Silverlink

Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton (and until 2004, to Birmingham via Coventry). It was owned by National Express Group plc.

History
The franchise was awarded to National Express on 7 February 1997, when it was agreed they would take over North London Railways Ltd, a shadow franchise created when the Network SouthEast sector of British Rail began to be prepared for privatisation on 1 April 1994. The franchise began on 3 March 1997 and was due to end on 15 October 2006, but on 11 August 2006 the DfT extended the franchise to finish on 11 November 2007.

The company's name was changed to Silverlink in September 1997. The name is taken from the first of the LNER A4 steam locomotives (a member of which holds the world speed record for steam traction) which was called Silver Link. Ironically, Silverlink trains operated on the route to the north of the old LMS, the LNER's greatest rival.

Sub-brands
Silverlink trains had two sub-brands:


 * Silverlink County-operating services between London Euston and Northampton, Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey, and Bletchley and Bedford; and


 * Silverlink Metro -operating services between Stratford and Richmond, Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction, London Euston to Watford Junction via Queen's Park and Willesden Junction, and Gospel Oak and Barking.

Silverlink Metro
Silverlink Metro operated the following services.

Note: Changes during the franchise period are noted but changes to the lines before and after the franchise are not.

North London Line
† At the end of service on Saturday 9 December 2006 the line between Stratford and North Woolwich closed, as much of the route is duplicated by the Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee Line, leaving Stratford as the eastern terminus of the North London Line.

West London Line
Shepherd's Bush station on the West London Line was due to open under the franchise (with signage in Silverlink colours installed), but platform widening work meant that it finally opened in September 2008 under London Overground management, the signage being replaced with the London Overground roundels by that time.

Watford DC Line
† = also served by the Bakerloo Line.

Northampton Line
Northampton Line services ran on the slow lines of the West Coast Main Line.

† Services north of Northampton were taken over by Central Trains from 2005. The route shared rolling stock and parent company with Silverlink, and some through services remained.

Performance
Silverlink was categorised as a London and South East operator by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) and was one of the best performing TOCs in this sector with a PPM (Public Performance Measure) of 90.8% for the last quarter of the financial year 2006/7. This figure is for the whole of the day, as opposed to just peak services for which their performance is lower. The figures are slightly down from last year, but remain above the sector level of 89.0%.

Silverlink Metro service levels
Despite published performance figures the Silverlink Metro franchise on the North London Line was regarded by frequent travellers as offering a poor service, with extremely congested trains and an unreliable service with some trains cancelled shortly before they are due to arrive. A recent London Assembly report described the service as "shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded". The recent transfer of the service to Transport for London (TfL) has the potential to improve the quality of the service due to upgrade plans which coincide with the extension of the East London line.

A report on the future of the line can be found on the London Assembly website.

Rolling stock
Metro services were operated by class 313 25kV AC/750 V DC electric multiple units on the electrified routes, with three class 508/3 750 V DC electric multiple units used exclusively on the Euston-Watford Junction service. Class 150 Sprinter diesel multiple units were used on the non-electrified Gospel Oak-Barking route. They replaced elderly class 121 and Class 117 units in 2000.

County services to Northampton were operated by class 321/4 electrical multiple units introduced in 1988. They were joined by new class 350/1 Desiro units built by Siemens AG in summer 2005, which operate as a shared fleet with Central Trains.

The St Albans Abbey line was operated for many years by class 313 electric multiple units, but were usually operated by class 321 units with Silverlink Metro drivers and Silverlink County guards.

The non-electrified County Marston Vale Line used class 150 diesel units. Prior to the year 2000 this rout was also worked by Class 121 and 117 units.

Silverlink in the News



 * On Tuesday 24 January 2006, London Mayor Ken Livingstone called for all Silverlink stations to be staffed after the murder of City lawyer Thomas Rhys Pryce near Kensal Green station.
 * On Friday 16 July 2004, Virgin Trains announced that it was withdrawing most of its stops at Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6000 passengers a day. Commuters became unhappy at the prospect of switching to older Silverlink trains, a longer journey. Silverlink countered this with the temporary usage of ex-Virgin stock, still in Virgin colours.
 * On Monday 7 June 2004, a Silverlink train carrying about 50 passengers derailed as it entered Northampton. No-one was injured.

Reorganisation of former Silverlink Services
The Silverlink franchise ended in November 2007. Henceforward, Silverlink's operations were split between Transport for London and the new West Midlands franchise. Therefore, Silverlink County and Silverlink Metro have become Defunct UK Train Operating companies (sub-brands).

London Overground
Silverlink Metro services (the North London Line, the West London Line, the Watford DC Line and the Gospel Oak to Barking line) have come under the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground.

Four prospective operators were initially pre-selected for the London Overground concession:
 * Govia
 * MTR Laing (a joint venture between MTR Corporation and Laing Rail)
 * National Express Group (the then current operators)
 * Nedrail

In December 2006, Govia and MTR Laing were selected to submit "best and final offers" for the concession. MTR Laing was selected on 19 June 2007 and began operations from 11 November 2007.

West Midlands Franchise
Silverlink County services were merged with part of Central Trains to form the new West Midlands franchise. The Department for Transport announced on 19 September 2006 that three parties had pre-qualified for the new franchise.


 * London & Birmingham Railway Limited (Govia)
 * MTR Corporation (UK) Limited (MTR Corporation of Hong Kong)
 * Serco NedRailways West Midlands Limited (a Joint Venture between Serco and NedRailways)

Subsequently, MTR withdrew (it was suggested in the press at the time that this was part of a gentleman's agreement with Govia to divide this with the Overground franchise). In June 2007, the Government announced that Govia had been awarded the franchise, to be operated under the name London Midland.

Willesden depot
Alstom had proposed to withdraw from the Willesden train maintenance depot. Closure would have left the Class 313 trains homeless. On 12 May 2007, Silverlink took over direct running of the depot and its staff for the final six months of its franchise. . Alstom will continue to operate four depots on the West Coast Main Line, at Wembley, Oxley, Longsight, and Polmadie.