LOROL

Mayor launches new rail service to complete London Overground’s orbital network
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date 9 December 2012
source LOROL
type Press release

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin
marked the launch of the much-anticipated London Overground extension with a journey
along the new link.

The service, operated by LOROL on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), opened to
passengers on 9 December bringing the first orbital railway to the capital in 128 years.
The link has been completed with the construction of 1.3km of track south-west of Surrey
Quays station, linking the East London line section of London Overground with existing track
to the north east of Queen’s Road Peckham.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This fantastic new orbital railway will provide
Londoners with the ability to zip around the edge of the city quickly and easily, without the
need to travel in and out of the centre.

“The extension will also help serve those rapidly regenerating parts of East London where
the job market is expanding and will support further growth. It’s a real blueprint for rail
services of the future and a brilliant addition to our transport network.”

Four trains an hour operate on the new link, increasing the frequency of trains between
Surrey Quays and Dalston Junction from 12 trains per hour to 16. TfL estimates more than
12 million passengers will use the new route each year, which will significantly improve
journey times between south and east London.

The journey between Clapham Junction and Surrey Quays will take just 24 minutes, while
the connection to Canada Water and its interchange with the Jubilee line will take 28
minutes.

Joining the Mayor, Boris Johnson at Clapham Junction station, a terminus for the new
service, the Transport Secretary, Mr McLoughlin, said: “London is the economic powerhouse
of the UK and we know how important it is to invest in the capital's transport network – that is
why we have contributed nearly £60m towards this transformational project.

“This final connection across South London will be a boon for businesses and commuters
alike and I congratulate all those who worked on this successful scheme.”
Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy said: “London Overground really has been a case of
‘if you build it, they will come’.

“Since TfL took over management of the line five years ago, Londoners from all parts of the
capital have been flocking to it to take advantage of its spacious, air-conditioned trains, its
fast and frequent timetable and its safe, clean, upgraded and passenger-friendly stations.

“It enables passengers to avoid the already-busy centre of London and to make short
journeys to destinations in Zone 2 and beyond. Now, south Londoners can enjoy a new
range of journey options both east and west with quick connections to national rail services
to Gatwick and across south east and south west England.”

Commenting on the launch of the extension, Steve Murphy, LOROL’s managing director,
said: “Construction of the new link and station refurbishment programme has been many
years in planning, but we can now celebrate a very successful launch and start to the new
service.

“Over the coming weeks and months we will welcome new passengers to our network, all
the while offering every London Overground customer what we do best – a customer
focused service that is fast, frequent, reliable and convenient.

“Thank you to everyone at LOROL and our partners who have worked incredibly hard to
ensure the success of this project.”

London Overground is one of the most popular and punctual rail services in the UK with
passenger satisfaction levels of 90 per cent, 8 per cent higher than any other rail service in
the south east of England.

The new link connects stations at Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Road, Clapham High
Street, Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye, Queens Road Peckham, Surrey Quays, and then all
stations to Highbury and Islington on the East London line section of the London Overground
network.

ENDS

For further information or an interview, please contact Sara Barrow, Communications
Manager, on 0203 031 9254 or communications@lorol.co.uk.

Notes to Editors
o The link has cost £75 million. The Department for Transport (DfT) has contributed
£60m with direct or indirect payments via Network Rail. The Mayor and TfL have
contributed £15 million.
o The trains have been supplied by Bombardier and manufactured in Derby. Fortyeight
new drivers and five extra train support employees have been hired as a result
of the new connection which increases the total of London Overground services
around the capital from 945 trains a day to 1,090.
o Six four-car trains will be required to run the four trains an hour service. Three
additional trains have been bought at cost of £14m and the other three have come
from the existing London Overground fleet.
o At Clapham Junction, the Grants Rd entrance has been substantially (£1.6m)
upgraded by TfL with a new staircase, improved CCTV, a new lift for full accessibility
and improved cycle parking. Above it, the former platform 2 has been divided into
platforms 1 (serving trains to and from Willesden Junction) and 2 (serving trains
running on the new link).
o TfL will takeover the management of Wandsworth Road and Clapham High Street
stations and these stations will be staffed while trains are running. A contribution by
TfL to Southern’ franchise means that Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham
stations will also be staffed from the first to last train.
o Lifts giving full accessibility are being installed at Denmark Hill and have been
installed at Clapham Junction under the DfT’s Access for All scheme. TfL aspires to
having all its rail network fully accessible but this is subject to funding. Improvement
works are also underway at Peckham Rye station.
o The new link will improve accessibility to areas of London which could be better
served by public transport and help improve social inclusion:
o 168,000 people currently live within 15 minutes walk of a station on the new link
(Queens Rd Peckham to Clapham Junction inclusive).
o 16.5 per cent of people living within 15 minutes walk of a station on the new link live
within the 10 per cent most deprived areas of London;
o The last orbital railway in London was the London Underground Circle Line which
was completed in 1884 – 128 years ago.
o London Overground runs 938 services from its fleet of 65 air-conditioned trains each
day (57 Class 378 Capitalstar and 8 Class 172 diesels ) linking 20 of London’s 33
boroughs. This is double the number of services it ran at the beginning of the
concession. It has also quadrupled the number of passengers it carries to 100 million
per year.
o A journey on the new extension can be seen in two minutes on the TfL YouTube
Channel at http://tinyurl.com/coketm4.

About LOROL
o LOROL operates London Overground rail services on behalf of TfL. Linking 20 of
London’s 33 boroughs, it operates more than 950 trains a day and employs 1,200
people.
o LOROL is a joint venture company between Deutsche Bahn AG and MTR
Corporation. The business operates as part of Arriva plc, Deutsche Bahn’s division
responsible for regional passenger transport outside of Germany.
o As part of the concession agreement, LOROL and TfL work closely to deliver high
quality rail services. TfL has a dedicated team working at LOROL’s Swiss Cottage
headquarters to monitor and support LOROL in delivering its concession agreement
with a strong focus on train punctuality and custom

Railhub Archive ::: 2012-12-09 LOR-001