Silverlink
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| Franchise(s): | 1997 - 10. November 2007 |
| Main Region(s): | North London |
| Other Region(s): | Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire |
| Fleet size: | 67 |
| Stations: | 88 |
| Parent company: | National Express Group |
| Web site: | www.silverlink-trains.com |
Silverlink Trains is a regional franchise in the British railway system with routes in suburban London and from London to Northampton. It is owned by National Express Group plc.
The company is divided into two main branches: 'Silverlink Metro' for inner-suburban services, and 'Silverlink County' for longer distance, rural and outer-suburban services.
Contents |
[edit] History
Silverlink was formed in early 1997 as North London Railways. It was responsible for the running of the North London Line, a semi-circular route running from Richmond in West London through North London to North Woolwich in East London. As the company expanded, also becoming responsible for the West London Line, the Watford DC Line and London-Northampton services via the West Coast Main Line, the name 'North London Railways' was considered inappropriate and the company was renamed Silverlink.
[edit] Silverlink Metro
[edit] North London Line
| Richmond (change for District Line) | |
| Kew Gardens (change for District Line) | |
| Gunnersbury (change for District Line) | |
| South Acton | |
| Acton Central | |
| Willesden Junction (change for Bakerloo Line, West London Line and Watford DC Line) | |
| Kensal Rise | |
| Brondesbury Park | |
| Brondesbury | |
| West Hampstead (change for Jubilee Line and First Capital Connect trains) | |
| Finchley Road & Frognal | |
| Hampstead Heath | |
| Gospel Oak (change for Gospel Oak to Barking Line) | |
| Kentish Town West | |
| Camden Road | |
| Caledonian Road & Barnsbury | |
| Highbury & Islington (change for Victoria Line) | |
| Canonbury | |
| Dalston Kingsland | |
| Hackney Central | |
| Homerton | |
| Hackney Wick | |
| Stratford (change for Central Line, Jubilee Line, Docklands Light Railway and 'one') | |
| West Ham † | |
| Canning Town † | |
| Custom House † | |
| Silvertown † | |
| North Woolwich † |
† At the end of service on Saturday 9 December 2006 the line between Stratford and North Woolwich closed, as much of the route is duplicated by the Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee Line, leaving Stratford as the eastern terminus of the North London Line.[1]
Timetables for the North London Line can be viewed here [1] for eastbound trainss, and here [2] for westbound.
[edit] West London Line
| Willesden Junction (change for North London Line, Watford DC Line and Bakerloo Line) | |
| Shepherd's Bush (under construction; change for Central line) | |
| Kensington (Olympia) (change for District Line and Southern trains) | |
| West Brompton (change for District Line and Southern trains) | |
| Imperial Wharf (under construction) | |
| Clapham Junction (change for South West and Southern trains) |
Timetables for the West London Line can be viewed here [3].
[edit] Watford DC Line
| London Euston (change for Northern Line, Victoria Line and Virgin trains) | |
| South Hampstead | |
| Kilburn High Road | |
| Queen's Park † | |
| Kensal Green † | |
| Willesden Junction † (change for North London Line and West London Line) | |
| Harlesden † | |
| Stonebridge Park † ~ | |
| Wembley Central † (change for Southern trains during the peaks) | |
| North Wembley † | |
| South Kenton † ~ | |
| Kenton † ~ | |
| Harrow & Wealdstone † (change for London to Northampton Line and Southern trains) | |
| Headstone Lane | |
| Hatch End | |
| Carpenders Park | |
| Bushey | |
| Watford High Street | |
| Watford Junction (change for London to Northampton Line, Virgin and Southern trains) |
Timetables for the Watford DC Line can be viewed here [4] for northbound trains, and here [5] for southbound.
† = also served by Bakerloo Line.
~ = A recent report conducted by Transport for London speculated that Stonebridge Park, South Kenton and Kenton should be served only by Bakerloo line trains, except at peak times.
[edit] Gospel Oak to Barking Line
| Gospel Oak (change for North London Line) | |
| Upper Holloway | |
| Crouch Hill | |
| Harringay Green Lanes | |
| South Tottenham | |
| Blackhorse Road (change for Victoria Line) | |
| Walthamstow Queens Road | |
| Leyton Midland Road | |
| Leytonstone High Road | |
| Wanstead Park | |
| Woodgrange Park | |
| Barking (change for District Line, Hammersmith & City Line and c2c trains) |
Timetables for the Gospel Oak to Barking Line can be viewed here [6].
[edit] Stock
Metro services are operated by class 313 25kV AC/750 V DC electric multiple units on the electrified routes, and Class 150 Sprinter diesel multiple units on the non-electrified Gospel Oak-Barking route. Additionally, three class 508/3 750 V DC electric multiple units are used exclusively on the Euston-Watford Junction service. The Sprinters replaced the elderly class 117 and class 121 units in 2000.
[edit] Silverlink County
[edit] London to Northampton Line
London-Northampton services run on the slow lines of the West Coast Main Line.
| London Euston | |
| Harrow and Wealdstone | |
| Bushey | |
| Watford Junction | |
| Kings Langley | |
| Apsley | |
| Hemel Hempstead | |
| Berkhamsted | |
| Tring | |
| Cheddington | |
| Leighton Buzzard | |
| Bletchley | |
| Milton Keynes Central | |
| Wolverton | |
| Northampton |
Timetables for the London to Northampton Line can be viewed here [7] for northbound trains, and here [8] for southbound.
[edit] Watford Junction to St. Albans Abbey Line
| Watford Junction | |
| Watford North | |
| Garston | |
| Bricket Wood | |
| How Wood | |
| Park Street | |
| St. Albans Abbey |
Timetables for the St Albans Abbey line can be viewed here [9].
