London Overground Rail Operations Limited was a train operating company contracted to operate the

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 ...

train service on the

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

network, under the franchise control of Transport for London. The company was a 50/50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

between

Arriva UK Trains Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with th ...

and

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hon ...

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. In June 2006, Transport for London announced that

Govia Govia is a transport company based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in November 1996 as a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%) to bid for rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail. History Establi ...

, MTR/

Laing Rail Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with th ...

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 NedRail had been shortlisted to bid for the London Rail Concession. In September 2006, Transport for London announced that the extended East London Line would be included, and the operation branded ''London Overground''. In June 2007, Transport for London awarded the concession to MTR Laing, and operations started on 11 November 2007. The concession was for six years, four months until 31 March 2014 with a two-year extension option. The option was taken up with the concession to end on 12 November 2016. In December 2007,

Henderson Group Henderson Group plc was a global investment management company with its principal place of business in the City of London. It merged with Janus Capital Group in May 2017 to create Janus Henderson. History The Company was established in 1934 ...

, 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 Wrexham & Shropshire (legally ''Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited'') was an open access operator that provided passenger rail services in the United Kingdom. Services between Wrexham and London Marylebone operated from A ...

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. The price was said to be around

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

170 million. Laing Rail became part of DB Regio, before a restructuring saw it moved under the control of

. In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the

Official Journal of the European Union An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

, inviting expressions of interest in operating the next concession. On 31 May 2015, London Overground Rail Operations took over the Liverpool Street to Enfield Town,

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

(via Seven Sisters) and

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...

services, as well as the Romford railway station, Romford to Upminster railway station, Upminster service, from Abellio Greater Anglia. In July 2015, Transport for London announced the shortlisted bidders for the next concession were

, ComfortDelGro, a Keolis/Go-Ahead Group, Go-Ahead joint venture and

. In March 2016, Arriva Rail London was awarded the concession commencing 13 November 2016.Arriva wins £1.5bn London Overground contract
''BBC News'' 18 March 2016

Services

London Overground operates these services: * East London line: Highbury & Islington station, Highbury & Islington to West Croydon station, West Croydon/Crystal Palace railway station, Crystal Palace; Dalston Junction railway station, Dalston Junction to New Cross railway station, New Cross/Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction * Gospel Oak to Barking line: Gospel Oak railway station, Gospel Oak to Barking station, Barking * North London line: Richmond station (London), Richmond to Stratford station, Stratford * Watford DC line: Watford Junction railway station, Watford Junction to Euston railway station, Euston * West London line: Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction railway station, Willesden Junction * South London line: Dalston Junction railway station, Dalston Junction to Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction * Lea Valley lines, Lea Valley line: Liverpool Street to

and Enfield Town via Seven Sisters railway station, Seven Sisters, and

via Clapton railway station, Clapton * Romford–Upminster line: Romford railway station, Romford to Upminster station, Upminster

Rolling stock

London Overground inherited a fleet of British Rail Class 150, Class 150 ''Sprinter'' diesel multiple units, and British Rail Class 313, Class 313 and British Rail Class 508, Class 508 electric multiple units, from Silverlink. Between 2009 and 2011, the Sprinters were replaced with new British Rail Class 172, Class 172 ''Turbostar'' units, and the Class 313s and 508s with new British Rail Class 378, Class 378 ''Capitalstar'' units. London Overground further inherited a number of British Rail Class 315, Class 315 and British Rail Class 317, Class 317 EMUs from Greater Anglia (train operating company), Abellio Greater Anglia upon the takeover of the Lea Valley lines from Liverpool Street and the Romford–Upminster line on 31 May 2015.

Final fleet

Past fleet

Depots

London Overground's fleet was maintained at New Cross and Willesden Traction Maintenance Depot, Willesden depots.

References

External links

LOROL official site
{{MTR Corporation Arriva Group companies Defunct train operating companies John Laing Group London Overground MTR Corporation Railway companies established in 2007 Railway companies disestablished in 2016 Railway operators in London 2007 establishments in England 2016 disestablishments in England