North London Railway (franchise)

:The North London Railway is the name of a collection of lines in North London. The lines will come under control of the London Rail division of Transport for London (TfL) from autumn 2007 and will be operated by a single franchisee selected in early 2007.

Routes

The lines are:
* North London Line - Richmond to Stratford
* West London Line - Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction
* Gospel Oak to Barking Line
* Watford DC Line - Watford Junction to Euston

All routes are currently operated by National Express under the Silverlink Metro brand. The franchise will be operated by a single operator from 11 November 2007 and will incorporate the East London Line upon completion of phase one of its planned extension in 2010.

TfL plan to operate through services from Clapham Junction to Stratford or Barking. A line currently not used for passenger operations, between South Hampstead and Camden Road via Primrose Hill, is planned to be used to allow through services from Queens Park to Stratford and to discontinue local services between Euston and Watford Junction with the section north of Queen's Park transferred to the Bakerloo Line.

Franchise bidding

Four prospective operators have been selected for the combined North London Railway and East London Line franchise. They are Govia, MTR Laing (a joint venture between MTR Corporation and Laing Rail), National Express Group and Nedrail. The successful operator will be selected in Spring 2007 and begin operations from 11 November 2007.

See also

* Orbirail

External links

* Transport for London press release
* Always Touch Out on the topic