Company type | Private company |
---|---|
Industry | Rail transport |
Founded | 11 November 2007 |
Defunct | 13 November 2016 |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Greater London and Hertfordshire, England |
Key people | Steve Murphy, Chairman |
Services | Train operations |
Parent | Arriva/MTR |
Website | www |
London Overground Rail Operations Limited [1] was a train operating company contracted to operate the London Overground train service on the National Rail network, under the franchise control of Transport for London. The company was a 50/50 joint venture between Arriva UK Trains and MTR Corporation. [2]
On 20 February 2006, the Department for Transport announced that Transport for London would take over management of services then provided by Silverlink Metro. [3]
In June 2006, Transport for London announced that Govia, MTR/Laing Rail, National Express and NedRail had been shortlisted to bid for the London Rail Concession. [4] In September 2006, Transport for London announced that the extended East London Line would be included, and the operation branded London Overground. [5]
In June 2007, Transport for London awarded the concession to MTR Laing, and operations started on 11 November 2007. [6] The concession was for six years, four months until 31 March 2014 with a two-year extension option. [7] The option was taken up with the concession to end on 12 November 2016. [8]
In December 2007, Henderson Group, the parent company of John Laing plc, announced the sale of the Laing Rail division, which comprised half of LOROL, Chiltern Railways and a stake in the Wrexham & Shropshire open-access railway operator. In April 2008, Laing Rail was bought by the German Government's rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which now holds a 50% stake in LOROL. [9] The price was said to be around €170 million. [10] Laing Rail became part of DB Regio, before a restructuring saw it moved under the control of Arriva UK Trains.
In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, inviting expressions of interest in operating the next concession. [11] On 31 May 2015, London Overground Rail Operations took over the Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford services, as well as the Romford to Upminster service, from Abellio Greater Anglia. [12]
In July 2015, Transport for London announced the shortlisted bidders for the next concession were Arriva UK Trains, ComfortDelGro, a Keolis/Go-Ahead joint venture and MTR Corporation. [13] In March 2016, Arriva Rail London was awarded the concession commencing 13 November 2016. [14]
London Overground operated these services:
London Overground inherited a fleet of Class 150 Sprinter diesel multiple units, and Class 313 and Class 508 electric multiple units, from Silverlink. Between 2009 and 2011, the Sprinters were replaced with new Class 172 Turbostar units, and the Class 313s and 508s with new Class 378 Capitalstar units.
London Overground further inherited a number of Class 315 and Class 317 EMUs from Abellio Greater Anglia upon the takeover of the Lea Valley lines from Liverpool Street and the Romford–Upminster line on 31 May 2015.
Class | Image | Type | Number | Cars per set | Seat layout | Routes operated | Built |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
172/0 Turbostar | DMU | 8 | 2 | 2+2 | Gospel Oak to Barking line | 2010 | |
315 | EMU | 19 | 4 | 2+3 | Lea Valley lines Romford–Upminster line | 1980–1981 | |
317/7 | 8 | 2+2 | Lea Valley lines | 1981–1982 | |||
317/8 | 6 | 2+3 | |||||
378/1 Capitalstar | 20 | 5 | Longitudinal | East London line South London line | 2008–2011 | ||
378/2 Capitalstar | 37 | North London line West London line East London line South London line Watford DC line | |||||
Class | Image | Type | Number | Cars per set | Seat layout | Routes operated | Built |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
150/1 Sprinter | DMU | 8 | 2 | 2+3 | Gospel Oak to Barking line | 1984–1987 | |
313/1 | EMU | 23 | 3 | North London line West London line Watford DC line | 1976–1977 | ||
321/4 | 2 | 4 | Romford–Upminster line | 1988–1990 | |||
508/3 | 3 | 3 | Watford DC line | 1979–1980 |
London Overground's fleet was maintained at New Cross and Willesden depots.
Silverlink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the North London Railways franchise from March 1997 until November 2007. At the end of 2007 Silverlink Metro services were taken over by London Overground and Silverlink County services were taken over by London Midland.
Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.
Emerson Park is a London Overground station in the Emerson Park neighbourhood of Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. The station is on the Romford–Upminster line and is the only intermediate station on that single-track line, located 1 mile 64 chains (2.9 km) from Romford and 1 mile 66 chains from Upminster. The station was opened in 1909 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a branch line which had connected Romford with Upminster and Grays since 1893. The station entrance is on Butts Green Road, with minimal station buildings other than a canopy over the single platform. Emerson Park is one of the least used stations in London and the least used London Overground station.
Romford railway station is an interchange station on the Great Eastern Main Line, serving the town of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, east London. It is 12 miles 30 chains (19.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is also the northern terminus of a branch line to Upminster operated by London Overground. Its three-letter station code is RMF and it is in Travelcard Zone 6.
A train operating company (TOC) is the term used on the railway system of Great Britain for a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
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London Rail was a directorate of Transport for London (TfL), involved in the relationship with the National Rail network within Greater London, UK which managed TfL's non-London Underground train services.
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Bush Hill Park is a London Overground station on the Enfield Town branch of the Lea Valley lines, serving the neighbourhood of Bush Hill Park in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is 9 miles 69 chains (15.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Edmonton Green and Enfield Town, the terminus.
Southbury is a London Overground station on the Southbury Loop section of the Lea Valley lines, located on the easterly side of Enfield in north London. It is 10 miles 32 chains (16.7 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Edmonton Green and Turkey Street.
The Romford–Upminster line is a railway branch line in Greater London that connects Romford, on the Great Eastern Main Line, to Upminster, on the London, Tilbury and Southend line and London Underground. The route is 3 miles 28 chains (5.4 km) in length and there is one intermediate station at Emerson Park which is located 1 mile 62 chains (2.9 km) from Romford. The line is part of Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.09, and is classified as a rural line.
The British Rail Class 315 is a fleet of alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road Carriage Works in York between 1980 and 1981; they replaced the Class 306 units. It was a variant of unit derived from British Rail's 1971 prototype suburban EMU design which, as the BREL 1972 family, eventually encompassed 755 vehicles across Classes 313, 314, 315, 507 and 508. Revenue services with Class 315 units commenced in 1980 and continued until December 2022.
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The British Rail Class 710 Aventra is a class of electric multiple unit passenger trains built by Bombardier Transportation for use on the London Overground network. The trains are part of Bombardier's Aventra family. The contract to provide 45 four-car trains was awarded in July 2015 and the trains were originally due to enter service in May 2018, although introduction was delayed until May 2019.
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