TfL Rail
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Overview | |
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Owner | Transport for London |
Locale |
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Transit type |
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Number of lines | 2 |
Number of stations | 32 (22 managed) |
Website | tfl![]() |
Operation | |
Began operation | 31 May 2015 |
Operator(s) | MTR Corporation |
Reporting marks | XR |
Technical | |
System length | 36 miles 54 chains (59.0 km) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Electrification | 25 kV AC overhead lines |
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TfL Rail is the concession operating commuter services on two separate railway lines in London and its environs whilst the planned link-up between these lines is being constructed. This will form part of the Crossrail service when it opens. At that time, the TfL Rail name will be retired and the services will become operated by Crossrail, with the route named the Elizabeth line.[2][3][4] The Elizabeth line was initially due to open in December 2018.
TfL Rail was introduced on 31 May 2015 when it took control from Abellio Greater Anglia of the commuter "metro" service between London Liverpool Street in central London and Shenfield in Essex. The branch comprises the first 14 stations on the Great Eastern Main Line, with interchange at Shenfield for medium- and long-distance services beyond to East Anglia. TfL Rail has also taken over operation of some services from Paddington to Heathrow Airport and Reading. Services are operated by MTR Corporation under contract to Transport for London (TfL). Between May 2016 and May 2017, TfL Rail carried over 47 million passengers on the Shenfield branch.[5]
History[]
In June 2013, TfL announced that Arriva, MTR Corporation, Keolis / Go-Ahead Group and National Express had been shortlisted to bid for the concession to operate Crossrail, which was under construction.[6][7]
In July 2014, TfL awarded the contract to Hong Kong's MTR, for a duration of eight years with an option to extend by an additional two years.[8][9]
MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Ltd was created as a new train operating company and took control of the "metro" service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield from the previous operator, Abellio Greater Anglia, on 31 May 2015.[10] The existing Class 315 trains were re-painted in TfL Rail livery, and appropriate branding, advertising and message boards were added at the 14 stations along the line. Every station is staffed, from the first train to the last of the day. In June 2017, Class 345 trains began running between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield.[11]
In May 2018, TfL Rail took over operation of the Heathrow Connect service between London Paddington and Heathrow, as well as some GWR services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington.[12] In December 2019, TfL Rail took over operation of the Great Western Railway stopping services between London Paddington and Reading. In November 2019, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Reading, as a soft launch of the service.[13][14] In July 2020, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Heathrow.[15]
The line will be renamed the Elizabeth line when the central section opens, with the current branches connecting up with the core later.[16]
Route[]
The eastern branch of TfL Rail runs over the existing 20 miles 16 chains (32.5 km) of track on the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. The future Elizabeth line route will retain the use of most of this track, except the portion between London Liverpool Street and Stratford, where trains will use new tunnels to connect to the central section of the route.
The western branches operate over part of the Great Western Main Line and the Heathrow tunnel between London Paddington and Heathrow for 16 miles 38 chains (26.5 km), and entirely over the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington and Reading for 36 miles (58 km). The future Elizabeth line route will retain the use of most of this track, except the portion between London Paddington and Acton Main Line, where trains will use new tunnels to connect to the central section of the route.
