page_title: Railway electrification in Great Britain
section_title: Existing
hierarchical_section_title: Railway electrification in Great Britain / Existing systems – overhead line (OHL) / National Rail: 25 kV, 50 Hz AC overhead / Existing
caption_attribution_description: Class 86 Electric locomotive No. 86 227 (formally E3117, later allocated the name 'Lady of the Lake' but never carried) on the up LNWR main line to Euston with an inter city express. 15/09/1979 86 227 was withdrawn from service in October 2004. Camera: Olympus OM1 35mm SLR. Film: Fuji.
context_page_description: Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC, using overhead lines; and the 750 V DC third rail system used in southeast England and on Merseyrail. As at April 2019, 3,736 miles of the British rail network was electrified.
  According to Network Rail, as at 2003, 64% of the electrified network used the 25 kV AC overhead system, and 36% used the 660/750 V DC third-rail system.
  The electrified network is set to expand over coming years, as 25 kV electrification is extended to currently unelectrified lines such as the Midland Main Line, and lines in the North of England as part of the Northern Hub.
context_section_description: Great Western Main Line
  Electrified from London Paddington via Reading, Swindon and Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central.
  Electrified from Reading to Newbury.
  Electrified from London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4 in 1994 in a joint venture between British Rail and the British Airports Authority using the Mark 3B series.
  West Coast Main Line
  Electrified from London Euston during the late 1950s and mid-1960s using the Mark 1 series under the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan to Crewe, extended to Glasgow Central in 1974 using the Mark 3A range.
  Northampton: see Northampton Loop Line.
  Birmingham New Street: see Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line.
  Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street.
  Stafford to Manchester Piccadilly: see Stafford to Manchester Line and Crewe to Manchester Line.
  The "Abbey Flyer" (St Albans Branch Line) was electrified in 1987-88 by Network SouthEast.
  Edinburgh Waverley in 1989 (from Carstairs Junction in conjunction with East Coast Main Line electrification)
  In 2003, the Crewe to Kidsgrove section of the Crewe to Derby Line was electrified as a diversionary route for the WCML.
  Since 1999, the line has been modernised and the overhead line equipment has been refurbished and renewed from Mark 1 / Mark 3A to UK1 range to allow an increase line speeds from 110 mph to 125 mph (with 140 mph capability in areas previously fitted with Automatically Tensioned Mark 1 equipment - subject to upgrading of the balance weight arrangement to provide individually tensioned contact / catenary wires and regrading of the contact wires). At the same time sections of the line are being progressively changed to autotransformer system.
  Midland Main Line
  Electrified between London St Pancras and Bedford in 1983 using the Mark 3B range, and Dock Junction to Moorgate - now cut back to Farringdon.
  Electrification from Bedford to Kettering and Corby using the UK Master Series (MS125) range is expected by 2019 (MML Phase 1), further extensions to Leicester, Nottingham Trent Junction and Sheffield (via Derby) by 2023 (MML Phase 2) were cancelled in July 2017. However the section from Clay Cross to Sheffield will eventually be electrified by 2033 as part of HS2.
  High Speed 1
  Newest main line, completed in 2007. Links London St Pancras with Ashford International and the Channel Tunnel.
  East Coast Main Line
  Electrified in two parts: 1975-78, and 1984–91
  The line between London King's Cross and Royston was electrified between 1976 and 1978 using the Mark 3A range as part of the Great Northern Suburban Electrification Project. This included the Hertford Loop Line. The section between Royston and Cambridge was electrified in 1988 using the Mark 3B range.
  In 1984, authority was given to electrify to Edinburgh and Leeds. The section between Hitchin and Peterborough was completed in 1987, and Doncaster and York were reached in 1989. By 1990, electrification had reached Newcastle, and in 1991 Edinburgh Waverley. The Mark 3B range was used throughout the electrification scheme, certain areas are presently being upgraded to the Mark 3D design range, this will eliminate known corrosion issues with the AWAC catenary and replace solid stainless steel droppers with flexible copper current carrying designs. Some headspan to portal conversions are also taking place.
  In order to keep construction teams working, two additional schemes were authorised, to Carstairs and North Berwick (North Berwick Line).
  At the peak of the electrification project during the late 1980s, it was claimed to be the "longest construction site in the world" at over 250 miles (400 km).
  West Anglia / Fen Line
  This covers the lines from London Liverpool Street (Bethnal Green Junction) to Chingford, Enfield Town, Hertford East and Cambridge. In the 1960s, the lines to Chingford, Enfield Town and Cheshunt were electrified at 6.25 kV, from Cheshunt to Bishop's Stortford and Hertford East at 25 kV. The Lea Valley line between Coppermill Junction and Cheshunt was electrified at 25 kV in 1969. All the 6.25 kV areas were converted to 25 kV in 1983. In 1987, electrification was extended from Bishop's Stort
caption: An electric express on the West Coast Main Line in the 1970s.
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