[edit] Bletchley to Bedford (Marston Vale) Line
| Bletchley | |
| Fenny Stratford | |
| Bow Brickhill | |
| Woburn Sands | |
| Aspley Guise | |
| Ridgmont | |
| Lidlington | |
| Millbrook | |
| Stewartby | |
| Kempston Hardwick | |
| Bedford St. Johns | |
| Bedford |
Timetables for the Bletchley to Bedford Line can be viewed here [10].
[edit] Stock
County services to Northampton are operated by class 321/4 electrical multiple units introduced in 1989. They were joined by new class 350/1 Desiro units built by Siemens AG in summer 2005 which operate as part of a shared fleet with Central Trains.
Services on the St Albans Abbey line were operated for many years by class 313 electric multiple units, but are now usually operated by class 321 units with Silverlink Metro drivers and Silverlink County guards.
The non-electrified Marston Vale Line uses class 150 diesel units.
[edit] Silverlink in the News
- On Tuesday 24 January 2006, London Mayor Ken Livingstone called for all Silverlink stations to be staffed after the murder of City lawyer Thomas Rhys Pryce near Kensal Green station. [2]
- On Friday 16 July 2004, Virgin Trains announced that it was withdrawing most of its stops at Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6000 passengers a day. Commuters became unhappy at the prospect of switching to older Silverlink trains, a longer journey. Silverlink countered this with the temporary usage of ex-Virgin stock, still in Virgin colours.[3]
- On Monday 7 June 2004, a Silverlink train carrying about 50 passengers derailed as it entered Northampton. No-one was injured.[4]
- On Thursday 8 August 1996 a northbound train collided with a southbound empty stock train 700 m south of Watford Junction. One person was killed and 69 injured. For more on this incident see Watford rail crash.
[edit] Station and service improvements
As of 2006, Silverlink has invested in a partnership with HSBC who have funded £13 million in a mid-life mechanical and electrical overhaul of the Silverlink County fleet. Other train refurbishment programmes are continuing on the Silverlink Metro trains. Silverlink is providing lifts, refurbished toilets and better customer service at Willesden Junction. A customer lounge and information point have opened at Northampton. A new station is emerging at Stonebridge Park and improvement work is being carried out at other stations. Other improvements being carried out by Silverlink include the continuing installation of CCTV and ticket gates.
[edit] The future of Silverlink
It has been announced [5] that the Silverlink franchise will finish in November 2007. From that time, Silverlink's operations will be split between Transport for London and a new West Midlands Franchise.
[edit] London Overground
Silverlink Metro services (the North London Line, the West London Line, the Watford DC Line and the Gospel Oak to Barking line) will come under the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground.
Four prospective operators were initially pre-selected for the London Overground concession:
- Govia
- MTR Laing (a joint venture between MTR Corporation and Laing Rail)
- National Express Group
- Nedrail
In December 2006, Govia and MTR Laing were selected to submit "best and final offers" for the concession. The successful operator will be selected in summer 2007 and begin operations from 11 November 2007.[6]
[edit] West Midlands Franchise
Silverlink County services will be merged with part of Central Trains to form a new West Midlands franchise. The Department for Transport announced on 19 September 2006 that three parties had pre-qualified for the new West Midlands franchise.[7].
- London & Birmingham Railway Limited (Govia)
- MTR Corporation (UK) Limited (MTR Corporation of Hong Kong)
- Serco NedRailways West Midlands Limited (a Joint Venture between Serco and NedRailways)
Subsequently, MTR withdrew.
[edit] Willesden depot closure threat
Silverlink has been served with six months' notice to pull out of Willesden depot, raising serious doubts over the depot's future.[citation needed] The closure will leave Class 313 trains homeless. A Silverlink spokesman said that it had only 180 days to leave the depot and needed to make a quick decision about its maintenance requirements. Silverlink was asked if the 313s will move to Bletchley, although they have not made a decision. Alstom will continue to operate four depots on the West Coast Main Line, at Wembley, Oxley, Longsight, and Polmadie.
[edit] References
- ^ Stratford-North Woolwich service to be withdrawn. Silverlink Trains (2006-12-08). Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ "Night staff for unmanned stations", BBC, 2006-01-24. Retrieved on 2007-01-26. “We will not consider any bid for a franchise that does not include that complete commitment that staff will be at every station throughout its entire opening hours”
- ^ "Commuters angry over train switch", BBC, 2004-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ "Train with 50 passengers derails", BBC, 2004-06-07. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ Transport for London (2006-02-14). Mayor welcomes Tfl control of first London passenger rail services. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. “From Autumn 2007, the London rail services to be managed by TfL”
- ^ Transport for London Transport for London confirms next bid stage for London Overground services
- ^ Department for Transport (2006-09-12). Department for Transport announces pre-qualified bidders for 3 new franchises. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
[edit] External links
- Silverlink Trains website
- National Express Group website
- Transport for London website
- Department For Transport Railways page
- Consumer website - Blog on poor Silverlink service
| Preceded by Network SouthEast As part of British Rail |
Operator of Silverlink franchise 1997-present |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains1 - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central2 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line3 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline1 - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways4 - 'one' - Silverlink1 - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains (VWC - VXC1) |
|---|---|
| International: | Enterprise4 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express5 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper6 - Night Riviera7 |
| 1 Ends November 2007 - 2 Starts 20 May 2007 - 3 Operated by South West Trains 4 Operated on the Irish railway network - 5 Operated by 'one' - 6 Operated by First ScotRail 7 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators and franchises in Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - InterCity East Coast - London Overground1 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Glasgow Trains2 - Grand Union2 - Humber & City2 - Wrexham & Shropshire3 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Proposed - 3 Awaiting Approval | |
