The Kingston Loop Line is a railway line built by the London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

 (L&SWR) in South West London

South West (London sub region)

The South West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of London Borough of , Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth. The sub region was established in 2008. The south west has a population of 1,600,000 and is the location...

. It runs in an overall southeasterly direction from a junction west of Twickenham

Twickenham railway station

Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains.-History:...

 on the Waterloo to Reading Line

Waterloo to Reading Line

The Waterloo to Reading Line is a National Rail suburban electric railway line running generally westwards from London, England. It is operated by South West Trains...

 to join the South West Main Line west of New Malden

New Malden railway station

New Malden railway station is in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in South London. The station is served by South West Trains, and is in Travelcard Zone 4.-History:...

; both connections face London, permitting a continuous "loop" service from Waterloo back to Waterloo. The five stations on the loop line are:

• Strawberry Hill
  Strawberry Hill railway station
  Strawberry Hill railway station is in Strawberry Hill in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South West Trains...
  
  
• Teddington
  Teddington railway station
  Teddington railway station is located in Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 6. The station is operated by South West Trains, as are all trains serving it.-Station layout:...
  
  
• Hampton Wick
  Hampton Wick railway station
  Hampton Wick railway station is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 6. The suburb of Hampton Wick is on the opposite bank of the River Thames from Kingston upon Thames and lies at the eastern end of Hampton Court Park...
  
  
• Kingston
• Norbiton
  Norbiton railway station
  Norbiton railway station is in Norbiton, a suburb in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in south west London. It is on the Kingston Loop Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains...
  
  .

Between Strawberry Hill and Teddington a triangular junction
connects the Shepperton Branch

Shepperton Branch Line

The Shepperton Branch Line is a railway line in the south west of London. It is also known as the Shepperton Line though on opening it was named The Thames Valley Railway...

.

History

The line opened as far as Kingston on 1 July 1863 from a flat junction west of Twickenham station. The line on to the station now named "New Malden" was opened in 1869. The Shepperton Branch was built in 1864 with its connection facing Twickenham, Strawberry Hill station was not opened until 1 December 1873. The connection at Twickenham was converted to a flying junction in 1882. The Shepperton Branch chord towards Teddington opened for freight on 1 July 1894 and was first used by passenger trains on 1 June 1901. The engine depot built inside the triangular junction in 1897 is now a base for Siemens

Siemens Transportation Systems

Siemens Mobility is a division of the German Siemens AG conglomerate. The Mobility sub-division brings together Siemens competencies in rail, road, and air traffic solutions....

 to maintain EMUs

Electric multiple unit

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...

 for South West Trains

South West Trains

South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...

, currently classes 444

British Rail Class 444

The British Rail Class 444 Desiro electrical multiple units were built in Germany by Siemens AG from 2003-04. Forty-five of these units were built for express services for South West Trains....

, 450

British Rail Class 450

The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family and are more commonly known as the 'Blue Desiro'...

 and 455

British Rail Class 455

The British Rail Class 455 is a type of electric multiple unit drawing power from a 750 V DC third rail. Built by BREL at York works in the early and mid-1980s, they were initially categorised as Class 510 as the successor to the Class 508...

.

Teddington, Kingston and Norbiton stations had adjacent goods yards. That at Malden or Coombe and Malden, as it was called before 1957, was accessed from the Kingston Loop as the station itself is on an embankment with the Loop Line junction grade-separated from the start. A long west-facing bay platform at Kingston has been used for past curtailments of the Shepperton service and allows reversal of trains coming via Twickenham when there is a closure east of Kingston of either the loop or the main line.

The line was electrified by the L&SWR on the third rail system at 630 volts in 1916.