The Great Northern route is a suburban rail route in London and the East of England. The route consists of services on the southern end of the East Coast Main Line, which is the main railway link between the cities of London and Edinburgh, as well as its associated branches, including the Cambridge line, Fen line, Hertford Loop line, and Northern City Line.
The route is currently operated by Govia Great Northern, which is one brand under the umbrella of Govia Thameslink Railway. Services originating at London King's Cross operate to Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City, Cambridge, Ely, and King's Lynn, whereas services originating at Moorgate operate to Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North, Gordon Hill, and Stevenage.
In all, there are 56 stations on the route, of which London King's Cross is Grade I listed and various parts of eight stations (Biggleswade, Cambridge, Downham Market, Huntingdon, King's Lynn, Letchworth Garden City, Moorgate, and Welwyn North) are Grade II listed. Historic England define Grades I and II as buildings of "exceptional interest" and of "special interest" respectively. The total number of stations will grow to 57 when the two new stations with allocated funding, at Cambridge South and Tempsford, open to passengers.
Of the stations on the route, Govia Thameslink Railway only share seven stations (King's Cross, Stevenage, Peterborough, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach and Ely) with other National Rail operators; this will rise to nine once Cambridge South and Tempsford open. Five stations are served by the London Underground (Moorgate, Old Street, Highbury & Islington, London King's Cross, and Finsbury Park), and four stations have out of station interchange capability (London King's Cross, Moorgate, Harringay, and Bowes Park). Until Greater Anglia withdrew their services to King's Lynn in May 2023, all the Fen line stations were shared between the two operators, but this is no longer the case.
Great Northern manages all except eight of their stations; one is managed by Network Rail (London King's Cross), one is managed by LNER (Peterborough), three are managed by Greater Anglia (Cambridge, Cambridge North, and Ely), and three are managed by London Underground (Moorgate, Old Street, and Highbury & Islington). Once East West Rail opens, it will provide interchange with three stations on the route at Tempsford (construction approved), Cambridge South (under construction), and Cambridge.
There are also nineteen former stations on lines that remain open as part of the route, of which four were replaced by now-open stations (Chesterton, Enfield, Maiden Lane, and Stevenage). Almost half of these closures came during the 1950s and 1960s, a period which included the Beeching cuts. The length of time these stations remained open varies greatly, from four days (Trumpington) to 122 years (Stevenage). Various proposals for the reopening of other closed stations exist, but none are promoted by the Campaign for Better Transport.
There are two stations that have been confirmed to have funding allocated to them: Cambridge South is under construction with an expected opening date in early 2026; Tempsford was guaranteed in January 2025 to serve both the East Coast Main Line and East West Rail by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Interest by local and campaign groups in opening new stations and reopening old stations is common; examples include in Harston and Offord. However, the Campaign for Better Transport does not include any projects related to the Great Northern route in its suggestions.
There are nineteen stations on the route which have been closed to passengers, even though the line that they were once on remains open today. Of these, three were closed at the same time a replacement opened (Enfield, Maiden Lane, Steven age) and one was replaced at a later date (Chesterton). Two stations have funding to be replaced in the future (Elmsford and Trumpington).
Trumpington station was the shortest-lived station on the route, closing permanently on 8 July 1922 only four days after it originally opened. Stevenage was the longest-lasting at 122 years and 11 months, but if excluding stations that have since been replaced, the longest-lasting is Harston at 111 years and 2 months. Eight of the former stations were closed during the 1950s and 1960s (at the height of the British Rail Modernisation Plan and Beeching cuts).