London Overground: Answers from the Mayor

London Overground (1)

Navin Shah (16-Sept-2015):

Following your previous answers, can you now give a start date for four trains-per-hour on the Euston to Watford Junction line?
Will late evenings become three trains-per-hour at the same time? Will Sunday late evenings have the same timetable as other days of the week?

The Mayor (16-Sept-2015):

Depending on an agreement being reached with Network Rail to allocate more train paths to London Overground, TfL will be able to run four trains-per-hour from 2018 when it receives delivery of trains, which will boost the existing fleet. This can include Sunday services if there is sufficient demand.
TfL is currently planning to increase the number of trains after 22.00 on this route to three trains per hour in the December 2017 timetable.

London Overground (2)

Navin Shah (16-Sept-2015):

What is the theoretical maximum number of London Overground trains per hour that could operate on the Willesden Junction to Gospel Oak section of the North London Line?
What enhancements to the infrastructure would be needed to reach that figure?

The Mayor (16-Sept-2015):

Under current Network Rail regulations, it is possible to achieve 13 trains per hour, if all available train paths were made available to passenger trains. In reality the most train paths that could be made available to TfL would allow approximately 10 trains per hour.
In order to increase the frequency on this route further it would need to be re-signalled as well as having improvements made to junctions, power supply and turnback facilities at the end of the route.

London Overground (3)

Navin Shah (16-Sept-2015):

Since your new London Overground trains in North-East London will have some transverse seating as on the Metropolitan Line, why will you not introduce the same on your new Euston to Watford Junction trains?

The Mayor (16-Sept-2015):

Longitudinal seating provides greater overall capacity than a transverse seating layout. Some transverse seating will be included on the West Anglia routes as average passenger journey times are longer than elsewhere on the London Overground network.
Average journey times on the Watford Junction to Euston route are somewhat shorter and there are some heavily loaded sections, particularly between Willesden Junction and Queens Park. This means that the additional capacity provided by longitudinal seating is required.
In addition, trains on the Watford Junction to Euston route are drawn from a pool of trains, based locally at Willesden depot, that will also serve the Gospel Oak-Barking route. This sharing of trains across more than one route reduces costs, increases the availability of trains and makes the service more reliable.