[crossposted to uk.transport.london and uk.railway]


Today Mayor Ken takes over the ex-Silverlink Metro routes such as the
North London Line as London Overground (LO). I specifically say Mayor
Ken as I don't think it would have happened without him lobbying the
government for this transfer of responsibilities. The inclusion of the
North London Railway (as the Silverlink Metro routes are now
collectively known) under TfL management was the result of the Mayor
and his team successfully persuading the DfT that this was the way
forward.

I think this is genuinely good news for passengers as TfL will work
hard to improve the whole travelling experience on what were unloved
lines.

The most immediate change is the introduction of Oyster Pay-as-you-go
acceptance across all the LO lines - something that a great number of
passengers will appreciate, and I think will go some way to persuade
TOCs in and around London that this is the way to go. There is still
some uncertainty as to how Oyster PAYG fares are being implemented
from Carpenders Park up to Watford Junction as those stations are
outside the London zones 1-6 - but this will become clear and it
shouldn't detract from the fact that as a whole this will be an
immensely popular change for Londoners who use LO lines.

Other changes will take longer to implement - as the Mayor has already
made clear, such as in his comments in this Metro newspaper article:
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=74974

New trains are coming in 2008, and in 2011 3-car trains will be
extended by the addition of a fourth carriage.

Lots of other comments have already been made as to what the new
branding will be, whether existing trains will get new liveries, what
signs will be replaced and when. I don't think ephemeral changes such
as this are really the important ones - it's real changes that people
care about.

One very big early change is that there will be staff at all stations
(except the GOBLIN stations) for all the hours that the trains are
running - this is a big change for the better and will help people
feel more secure and cared for. I understand that station ticket
offices will be open for longer, whilst there will also be station
staff on and around the platforms, and there will also be roving
security staff who travel on the trains too (and these staff will be
monitoring GOBLIN stations). Trains will run later at night.
Passengers might actually have their tickets checked too - this was
previously a very rare event on these lines!

Station improvements are already underway and are having a noticeable
effect. TfL has already been funding station improvements across
London for the past 5 years or so, with the introduction of better
lighting, CCTV, improved ticket offices and booking halls and other
improvements to the station environment. But on the LO lines TfL has
already been hard at work making significant improvements to the
previously grotty facilities - booking halls and ticket offices at
Acton Central, West Hampstead, Hampstead Heath and Canonbury are just
some of the places where there have been significant rebuilds. Instead
of pokey ticket office windows (which used not to be open for business
that often anyway) there are now large all-seeing windows, and a
number of stations are having ticket gates installed (I noticed brand
new ones at Acton Central just the other day).

Many of the stations have also recently been painted. I suspect this
was TfL funded too, though it may have been National Express (owner of
Silverlink) making a rather late and forlorn attempt at impressing TfL
so they might be in with a chance of winning the concession to operate
the LO service. But the point is stations are now starting to look
clean and cared for, rather than grotty unkempt untidy graffiti-ridden
holes.

Lastly, I'm pretty sure that someone's actually got round to washing
many of the previously dirty seat cushions on the class 313 trains.
This shouldn't be a miracle, but it is! These trains only have to last
until next year, so I don't expect big changes (or a new damn livery)
but if TfL can ensure they each get a bit of an internal scrub - or
even (to use the fashionable term) a 'deep-clean' - then it'd be a
great and very visible improvement.

One of the big challenges on the North London Line remains either late
or broken down freight trains disrupting the passenger services. It'll
be interesting to see how successful TfL is in tackling this. I get
the feeling that Silverlink just gave a Gallic shrug of their
shoulders, instead of attempting to improve the situation. Whilst
Silverlink County was the favourite son, Silverlink Metro very much
felt like the unwanted black sheep - tolerated, but not embraced.
TfL's attitude is of course very different - it is not a reluctant
custodian, but a positive and attentive parent.

All in all things are looking up. Despite their neglect the North
London Line and the West London Line have become incredibly popular
routes, and at last the people who are running them actually seem to
really care about them.

Welcome, London Overground, and the best of luck to you.