'London Rail' is an arm of
Transport for London (TfL), involved in the provision of passenger service on the
National Rail "heavy" rail network within
London,
England.
Despite its name, London Rail is not responsible for those "light" rail systems which are directly controlled by TfL (
London Underground,
Docklands Light Railway and
Tramlink), which do not form part of the National Rail network.
Mayor
Ken Livingstone hopes in the future to gain control of all rail services in London and make them part of the
London Overground.
Influence
Currently TfL has no direct management responsibility for services on the
National Rail network within London, even though these carry large numbers of commuters into London and also provide many internal services, especially within south London. Under the
Greater London Authority Act 1999 Transport for London was given powers to consult with the train operators and as such London Rail is therefore more of an enabler than an operator, and has developed partnerships with the
Department for Transport (who are responsible for rail strategy),
Network Rail (who own the infrastructure) and the various
train operating companies (who manage the services) in order to further its aims.
Direct management
London Rail is responsible for the extension to the
East London Line and is a source of funding for improvements to rail service frequencies and station facilities in the London area. From November 2007 the
London Overground (the Metro services of the
Silverlink franchise) will be directly controlled by London Rail. The extended East London Line will form part of that brand from 2010.
See also
★
Overground Network
External links
★
London Rail website