Cambridge line

The Cambridge line is a railway line in the East of England; it connects the East Coast Main Line at Hitchin to the West Anglia Main Line at Cambridge. The line is owned by Network Rail and is 23 miles 15 chains (23.19 miles, 37.32 km) in length, serving nine stations. Train services are operated by Thameslink and Great Northern.

Originally opened in 1851, the Royston and Hitchin Railway built a route between Hitchin and Shepreth. There, it met the Shepreth Branch Railway, and the two were joined in 1862 to form the modern route. A station at Letchworth was added in 1905 in conjunction with its opening as the world's first garden city. However, the line fell into decline throughout the mid 1900s, and Harston station was closed as part of the Beeching Axe in 1963.

The line was electrified as far as Royston in 1978, which severed through services on the line. Network SouthEast then expanded electrification to Cambridge in 1988, which was combined with major track improvements. In 2013, the new Hitchin Flyover marked the end of the historic bottleneck for trains entering the line at Hitchin.

The line forms part of the Great Northern route. It is also part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and is classified as a London and South East Commuter line.