TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and its environs whilst the

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

construction project linking these lines was underway. It ran from 2015 until May 2022, upon the opening of the Crossrail central section, when TfL Rail was rebranded as

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...

and the name was discontinued. TfL Rail was introduced on 31 May 2015 when it took control from Abellio Greater Anglia of the commuter "metro" service between in central London and in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The branch comprised the first 14 stations on the Great Eastern Main Line, with interchange at Shenfield for medium- and long-distance services beyond to East Anglia. TfL Rail had also taken over operation of some services from to Heathrow Airport and Reading. Services were operated by MTR Corporation under contract to Transport for London (TfL). Between May 2016 and May 2017, TfL Rail carried over 47 million passengers on the Shenfield branch.

History

In June 2013, TfL announced that Arriva, MTR Corporation, Keolis / Go-Ahead Group and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the concession to operate

, which was under construction. In July 2014, TfL awarded the contract to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

's MTR, for a duration of eight years with an option to extend by an additional two years. MTR Corporation (Crossrail) was created as a new train operating company and took control of the "metro" service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield from the previous operator, Abellio Greater Anglia, on 31 May 2015. The existing trains were re-painted in TfL Rail livery, and appropriate branding, advertising and message boards were added at the 14 stations along the line. Every station is staffed, from the first train to the last of the day. In June 2017, Class 345 trains began running between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. In May 2018, TfL Rail took over operation of the Heathrow Connect service between London Paddington and Heathrow, as well as some GWR services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. In December 2019, TfL Rail took over operation of the Great Western Railway stopping services between London Paddington and Reading. In November 2019, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Reading, as a soft launch of the service. In July 2020, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Heathrow. The two branches became part of the Elizabeth line when the central section opened on 24 May 2022, with the current branches connecting up with the core later.

Route

The eastern branch of TfL Rail ran over the existing of track on the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. The western branches operated over part of the Great Western Main Line and the Heathrow tunnel between London Paddington and Heathrow for , and entirely over the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington and Reading for .

Stations

Former services

Shenfield branch

315858 and 345012 at London Liverpool Street

TfL Rail took over operations from Abellio Greater Anglia on 31 May 2015. TfL Rail subsequently introduced a fleet of new trains.Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract to be awarded to Bombardier
Department for Transport 6 February 2014
''Railway Gazette'' 6 February 2014 On 22 June 2017, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Shenfield branch. The Class 315 trains continued to be maintained at the existing

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

depot, but the Class 345 trains are maintained at Old Oak Common and Ilford depots.

Heathrow branch

TfL Rail inherited five units from Heathrow Connect when it took over operations on 20 May 2018. These trains were used to operate the existing half-hourly (2tph) service to Heathrow. On 30 July 2020, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Heathrow branch. The last Class 360 trains were withdrawn in September 2020.

Reading branch

On 26 September 2019, TfL Rail announced that it would take over the Paddington to Reading stopping services on 15 December 2019, using Class 345 trains in place of the Class 387 and Class 165 trains used by Great Western Railway. Before that, on 25 November 2019 six GWR services a day started to operate using Class 345 trains, operated by TfL, to get drivers ready and stock in place for the main 15 December switch over.

Route tables

Prior to the opening of the

on 24 May 2022, the timetabled weekday off-peak service pattern consisted of:

Rolling stock

Fleet carried over to the Elizabeth line

Past fleet

Former units operated by TfL Rail include:

References

External links

* {{MTR Corporation 2015 establishments in England Crossrail Railway companies established in 2015 Train operating companies in the United Kingdom Transport for London MTR Corporation