Transport for London (TfL) has begun the process of selecting the company which will operate London Overground services into the next decade.
TfL has issued a notice with the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), launching the bidding process for the new seven-and-a-half year concession.
Services are currently run by London Overground Rail Operations (LOROL) Â – a 50/50 joint venture between MTR and Deutsche Bahn (DB).
The new operator will take over London Overground services from November 2016. The concession will run until 2024, with an option to extend by a further two years.
Bidders have until mid-May to register their interest.
The concession includes the introduction of new trains, station upgrades, options to introduce 24-hour services at weekends and the extension of services to Barking Riverside.
Jonathan Fox, TfL’s director of London Rail, said: “At end of May, we will take over the running of local services out of Liverpool Street station to north east London, which will also come under the new concession. Customers can look forward to new air-conditioned walk-through trains, which will start operating from 2018, and will benefit from stations being staffed at all times when trains are running.”
