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TfL Rail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the former railway service serving London, Essex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire run by TfL. For the current service, seeElizabeth line.

TfL Rail
A Class 345 at Shenfield
AClass 345atShenfield
Overview
OwnerTransport for London
Locale
Transit typeCommuter rail/rapid transit[1]
Number of lines2
Line number
  • Shenfield – Liverpool Street
  • Paddington – Heathrow Terminal 4 / Reading
Number of stations32 (22 managed)
Websitetfl.gov.uk/modes/tfl-rail/Edit this at Wikidata
Operation
Began operation31 May 2015;9 years ago(2015-05-31)
Ended operation23 May 2022;2 years ago(2022-05-23)(rebranded asElizabeth line)
Operator(s)MTR Corporation
Reporting marksXR
Technical
System length36miles54chains(59.0 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in)standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line,25 kV 50 Hz AC

TfL Railwas theconcessionwhich operated commuter services on two separate railway lines inLondon,England and its environs whilst theCrossrailconstruction project linking these lines was underway. It ran from 2015 until May 2022, upon the opening of the Crossrail central section, when TfL Rail was rebranded asElizabeth lineand the name was discontinued.[2][3][4]

TfL Rail was introduced on 31 May 2015 when it took control fromAbellio Greater Angliaof the commuter "metro" service betweenLondon Liverpool Streetin central London andShenfieldinEssex.The branch comprised the first 14 stations on theGreat Eastern Main Line,with interchange at Shenfield for medium- and long-distance services beyond toEast Anglia.TfL Rail had also taken over operation of some services fromPaddingtontoHeathrow AirportandReading.Services were operated byMTR Corporationunder contract toTransport for London(TfL). Between May 2016 and May 2017, TfL Rail carried over 47 million passengers on the Shenfield branch.

History

[edit]

In June 2013, TfL announced thatArriva,MTR Corporation,Keolis/Go-Ahead GroupandNational Expresshad been shortlisted to bid for the concession to operateCrossrail,which was under construction.[5][6]

In July 2014, TfL awarded the contract toHong Kong's MTR, for a duration of eight years with an option to extend by an additional two years.[7][8]

MTR Corporation (Crossrail) was created as a newtrain operating companyand took control of the "metro" service betweenLondon Liverpool StreetandShenfieldfrom the previous operator,Abellio Greater Anglia,on 31 May 2015.[9]The existingClass 315trains were re-painted in TfL Rail livery, and appropriate branding, advertising and message boards were added at the 14 stations along the line. Every station is staffed, from the first train to the last of the day. In June 2017,Class 345trains began running between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield.[10]

In May 2018, TfL Rail took over operation of theHeathrow Connectservice betweenLondon Paddingtonand Heathrow, as well as someGWRservices between London Paddington andHayes & Harlington.[11]In December 2019, TfL Rail took over operation of theGreat Western Railwaystopping services between London Paddington andReading.In November 2019, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Reading, as a soft launch of the service.[12][13]In July 2020, Class 345 trains began running between London Paddington and Heathrow.[14]

The two branches became part of the Elizabeth line when the central section opened on 24 May 2022, with the current branches connecting up with the core later.[15]

Route

[edit]

The eastern branch of TfL Rail ran over the existing 20miles16chains(32.5 km) of track on theGreat Eastern Main Linebetween London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. The western branches operated over part of theGreat Western Main Lineand the Heathrow tunnel betweenLondon Paddingtonand Heathrow for 16miles38chains(26.5 km), and entirely over the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington and Reading for 36 miles (58 km).

