UK: Transport for London announced on April 9 that it would be inviting expressions of interest in a contract to supply electric multiple-units to operate routes that are to be transferred to its London Overground network in 2015. New rolling stock will also be required following electrification of London Overground’s diesel-worked Gospel Oak – Barking route.
TfL says that the base order will be for 39 four-car EMUs, 30 of which will be deployed on the routes from London Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford. These routes are currently operated by Greater Anglia, but are due to transfer on May 31 2015 to TfL, which hopes to introduce the new fleet between mid-2017 and the end of 2018.
Also transferring to TfL will be the short Romford – Upminster route, for which one trainset will be required to operate a shuttle service. Following completion of electrification by Network Rail in 2017, Gospel Oak – Barking will be operated with a fleet of eight four-car EMUs.
‘We are inviting train manufacturers worldwide to do business with us’, said TfL Director of Rail Jonathan Fox. ‘Our customers have already seen huge improvements to the existing London Overground network and we will be bringing that same expertise and those high standards to a wider group of passengers and regular London commuters’.
‘Ordering new trains for the Gospel Oak - Barking line and West Anglia route together, as well as including a provision to order more trains should passenger demand warrant additional capacity, ensures that we get best value for money for taxpayers’, he added.
