Notes:  The main lines from London began with the lines north-west to Birmingham, west to Bristol, south-west to Southampton, and south to Brighton, with an eastern branch to Dover from Redhill. East Anglia was next, with lines to Norwich via both Cambridge and Ipswich completed within a few years of each other. In 1850 the King's Cross route opened and then there was a gap of nearly twenty years before the Midland Railway opened St Pancras. Most of the south coast towns had connections to one of the original main lines, but gradually competition led to the opening of direct routes to London. The biggest challenge was made by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway, competing for the Dover traffic, as well as for the custom of North Kent. Many of the outer suburban lines, and most of the Essex coast lines, date from the latter half of the Victorian period. Finally, around the turn of the century the Metropolitan Railway opened Marylebone and a line out to Aylesbury (and beyond); and then the Great Western Railway responded to the challenge by supporting a parallel direct route to Birmingham through High Wycombe and Banbury.