Silverlink was a
train operating company
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
Th ...
in the United Kingdom owned by
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
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
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
and Silverlink County services were taken over by
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Go ...
.
History
The North London Railways franchise was awarded to
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
on 7 February 1997. National Express commenced operating the franchise on 3 March 1997.
After initially trading as North London Railways, in September 1997 the franchise was rebranded as Silverlink.
The franchise was due to finish on 15 October 2006, but on 11 August 2006 the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
granted an extension until 10 November 2007. Upon its closure, its London metro services were taken over by
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
and the remainder were merged with
Central Trains' western services to form
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Go ...
.
Branding
Silverlink had two sub-brands:
Silverlink Metro was used for services primarily within Greater London:
*
North Woolwich - Richmond (the North London Line)
*
Willesden Junction - Clapham Junction (the West London Line)
*
London Euston - Watford Junction via
Willesden Junction (the Watford DC line)
*
Gospel Oak - Barking (the Gospel Oak to Barking Line)
Silverlink County was used for services beyond Greater London:
*
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
-
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
(
Birmingham New Street until 2004)
*
Watford Junction - St Albans Abbey (the St Albans Abbey Line)
*
Bletchley - Bedford (the Marston Vale Line)
Silverlink Metro
Silverlink Metro operated these services.
Note: Changes during the franchise period are noted but changes to the lines before and after the franchise are not.
North London line
These services ran on the
North London line
The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a r ...
:
† At the end of service on Saturday 9 December 2006 the line between Stratford and North Woolwich closed, as much of the route was duplicated by the
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of L ...
and the
Jubilee line
The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some sect ...
, leaving Stratford as the eastern terminus of the North London Line.
West London line
These services ran via the
West London line:
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
on the West London Line was due to open under the franchise (with signage in Silverlink colours installed), but platform widening work meant that it finally opened in September 2008 under
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
management, the signage being replaced with the London Overground roundels by that time.
Watford DC line
These services ran on the
Watford DC line
The Watford DC line is a suburban line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Watford, Hertfordshire. Its services are operated by London Overground.
The line runs beside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) for most of its length. The Londo ...
:
† = also served by the
Bakerloo line
The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly o ...
.
Gospel Oak to Barking line
These services ran on the
Gospel Oak to Barking line:
Silverlink County
Birmingham/Northampton
Birmingham Line services ran on the slow lines of the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
. The service was cut back to Northampton in September 2004, with services north of Northampton being transferred to partner operator
Central Trains, and some through services remained. (Central Trains, like Silverlink, was a subsidiary of
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
and the operations shared rolling stock.)
Prior to 2004 the service also continued to Birmingham, calling at the following stations:
Abbey Line
These services ran on the
Abbey Line
Marston Vale line
These services ran on the
Marston Vale line between and :
Performance
Silverlink was categorised as a London and South East operator by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) and was one of the best performing TOCs in this sector with a PPM (
Public Performance Measure) of 90.8% for the last quarter of the financial year 2006/7.
Despite these figures, the Silverlink Metro franchise on the North London Line was regarded by frequent travellers as offering a poor service, with extremely congested trains and an unreliable service with some trains cancelled shortly before they were due to arrive. A
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to rejec ...
report described the service as ''"shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded"''.
Rolling stock
Silverlink inherited a fleet of
Class 117 and
Class 121 diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are als ...
s, and
Class 313 and
Class 321 electric multiple units, from
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
.
To replace the elderly Class 117s and 121s, which operated the Gospel Oak - Barking and Bletchley - Bedford services, seven
Class 150 ''Sprinters'' were transferred from
Central Trains in summer 1999; an eighth followed in 2006. Pending the Sprinters' arrival, Silverlink hired
Class 31 locomotives from
Fragonset to top and tail
Mark 2 carriages on Bletchley - Bedford services in 1998/99.
The Class 313s operated Metro services on the electrified routes; they were joined on the Euston - Watford Junction service in 2003 by three
Class 508s transferred from
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated elect ...
. The Class 321s operated County services to
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
and Birmingham; they were joined in 2005 by new
Class 350s. The Watford Junction - St Albans Abbey service was operated for many years by Class 313s, but later was usually operated by Class 321s with Silverlink Metro drivers and Silverlink County guards.
On 16 July 2004,
Virgin Trains announced that it was withdrawing most of its stops at
Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6,000 passengers a day. Commuters became unhappy at the prospect of switching to older Silverlink trains, and a longer journey. Silverlink countered this with the temporary usage of ex-Virgin stock, still in Virgin colours.
The
Strategic Rail Authority
The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. It ...
decided to divert thirty four-carriage
Siemens Desiro trains from an order placed by
South West Trains to provide stock with faster acceleration for the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
operators. These trains, the Class 350s, were not allocated to a specific operator, but were instead used jointly by Silverlink and Central Trains, both owned by National Express.
Pending the arrival of