Stations

[edit]
Stations served by TfL Rail[16]
Station Image Dates Location
Opened Managed from Served from Zone Local authority
ReadingNational Rail 30 March 1840 Managed byNetwork Rail 15 December 2019 N/A[a] Reading
TwyfordNational Rail 1 July 1839 Managed byGreat Western Railway Wokingham
MaidenheadNational Rail 1 November 1871 Windsor and Maidenhead
Taplow 1 September 1872 May 2018 Buckinghamshire
Burnham 1 July 1899 Slough
SloughNational Rail 8 September 1884 Managed byGreat Western Railway
Langley 1845 May 2018
Iver 1 December 1924 Buckinghamshire
West Drayton 4 June 1838 6 Hillingdon
Heathrow Terminal 5[b]Heathrow ExpressLondon Underground 27 March 2008 Managed byHeathrow Express Diversions only[b]
Heathrow Terminal 4London Underground 23 June 1998 May 2018
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3Heathrow ExpressLondon Underground
Hayes & HarlingtonNational Rail 1864 or 1868 May 2018 5
Southall 1 May 1839 4 Ealing
Hanwell 1 December 1838
West EalingNational Rail 4 June 1838 3
Ealing BroadwayNational RailLondon Underground 1 December 1838
Acton Main Line 1 February 1868
London PaddingtonNational RailHeathrow ExpressLondon Underground 4 June 1838 Managed by Network Rail 1 City of Westminster
Sections disconnected
London Liverpool StreetNational RailLondon UndergroundLondon Overground 2 October 1874 Managed by Network Rail 31 May 2015 1 City of London
StratfordNational RailLondon UndergroundLondon OvergroundDocklands Light Railway 20 June 1839 Managed byTfL 2/3 Newham
Maryland 6 January 1873 31 May 2015 3
Forest Gate 1840
Manor Park 6 January 1873 3/4
Ilford 20 June 1839 4 Redbridge
Seven Kings 1 March 1899
Goodmayes 8 February 1901
Chadwell Heath 11 January 1864 5
RomfordNational RailLondon Overground 20 June 1839 6 Havering
Gidea Park 1 December 1910
Harold Wood 1 December 1868
Brentwood 1 July 1840 9 Brentwood
ShenfieldNational Rail 29 March 1843 Managed byGreater Anglia C
  1. ^Stations between Iver and Reading only acceptcontactless Pay-as-you-goand are therefore not in the Oyster zones
  2. ^abHeathrow Terminal 5 was not officially served by TfL Rail, but services were diverted to this station whenHeathrow Terminal 4was closed during COVID-19

Former services

[edit]

Shenfield branch

[edit]
A Class 315 and Class 345 atLondon Liverpool Street

TfL Rail took over operations fromAbellio Greater Angliaon 31 May 2015.[17]TfL Rail subsequently introduced a fleet of newClass 345trains.[18][19]On 22 June 2017, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Shenfield branch.[20]

TheClass 315trains continued to be maintained at the existingIlforddepot, but the Class 345 trains are maintained atOld Oak Commonand Ilford depots.

Heathrow branch

[edit]

TfL Rail inherited fiveClass 360units fromHeathrow Connectwhen it took over operations on 20 May 2018. These trains were used to operate the existing half-hourly (2tph) service to Heathrow.[21]On 30 July 2020, Class 345 trains entered passenger service on the Heathrow branch.[14]The last Class 360 trains were withdrawn in September 2020.[22]

Reading branch

[edit]

On 26 September 2019, TfL Rail announced that it would take over thePaddingtontoReadingstopping services on 15 December 2019,[23]using Class 345 trains in place of theClass 387andClass 165trains used byGreat Western Railway.Before that, on 25 November 2019 six GWR services a day started to operate using Class 345 trains, operated by TfL, to get drivers ready and stock in place for the main 15 December switch over.[24]

Route tables

[edit]

Prior to the opening of theElizabeth lineon 24 May 2022, the timetabled weekday off-peak service pattern consisted of:[25]

Shenfield branch
Route tph Calling at Stock
London Liverpool StreettoShenfield 8 345315
Reading and Heathrow branches
Route tph Calling at Stock
London PaddingtontoReading 2[a] 345
London Paddington toHayes & Harlington 2
London Paddington toHeathrow Terminal 4[b] 2
  1. ^During peak times, service frequency increased up to 4 trains per hour
  2. ^During theCOVID-19 pandemic,Heathrow Terminal 4 station was closed, services diverted toHeathrow Terminal 5

Rolling stock

[edit]

Fleet carried over to the Elizabeth line

[edit]
Class Image Type Top speed Carriages Number Routes operated Built Years in operation
mph km/h
Class 315 EMU 75 120 4 8[citation needed] Liverpool Street–Shenfield[26] 1980–1981 1980–2022
Class 345Aventra EMU 90 145 7 or 9 70 2015–2019 June 2017–present

