from 31 May 2026)
- Company information, Great Northern, 2026 (trading name, owner, routes from King's Cross and Moorgate)
- GTR highlights improvements delivered during its first 100 days under public ownership, GTR, 11 September 2026 (the name Greater Thameslink Railway; Great Northern's routes)
- Fleet accessibility information, Great Northern (Thameslink Southern Great Northern Ltd), April 2026 (which trains run where: 717s to Moorgate, 387s and 379s from King's Cross, April 2026)
- Govia Thameslink Railway brings in extra trains in readiness for improved December timetable, GTR, 11 February 2025 (30 Class 379s, first service 10 February 2025, Porterbrook, Hornsey; the 387 cascade plan)
- Govia Thameslink Railway begins cascade of Class 377s and 387s, Rail, 13 February 2025 (387101–387114 to stay on Great Northern; the 379s allocated to Hornsey)
- First Class 387/1 enters service on Great Northern, Rail Technology Magazine, 13 October 2016 (first Class 387/1 on Great Northern, 10 October 2016; 29 units transferred)
- Britain’s oldest electric trains replaced with £240m new fleet, GTR, 25 March 2019 (first Class 717, 25 March 2019; 25 six-car trains; Class 313s from August 1976)
- Great Northern completes £240m train fleet renewal for Herts passengers, GTR, 1 October 2019 (Class 717 fleet complete; 25 trains, 150 carriages)
- Rail tour brings in £10,000 for special causes, GTR, 24 October 2019 (last Class 313, 30 September 2019; 717s maintained at Hornsey)
- 1812 is final overture for Class 365 ‘Networker Express’, GTR, 18 May 2021 (last Class 365, 14 May 2021)
- Statement re: First Great Western and First Capital Connect rail franchises, FirstGroup plc (stock exchange announcement, via Investegate), 31 January 2012 (First Capital Connect from 1 April 2006)
- New rail franchising deal set to transform passenger services across London and the South East, Department for Transport, 23 May 2014 (GTR from 14 September 2014; 150 new carriages for Moorgate)
- Modernised depot to transform Great Northern rail services, Siemens, 13 December 2016 (Hornsey depot)
- East Coast digital milestone signals a new era, Network Rail, 1 September 2026 (first passenger train using ETCS on the East Coast Main Line, 31 August 2026)
- TfL Unified API: Line Route Sequence, Transport for London (Powered by TfL Open Data) (routes and station order)
unverified the Class 387 count: GTR and RAIL said in February 2025 that 387101–387114 would stay with Great Northern and the rest would move to Southern; not confirmed since, stabling sidings away from Hornsey (not confirmed, so not stated), the date in 1976 when British Rail trains first ran to Moorgate (Wikipedia only, so not stated)