London Underground Overground DLR Crossrail map

London Rail is a directorate of Transport for London (TfL), involved in the relationship with the National Rail network within

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, UK which manages TfL's non-London Underground train services.

Operations

London Rail manages the London Overground (LO), London Trams, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), and the Elizabeth line. As part of an internal restructure within TfL, it recently merged with the (previously separate)

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

directorate, bringing all of Greater London local transport services on rails under one division. The London Overground was established in 2007 when TfL took over the control of the former National Rail Silverlink franchise in 2007. It has since taken on more services through a former London Underground line and over other

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

lines. London Rail lets a concession to operate the Overground. Operation is contracted to

Arriva Rail London Arriva Rail London is a train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operates the London Overground concession on behalf of Transport for London. History In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the ''Official Journal ...

(owned by Arriva UK Trains) until 2024. London Trams is responsible only for the Croydon Tram known as Tramlink. Tramlink was set up in 2000 by a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

. It was bought by TfL in 2008 and is operated on its behalf by

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Keolis and

Amey Amey may refer to: * Amey plc, a UK infrastructure support company, subsidiary of the Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial People * Colin Amey, Canadian singer * Jessica Amey (born 1976), Canadian swimmer * Otis Amey (born 1981), American footballer * ...

since 2014. There are also other concessionaires who have built and managed extensions. The Elizabeth Line (formerly know as Crossrail) also operates as a concession from London Rail. It already operates the Shenfield Metro services, taking over from Abellio Greater Anglia on 31 May 2015, as well as the ex-

Heathrow Connect Heathrow Connect was a train service in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and Great Western Railway (GWR), between Paddington station and Heathrow Airport. The service followed the same route as the non-stop Heathrow Express service ...

route since 20 May 2018.

National Rail in Greater London

The National Rail network within Greater London carries large numbers of commuters into London and also provides many local services, especially within

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. Under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 Transport for London was given powers to consult with the train operators and as such London Rail is therefore more of an enabler than an operator, and has developed partnerships with the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

(who are responsible for rail strategy),

(who own the infrastructure) and the various

train operating companies A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. The ...

(who operate the services) in order to further its aims. A pilot project was launched in 2003 to promote the various services provided by train operating companies in South London under one umbrella brand,

Overground Network Overground Network (abbreviated on or ON) was a branding initiative launched in 2003 by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and Transport for London (TfL), the public transport authority in London, England. Its aim was to encourage use of Nati ...

. The scheme included station upgrades, signage and publicity, but promotion of the brand had ceased by 2007. London Rail also influences rail freight and freight depots in Greater London. In August 2007, London Rail published its 'Rail Freight Strategy' report.London Rail
Rail Freight Strategy report Both former

Mayors of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

have expressed the desire to gain control of all local rail services in Greater London in the future and make them part of the London Overground. London Overground has already taken over Lea Valley Lines services from Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford and

Romford to Upminster Line Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfor ...

services on 31 May 2015.

References

{{Rail franchises in Great Britain London Overground Rail