Passengers using London Overground are set to benefit from an increase in services that will be introduced from December.
Trains on several routes across the network will run more frequently at peak times, evenings and weekends.
Services on London Overground were increased in May and since then the new timetable has been closely monitored.
It has been established it would be possible to add extra trains and increase the capacity of the network further.
The following routes will see an increase in services:
- Two extra morning peak trains from Surrey Quays to Dalston Junction, Monday to Saturday
- Four extra trains will run every hour between Dalston Junction and Highbury & Islington on Sunday mornings
- One extra morning train per weekday will run between Willesden Junction and Stratford, extending the current service from Clapham Junction
- Two extra trains will run in the late evening from Stratford to Camden Road every Monday to Saturday
- Two extra trains will run in the late evening from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction every Monday to Saturday
- One extra train will run from Willesden Junction to Clapham Junction on Sunday mornings
- On Sunday one extra train will run between Willesden Junction and Stratford in the morning and one extra train will run in the evening, extending the current services to and from Clapham Junction.
Where possible there will also be an extra service at 0759 between Woodgrange Park and Upper Holloway, on the Gospel Oak to Barking line to relieve peak time pressure.
This service has already been trialled, however it cannot be guaranteed to run every day because it relies on using a spare train, which may occasionally be needed elsewhere.
Train frequency on this line was already increased to four per hour last May in the last timetable boost.
Howard Smith, Chief Operating Officer at London Rail, said:
“This is great news for London Overground passengers who will really benefit from the increase in services created by these extra trains.
“We have been working closely with our operator, London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (LOROL), and Network Rail to find a way to ease crowding and I am delighted that we have been able to implement these additional services so soon. This positive news is a great way to see out 2011.”
Steve Murphy – Managing Director at LOROL, said:
“Working with Transport for London (TfL), LOROL are delighted to respond promptly to an increase in demand for additional capacity by delivering extra services for customers travelling on the London Overground network.
“We look forward to making further improvements that will benefit Overground customers in the future as we continue to transform our railway.”
These are very welcome changes which regular users have asked TfL and LOROL to provide. Several of these service trains are being introduced by the simple expedient of livening up empty stock (ecs) workings.
One of the problems with Overground is sorting out late evening services. With daytime freqencies at 5, 8, 10 or 15 minute intervals, dropping services down to 30 minute frequencies on some routes is unsatisfactory.Â
Users’ groups on the Overground network have argued that if there is a need to cut costs, 20 minute frequencies should be an absolute minimum during the evening, with last trains after midnight on core sections. This change needs to be introduced by May 2012 before the Olympics, and hopefully TfL will get this organised next year.