Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed four bidders have been shortlisted as part of the procurement process to operate the Elizabeth line from May 2025, when the current contract with MTR Elizabeth line expires. 

The Elizabeth Line opened in May 2022 and provides services to Reading, Heathrow, Shenfield, and Abbey Wood, running through central London with up to 24 trains per hour at peak time.  Since May 2022 there have been more than 300 million journeys on the railway.

The shortlisted bidders are:

• Arriva UK Trains
• First Keolis Elizabeth line (a joint venture between First Group PLC and Keolis SA)
• GTS Rail Operations Limited (A joint venture between Go Ahead Holdings Limited, Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd)
• MTR Corporation (UK) Limited

Howard Smith, Elizabeth line Director, said: “The Elizabeth line has had a transformational impact, providing new, more direct journey options for customers, including at ten new central London stations.

“We have introduced new, more spacious trains, which run more frequently through 41 stations that were either newly built or modernised, supporting hundreds of millions of customer journeys each year. The new Elizabeth line operator will play a major role in supporting us to continue that growth and success, providing high levels of customer service and satisfaction.”

The next operator will build on the success of the Elizabeth line, collaborating with key partners to optimise reliability, as well as sustaining the high levels of customer satisfaction and growth. They will also need to work closely with TfL, Network Rail and HS2 preparing for the operation of Elizabeth line services to the new superhub station at Old Oak Common.

The post TfL publishes Elizabeth Line bidders shortlist appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.

After a week of negotiations at ACAS the ASLEF Executive Committee & then Rail, Maritime and Transport union have today agreed to suspend their planned industrial action which had been scheduled on London Underground for Wednesday 26th and Friday 28th July.  

Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s organiser on the London Underground, said:

‘After a week of intense negotiations, we have made real progress in making sure our members’ working conditions and pensions are protected from the impact of the Tory government cuts to TfL funding.

‘There will be no changes to pension benefits before the next general election. And any future changes to working conditions and agreements will only be made by negotiation.

‘This is a major step forward.’

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “There has been significant progress made by our negotiating team in ACAS talks with TfL. However, this is not the end of the dispute nor is it a victory for the union as yet.”

“Our members were prepared to engage in significant disruptive industrial action and I commend their resolve. RMT’s strike mandate remains live until October and we are prepared to use it if necessary”.

“We will continue to negotiate in good faith as we always have done with TfL and it was only the steadfast commitment of our members in being prepared to take sustained strike action that has forced the employer to make significant concessions. Our campaign to defend jobs, conditions, and our members’ pensions will continue in the coming weeks and months.”

The post ASLEF & RMT suspend London Underground Strike action appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.

Arriva Group’s train operating company, Arriva Rail London (ARL) has been granted a two-year extension as the delivery partner for the London Overground concession, which is operated with Transport for London.

Arriva has operated the London Overground network since November 2016 and following the contract extension, is expected to do so up to May 2026. The announcement today brings continuity for 430,000 passengers who use ARL’s trains every day and builds on Arriva’s record of delivering improvements for London Overground customers, working in partnership with TfL to provide more frequent services, new trains, and improved interchanges.

The contract extension is also good news for ARL’s 1,500 employees who serve Londoners and see themselves as part of the community.

ARL successfully supported TfL during Covid and London Overground has now recovered to 88% of pre-pandemic passenger journeys. During the term of ARL’s contract, the operator has also implemented a number of service improvements, such as the extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside route and the introduction of four-car trains, which doubled the line’s capacity.

David Brown, Managing Director of Arriva UK Trains, commented: “We are incredibly proud of our performance record and of our relationship as a critical delivery partner to Transport for London. We play a significant role in London life, connecting communities and being part of one of the most mature, sophisticated, and inter-connected transport networks in the world. With this contract extension, we can continue to work in close partnership and deliver innovative and cost-efficient solutions to keep the capital city moving”.

Rory O’Neill, TfL’s General Manager for London Overground, said: I am very proud of everything we have achieved at London Overground but that would not be possible without the close collaboration with Arriva Rail London. There has been a great deal of change, not only at London Overground but in the rail industry, since the pandemic but ARL, supported by TfL, has risen to the challenge as we adapt to changing customer travelling habits. We continue to welcome growing numbers of customers back and with the help of ARL will build on that success.”

Arriva Rail London operates under the ‘concession model’ which means that TfL takes revenue risk, while the operating company receives a fixed payment with adjustments made according to performance.

Arriva Group has extensive operating experience across a number of different types of rail operating models through its UK Trains division which includes Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Grand Central, and Arriva Rail London. It is the only owning group to have experience with all contract types currently in use on Britain’s railway, including national rail contracts, a concessionary contract, an Open Access company under the Grand Central brand, and a rail maintenance business, Arriva Traincare.

The new contract comes into effect in May 2024 and will see ARL building on its track record of maintaining some of the highest levels of performance in the country as TfL’s delivery partner, while increasing its passenger numbers. London Overground was one of the first networks to restore services to 100% following Covid-19. It has also received the lowest level of customer complaints of any train operating company over the past two years.

The post Arriva secures London Overground contract extension from Transport for London appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.

Industrial action by bus drivers affecting 46 London bus routes has been suspended while union members consider a new pay offer, according to bus company Arriva London. Members of the Unite Union at Arriva garages in Ash Grove, Barking, Clapton, Edmonton, Enfield, Palmers Green, Tottenham, and Wood Green. were due to walk out on June 20-21 and 27-28.

A spokesperson for Arriva announced: “At this time, please be advised that any industrial action is currently suspended whilst Unite ballots their membership on the new offer.” However, Unite are still to confirm the suspension.

The post Arriva London strike ‘suspended’ after pay offer appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.

Transport for London (TfL) has today released details of the proposed second section in their new ‘Superloop’ network.

Following on from the proposed X183 route from Harrow to North Finchley, the new Route X34 is planned to run from North Finchley to Walthamstow every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday in the daytime and every 15 minutes during evenings and Sundays.

The new route will run alongside existing Route 221 from North Finchley to New Southgate before passing through Arnos Grove and running alongside existing Route 34 to Walthamstow Central.

Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport planning, said: “The Superloop will have an important role to play as we strive for a greener, cleaner and more sustainable London.”

The Superloop, a mostly orbital network consisting of seven suburban sections, plus three “spokes” heading in and out of central London, is due to be completed by 2025.

Other parts of the loop will include:

The post Superloop: Details of North Finchley to Walthamstow section revealed appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.

Arriva London bus drivers are set to strike for four days this month after Unite union members rejected a pay rise.

Some 1,700 drivers will take industrial action on June 20, 21, 27 and 28 after rejecting a 7% pay rise. Routes affected will mainly impact areas of North and East London.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Arriva is an extremely wealthy company but it has got its priorities all wrong. It needs to be concentrating on paying its workers fairly rather than providing the German government with huge dividends.”

“The strike action is set to create travel chaos across London but this dispute is totally of Arriva’s own making. It has had every chance to make our members an offer that meets their expectations but has refused to do so,” Unite regional officer Steven Stockwell said.

The post Arriva London drivers to strike in pay dispute appeared first on LSPhotography Blog.