Stations[]
Station | Image | Dates | Location | |||
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Opened | Managed from | Served from | Zone | Local authority | ||
Reading
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30 March 1840 | Managed by Network Rail | 15 December 2019 | N/A[a] | Reading |
Twyford | 1 July 1839 | Managed by Great Western Railway | Wokingham | |||
Maidenhead | ![]() |
1 November 1871 | Windsor and Maidenhead | |||
Taplow | 1 September 1872 | May 2018 | Buckinghamshire | |||
Burnham | 1 July 1899 | Slough | ||||
Slough | 8 September 1884 | Managed by Great Western Railway | ||||
Langley | ![]() |
1845 | May 2018 | |||
Iver | ![]() |
1 December 1924 | Buckinghamshire | |||
West Drayton | 4 June 1838 | 6 | Hillingdon | |||
Heathrow Terminal 5[b]
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27 March 2008 | Managed by Heathrow Express | Diversions only[b] | |||
Heathrow Terminal 4
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23 June 1998 | May 2018 | ||||
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3
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Hayes & Harlington | ![]() |
1864 or 1868 | May 2018 | 5 | ||
Southall | 1 May 1839 | 4 | Ealing | |||
Hanwell | 1 December 1838 | |||||
West Ealing | ![]() |
4 June 1838 | 3 | |||
Ealing Broadway | ![]() |
1 December 1838 | ||||
Acton Main Line | ![]() |
1 February 1868 | ||||
Paddington
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4 June 1838 | Managed by Network Rail | 1 | City of Westminster | |
Liverpool Street
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2 October 1874 | 31 May 2015 | City of London | ||
Stratford | ![]() |
20 June 1839 | Managed by TfL | 2/3 | Newham | |
Maryland | ![]() |
6 January 1873 | 31 May 2015 | 3 | ||
Forest Gate | ![]() |
1840 | ||||
Manor Park | 6 January 1873 | 3/4 | ||||
Ilford | ![]() |
20 June 1839 | 4 | Redbridge | ||
Seven Kings | 1 March 1899 | |||||
Goodmayes | 8 February 1901 | |||||
Chadwell Heath | 11 January 1864 | 5 | ||||
Romford | ![]() |
20 June 1839 | 6 | Havering | ||
Gidea Park | ![]() |
1 December 1910 | ||||
Harold Wood | ![]() |
1 December 1868 | ||||
Brentwood | ![]() |
1 July 1840 | 9 | Brentwood | ||
Shenfield | ![]() |
29 March 1843 | Managed by Greater Anglia | C | ||
Abbey Wood | ![]() |
30 July 1849 | 23 October 2017 | Not served by TfL Rail[c] | 4 | Greenwich |
- ^ Stations between Iver and Reading only accept contactless Pay-as-you-go and are therefore not in the Oyster zones
- ^ Jump up to: a b Heathrow Terminal 5 is not officially served by TfL Rail, but services divert to this station when Heathrow Terminal 4 is closed, for example during the COVID-19 period
- ^ TfL Rail does not provide any services at Abbey Wood, but the Elizabeth Line, its successor service, will do.
Services[]
As of December 2020, the timetabled weekday off-peak service pattern consists of: [18]
Shenfield branch | |||
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Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
London Liverpool Street to Shenfield | 8 | Stratford, Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood During peak times and Sundays, there are alternating services terminating at Gidea Park. During weekday peak hours, calling patterns are varied, with some stations omitted on certain services. |
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Reading and Heathrow branches | |||
Route | tph | Calling at | Stock |
London Paddington to Reading | 2 | Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley, Slough, Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead, Twyford During peak times, service frequency increases up to 4 trains per hour. |
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London Paddington to Hayes & Harlington | 2 | Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall | |
London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4[a] | 2 | Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 |
- ^ During the COVID-19 pandemic, Heathrow Terminal 4 station has been closed, so services towards Heathrow Airport have been diverted to Heathrow Terminal 5
Rolling stock[]
Current Fleet[]
Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Carriages | Number | Routes operated | Built | Years in operation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | ||||||||
Class 315 | ![]() |
EMU | 75 | 120 | 4 | 6 | London Liverpool Street – Shenfield | 1980–1981 | May 2015–present |
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Class 345 Aventra | ![]() |
90 | 145 | 7 or 9 | 70 |
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2015–2019 | June 2017–present | |
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- ^ During the COVID-19 pandemic, Heathrow Terminal 4 station has been closed, so services towards Heathrow Airport have been diverted to Heathrow Terminal 5
Past Fleet[]
Former units operated by TfL Rail include:
Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Carriages | Number | Routes operated | Built | Withdrawn | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | |||||||||
Class 315 | ![]() |
EMU | 75 | 120 | 4 | 46 | London Liverpool Street – Shenfield | 1980–1981 | 2018 | Scrapped or stored |
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Class 360 Desiro | ![]() |
100 | 160 | 5 | 5 | London Paddington – Heathrow Terminal 4 | 2004–2005 | 2020 | Stored | |
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Shenfield branch[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/315858_and_345012_at_London_Liverpool_Street.jpg/220px-315858_and_345012_at_London_Liverpool_Street.jpg)
TfL Rail took over operations from Abellio Greater Anglia on 31 May 2015.[19] TfL Rail subsequently introduced a fleet of new Class 345 trains.[20][21] On 22 June 2017, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Shenfield branch.[22]
The Class 315 trains will continue to be maintained at the existing Ilford depot, but the Class 345 trains will be maintained at Old Oak Common and Ilford depots.
