The Catford Loop Line is a railway line in southeast London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It carries a suburban stopping service from central London to Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks railway station

Sevenoaks railway station serves the town of Sevenoaks in Kent. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street , Waterloo East and London Charing Cross via Orpington, to London Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford, and southbound to...

, and is also a relief route for the Chatham Main Line

Chatham Main Line

The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...

 which conveys passenger trains from London Victoria to the Kent coast. There is much freight activity as this is the main route to Willesden and the North via Latchmere junction, with Intermodal

Intermodal freight transport

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...

 traffic from Thamesport

Thamesport

London Thamesport is a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. It is on the Isle of Grain, in the Medway unitary authority, Kent, England in the United Kingdom. It is sited on the former Port Victoria.-History:...

 and international workings from Dollands Moor

Dollands Moor Freight Yard

Dollands Moor Freight Yard is a railway freight yard near Folkestone in Kent, and was purposely built in 1988 for the Channel Tunnel. It is to the west of the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal, and just to the south of the M20 Motorway.- External links :*...

.

The line begins at Brixton junction where it diverges from the Chatham Main line, and ends when it rejoins the Chatham main line (now extended to pairs of fast & slow lines) at Shortlands Junction, west of station.

History

Incorporated as the Shortlands and Nunhead Railway in 1889 it was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway

London, Chatham and Dover Railway

The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...

 on 1 July 1892.
The line leaves the former Crystal Palace High Level branch and the link to Lewisham (the former Greenwich Park branch) at a junction east of .

The five stations on the original route were:

The length of the Catford Loop from Nunhead is almost five miles (8 km), and from Brixton nearly eight miles (12.5 km).

The line was electrified

Railway electrification in Great Britain

Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...

 with the other SECR

South Eastern and Chatham Railway

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...

 urban routes on 12 July 1925 by the Southern Railway

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

on its 660 DC third rail system.