London Overground Rail Operations Limited
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| Private company | |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | London |
Area served | Greater London and Watford, England |
Key people | Steve Murphy, Chairman |
| Services | Train operations |
| Parent | Arriva UK Trains/MTR |
| Website |
www |
London Overground Rail Operations Ltd,[1] formerly known as MTR Laing Metro Limited, is 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 is a 50/50 joint venture between Deutsche Bahn company operator Arriva's division Arriva UK Trains and Hong Kong rail operator MTR Corporation.[2]
History
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 14 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 Rail London Ltd, LoKeGo Ltd (a joint venture of Keolis and Go-Ahead Group), Metroline Rail Ltd and MTR Corporation.[13]
Services
London Overground operates these services:
- East London Line – Highbury & Islington to West Croydon/Crystal Palace; Dalston Junction to New Cross
- Gospel Oak to Barking Line – Gospel Oak to Barking
- North London Line – Richmond to Stratford
- Watford DC Line – Watford Junction to Euston
- West London Line – Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction
- South London Line – Dalston Junction to Clapham Junction
- Lea Valley Line - to Cheshunt and Enfield Town via Seven Sisters, and Chingford via Clapton.
- Romford to Upminster Line.
Rolling stock
London Overground inherited a fleet of Class 150, Class 313 and Class 508s from Silverlink. These were replaced in 2009–11 by Class 172 Turbostars and Class 378 Capitalstars. It further inherited a number of Class 315s and Class 317s from Abellio Greater Anglia upon the takeover of the Southbury Lines from Liverpool Street on 31 May 2015. These will be replaced with new rolling stock beginning in 2017.
Depot
London Overground's fleet is maintained at New Cross and Willesden depots.
References
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 5668786 London Overground Rail Operations Limited
- ↑ "About Us". LOROL. April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
- ↑ Darling, Alistair (14 February 2006). "Silverlink Metro". Hansard. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ↑ "Four bidders on TfL London Rail Concession shortlist" (Press release). Transport for London. 7 June 2006.
- ↑ "Introducing London Overground – a new era for London Rail" (Press release). Transport for London. 5 September 2006.
- ↑ "MTRLaing appointed to run London Overground" (Press release). John Laing. 19 June 2007.
- ↑ "MTR Laing beats Go-Ahead unit Govia to win North London rail franchise". Hemscott. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
- ↑ London Overground operator appointed to run additional services for TfL Arriva 4 June 2014
- ↑ "Deutsche Bahn acquires LOROL" (Press release). LOROL. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008.
- ↑ Graham, Dave (20 January 2008). "Germany's Deutsche Bahn to buy Laing Rail-report". Reuters. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ↑ TfL starts search for next operator to run Overground Transport for London 9 April 2015
- ↑ London Overground operator appointed to run additional services for TfL Travel & Tour World 4 June 2013
- ↑ "Transport for London announce prospective London Overground operators’ shortlist". Rail.co.uk. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
External links
| New creation | Operator of London Overground concession 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
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