A 'second Northern line' is due to start operating from 20 May — and nope, we're not talking about the Battersea/Nine Elms extension.
As part of a £7bn Thameslink programme, a key stretch of line — taking in Finsbury Park, St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars — will run a frequent 'tube-like' service. From May 2018, 18 trains per hour are due to run between St Pancras and Blackfriars. This is set to rise to 20 trains per hour in December 2018, 22 trains per hour in May 2019, and 24 trains per hour in December 2019. (Services running from Finsbury Park will begin at a frequency of eight an hour.)
The rollout will create an alternative route for commuters, notably those who currently travel on the Bank branch of the Northern line between King's Cross St Pancras and London Bridge. The extra Thameslink trains could also ease congestion on what's often branded the 'misery line', while Thameslink passengers will benefit from riding in shiny Class 700 Thameslink stock.
So why isn't the news more widespread?
For one thing, the Thameslink project has encountered big problems along the way, with major delays to the rollout, and a third public consultation phase is still in progress.
There have also been suggestions that TfL has decided to keep the new services off its tube/Crossrail maps, because it views Thameslink as direct competition, and "fears an income loss".
Or perhaps, what with Crossrail and everything, the map is simply running out of white.