Past fleet

[edit]

Former units operated by TfL Rail include:

Class Image Type Top speed Carriages Number Routes operated Built Withdrawn
mph km/h
Class 360Desiro EMU 100 160 5 5 London Paddington–Heathrow Terminal 4(Heathrow Connect) 2004–2005 2020

References

[edit]
  1. ^"TfL Rail: What we do".Transport for London. Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2015.
  2. ^"MTR Crossrail – Crossrail Rolling Stock".Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2014.Retrieved1 December2014.
  3. ^Smith, Howard."Crossrail – Moving to the Operating Railway Rail and Underground Panel 12 February 2015"(PDF).12 February 2015.Transport for London.Archived(PDF)from the original on 13 February 2015.Retrieved13 February2015.
  4. ^Jobson, Robert (23 February 2016)."Crossrail named the Elizabeth line: Royal title unveiled as the Queen visits Bond Street station".Evening Standard.Archivedfrom the original on 25 February 2016.Retrieved23 February2016.
  5. ^TfL announces shortlist of bidders to run Crossrail servicesArchived27 July 2014 at theWayback MachineCrossrail 25 June 2013
  6. ^Crossrail shortlist reveals four contendersArchived8 August 2014 at theWayback MachineRail News25 June 2013
  7. ^TfL announces MTR to run Crossrail servicesArchived22 July 2014 at theWayback MachineCrossrail 18 July 2014
  8. ^MTR Corporation wins £1.4 billion contract to run Crossrail servicesArchived8 August 2014 at theWayback MachineRail Technology Magazine18 July 2014
  9. ^Blackburn, Ralph (25 May 2015)."TfL to take over Abellio Greater Anglia lines from May 31".Romford Recorder.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2019.Retrieved11 December2019.
  10. ^"The future of cross-London travel arrives".Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2020.Retrieved17 September2020.
  11. ^"TFL to operate Heathrow Connect services ahead of Elizabeth line opening".Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2019.Retrieved17 December2019.
  12. ^"TFL Rail to operate services to Reading from 15 December".Archivedfrom the original on 27 November 2019.Retrieved27 November2019.
  13. ^"Crossrail Trains Have Started Running to Reading... Early!".26 November 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 29 December 2019.Retrieved29 December2019.
  14. ^ab"First '345' reaches Heathrow".Key Modern Railways.30 July 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2020.Retrieved3 August2020.
  15. ^"Our Plan to Complete the Elizabeth Line".Crossrail.Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2019.Retrieved22 July2019.
  16. ^"Liverpool Street to Romford and Shenfield"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 May 2015.Retrieved28 May2015.
  17. ^"Passengers set to benefit as key commuter rail services transfer to TfL".Transport for London.21 May 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 12 August 2020.Retrieved25 September2020.
  18. ^Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract to be awarded to BombardierArchived8 August 2014 at theWayback MachineDepartment for Transport 6 February 2014
  19. ^Bombardier wins Crossrail train contractArchived19 August 2014 at theWayback MachineRailway Gazette6 February 2014
  20. ^"The future of cross-London travel arrives".Transport for London.22 June 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2020.Retrieved17 September2020.
  21. ^"Crossrail: The Western Approach".London Reconnections.Archivedfrom the original on 11 July 2018.
  22. ^"Heathrow 360s Retired".Modern Railways.No. 865. October 2020. p. 85.
  23. ^"TfL Rail to operate services to Reading from 15 December".Transport for London.Archivedfrom the original on 27 November 2019.Retrieved27 November2019.
  24. ^Rosehill, Harry (26 November 2019)."Crossrail Trains Have Started Running To Reading...Early!".Londonist.Archivedfrom the original on 29 December 2019.Retrieved29 December2019.
  25. ^"TfL Rail timetables".Transport for London.Archivedfrom the original on 13 July 2020.Retrieved12 July2020.
  26. ^Russell, David (June 2022). "Class 315". Units.Rail Express.No. 313. p. 27.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toTfL Rail.
Preceded by Operator of Crossrail concession
2015–2022 		Succeeded by
Elizabeth line
24 May 2022
Preceded by
Preceded by
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