Overground Network (abbreviated on or ON) was a branding initiative launched in 2003 by the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for Rail transport in the United Kingdom, the railway industry. Its motto was 'Brita ...

(SRA) and Transport for London (TfL), the public transport authority in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Its aim was to encourage use of

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

services in

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 ...

. The project was a partnership between the SRA, TfL, three train operating companies (

Connex South Eastern Connex South Eastern was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Eastern franchise from October 1996 until November 2003. History On 13 October 1996 Connex commenced operating the South Eastern ...

, South Central Trains and

South West Trains Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017. SWT op ...

), the South and West London Transport Conference (SWELTRAC) and the South East London Transport Strategy (SELTRANS). The scheme is no longer being promoted and the Overground Network project has since been abandoned. Note that in common parlance within London, the term "overground" may be used in reference to any National Rail line, in order to distinguish it from the Underground.

Background

Suburban rail services in London, as in the rest of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, are run on a system of rail franchises and operated by a number of private train operating companies, managed by National Rail. South London is poorly served by the

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 ...

network, but does have a large number of

suburban rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

lines. Transport studies had suggested that the public perceived the South London rail network as confusing, with multiple operators and a lack of consistent information design, in contrast to the clarity of London Underground's

Tube map The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic ...

. A pilot scheme was launched on 30 September 2003 to bring National Rail services operated by multiple companies at 41 stations under one branding umbrella within London.

Control of rail services

Unlike the today's

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

, TfL exercised no operational or regulatory control over rail services on the Overground Network, but funded station improvements such as standardised information presentation, branded signage,

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

and lighting. Operational powers remained with the individual train operators. In 2004 TfL put forward proposals for a "London Regional Rail Authority" to be established, which would give TfL regulatory powers over rail services in and around Greater London. 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 ...

considered that granting operational control of rail services to the London mayor would result in fragmentation of the National Rail system. Out of these proposals evolved a new mechanism for giving the London mayor more control over rail services within London, and London Overground was established as a National Rail franchise managed by TfL in 2007. This new system, mostly in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, was the successor to the Overground Network pilot. ON was quietly forgotten and TfL now promotes LO as its rail service.

Ticketing

The Overground Network pilot was a branding exercise and did not include any new ticketing policies. When London Overground was launched, it was fully integrated into TfL's ticketing network from its launch, including full acceptance of the

Oyster card The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...

electronic

smartcard A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

system. This ticketing policy was not extended to the former Overground Network, and for a number of years Oyster card pay-as-you-go tickets were not valid at stations bearing the "ON" brand, despite the similarity of the two network brand names. In January 2010, Oyster card was fully rolled out across National Rail services in London, and Oyster pay-as-you-go is now valid across the whole London rail network, including the former "ON" system.

The ON brand

Using the Overground Network brand, Transport for London introduced consistent information displays, station signage and maps on selected routes in South London, along with prominent "ON" branding on station exteriors. Railway stations selected for the Overground Network were those with a service frequency of 4 or more trains per hour to a London terminus. The scheme sought to encourage

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

-style usage of these services. A diagrammatic map of the Overground Network was published to support passenger information provision, showing high-frequency routes in colour, with Underground and

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

connections. The ON branding was not applied to trains, which retained the livery of the individual train operating companies. The "ON" brand was conceived by the brand agency Fitch and featured a logo formed from orange-coloured, lower-case "ON" initials. The letter "N" was stylised to look like a rounded arrow pointing down, with an arrow cutout shape penetrating upwards. Although this pilot was purely an exercise in branding, this was the first instance of TfL having a visible influence over National Rail services in London. The Overground Network pilot has since been withdrawn. , the scheme had not been expanded. However, TfL has helped fund several similar station upgrade programmes including enhanced passenger information and line guides without applying the "on" branding, leaving the future of the scheme in doubt. The Overground Network website was shut down in February 2007, and now redirects to the TfL pages for

London Rail London Rail is a directorate of Transport for London (TfL), involved in the relationship with the National Rail network within Greater London, UK which manages TfL's non-London Underground train services. Operations London Rail manages the ...

End of the brand

According to a talk given by Innes Ferguson of TfL at the London Transport Museum on 24 September 2007, the Overground Network scheme is now "dead"; the logo is no longer being used on train operating companies' (TOCs) publicity material nor is the network being promoted by TfL. He added that whilst TfL funded the installation of Overground Network "on" signage at appropriate National Rail stations, it is being left to individual TOCs to remove these at their own expense, hence the many that remain in situ in 2008, and even some are still left as of 2021. In 2006, TfL launched

, a similar but more comprehensive scheme in north London unrelated to Overground Network. Again, according to Innes Ferguson, TfL's medium-term aspiration is for the former to be expanded to cover other National Rail services in London and the South-East, either by direct TfL operation through a concession-holder (as with the ex-Silverlink routes) or by a TOC agreeing to operate under the London Overground "brand".

Routes

These routes were part of the scheme, and carried the ''on'' branding on station signs: * Kingston Loop Line ** Waterloo to

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

via

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

(

) *

Waterloo to Reading Line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

** Waterloo to

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

via

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(

) *

Sutton & Mole Valley Lines The Sutton and Mole Valley lines were constructed between 1847 and 1868 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the London and South Western Railway and the LBSCR-sponsored Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway. Services Services ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and West Croydon via

Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note tha ...

( Southern) *

Greenwich Line The Greenwich line is a short railway line in South London that follows part of the route of the London and Greenwich Railway, which was the first railway line in London. The line diverges from the South Eastern Main Line at North Kent East ju ...

North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Line ...

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

via

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

(

) Additionally, these routes were shown on the network map as having 4 tph service: * Waterloo to

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

, Staines and

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

. * Victoria to Epsom,

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wit ...

and Bromley South * London Bridge to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and

Smitham Smitham is the small lumps of ore which free miners scavenged because they were exempt from payment of lot and cope duties. This practice was brought to an end in 1760 when the Duke of Devonshire challenged the practice in chancery on the basi ...

. *

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and East Croydon. *

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

and

Cannon Street Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City. It is the site of the ancient London S ...

Crayford Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement deve ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

and Hayes

References

External links

* * * * {{cite web, title=Overground Network, url=http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/21, website=AlwaysTouchOut.com, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623042828/http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/21, archive-date=23 June 2013, url-status=dead Rail infrastructure in London Croydon 2020 London Rail History of rail transport in London