Media centre

Tuesday 3 Feb 2009

£326M OLYMPIC UPGRADE FOR LONDON OVERGROUND WILL MEAN TWICE AS MANY TRAINS

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Work will begin this weekend (7 February) on a £326 million upgrade of the London Overground network. When complete, passengers will see longer trains, more frequent services and benefit from reliable connections to the main London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Park in Stratford.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “We are committed to maintaining the momentum of improvements to the infrastructure that will keep our great city one of the world's leading capitals; and this project is a top priority as London Overground will play a major role in getting people to and from the Olympic Park in 2012. The engineers are all set to fly out of the starting blocks and crack on with improvements that will allow us to operate even longer trains, carry even greater numbers of Londoners and run even more frequent services.”

London Overground will run up to eight trains an hour during peak times on parts of the network when the upgrade is complete, double the current number and with a more reliable timetable for those trains. New and longer platforms at some stations will also allow more carriages per train, which will increase capacity and reduce overcrowding.

Work has been fast-tracked to ensure completion before 2012 and is being carried out by Network Rail as part of plans to improve rail services in and around the capital.

As part of the upgrade Network Rail engineers will:
· Upgrade more than 200 signals;
· Renew 7km of track and 69 sets of points;
· Lengthen 30 platforms;
· Improve seven more stations.

TfL’s programme of station improvements – upgraded CCTV, PA, lighting and passenger information screens; new signs; general refurbishment and new lifts at some locations - will continue in tandem with the line upgrades in order to minimise disruption to passengers.

Some services will need to be suspended while work takes place over the next eighteen months. TfL will provide rail replacement bus services while this happens to keep passengers connected to the public transport network.

Patrick Hallgate, Route Director, Network Rail, said: “The investment being made in the North London Line over the next 18 months is an integral part of Network Rail’s plans to improve services and build a bigger and better railway in the capital. The project will provide vital additional capacity for the Olympic Games and help meet growing demand on the line, which is expected to rise by a quarter in the next seven years.”

TfL London Rail’s Managing Director Ian Brown, said: ‘When TfL took over this network 13 months ago, we promised to bring it up to TfL’s standards and deliver a step change in travel experience for our passengers.

“With a total of £1.4bn being invested in London Overground, we are now delivering on that promise. A fleet of 32 new trains will enter service from 2009 with more capacity, air conditioning and real time information. That, along with these infrastructure improvements will really make a difference to passengers.

“We ask that passengers bear with us during these temporary inconveniences for a long term gain.”

Hugh Sumner, Olympic Delivery Authority Transport Director, said: “The London Overground will play a key role in taking spectators from across London to Stratford for the Games. We expect 70 per cent of spectators to get to the Olympic Park by rail, and these important upgrade works on the London Overground will leave behind a solid legacy of better connections and more frequent trains.”