Heathrow branch[]
TfL Rail inherited five Class 360 units from Heathrow Connect when it took over operations on 20 May 2018. These trains were used to operate the existing half-hourly (2tph) service to Heathrow.[23] On 30 July 2020, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Heathrow branch.[15] The last Class 360 trains were withdrawn in September 2020.[24]
Reading branch[]
On 26 September 2019, TfL Rail announced that it would take over the Paddington to Reading stopping services on 15 December 2019,[25] using Class 345 trains in place of the Class 387 and Class 165 trains used by Great Western Railway. Before that, on 25 November 2019 six GWR services a day started to operate using Class 345 trains, operated by TfL, to get drivers ready and stock in place for the main 15 December switch over.[26]
References[]
- ^ "TfL Rail: What we do". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "MTR Crossrail - Crossrail Rolling Stock". Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ Smith, Howard. "Crossrail – Moving to the Operating Railway Rail and Underground Panel 12 February 2015" (PDF). 12 February 2015. Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ^ Jobson, Robert (23 February 2016). "Crossrail named the Elizabeth line: Royal title unveiled as the Queen visits Bond Street station". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "TfL Rail". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ TfL announces shortlist of bidders to run Crossrail services Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Crossrail 25 June 2013
- ^ Crossrail shortlist reveals four contenders Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Rail News 25 June 2013
- ^ TfL announces MTR to run Crossrail services Archived 22 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Crossrail 18 July 2014
- ^ MTR Corporation wins £1.4 billion contract to run Crossrail services Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Rail Technology Magazine 18 July 2014
- ^ Blackburn, Ralph (25 May 2015). "TfL to take over Abellio Greater Anglia lines from May 31". Romford Recorder. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "The future of cross-London travel arrives". Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "TFL to operate Heathrow Connect services ahead of Elizabeth line opening". Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "TFL Rail to operate services to Reading from 15 December". Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "Crossrail Trains Have Started Running to Reading... Early!". 26 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "First '345' reaches Heathrow". Key Modern Railways. 30 July 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "Our Plan to Complete the Elizabeth Line". Crossrail. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "TfL Rail timetables". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "Passengers set to benefit as key commuter rail services transfer to TfL". Transport for London. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract to be awarded to Bombardier Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Department for Transport 6 February 2014
- ^ Bombardier wins Crossrail train contract Archived 19 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette 6 February 2014
- ^ "The future of cross-London travel arrives". Transport for London. 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Crossrail: The Western Approach". London Reconnections. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018.
- ^ Heathrow 360s Retired Modern Railways issue 865 October 2020 page 85
- ^ "TfL Rail to operate services to Reading from 15 December". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ Rosehill, Harry (26 November 2019). "Crossrail Trains Have Started Running To Reading...Early!". Londonist. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to TfL Rail. |
- 2015 establishments in England
- Crossrail
- Railway companies established in 2015
- Train operating companies in the United Kingdom
- Transport for London
- MTR Corporation