Silverlink
Former train operating company in England
title: "Silverlink" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["defunct-train-operating-companies-in-the-united-kingdom", "london-overground", "mobico-group", "railway-companies-established-in-1997", "railway-companies-disestablished-in-2007", "railway-operators-in-london", "1997-establishments-in-england", "2007-disestablishments-in-england"] description: "Former train operating company in England" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlink" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former train operating company in England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox rail company"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Silverlink |
| logo | Silverlink.svg |
| image | 313101 at Kilburn High Road.jpg |
| caption | Class 313 at in 2007 |
| franchise | North London Railways |
| 2 March 1997 – 10 November 2007 | |
| regions | Greater London |
| secregions | Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, |
| Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire | |
| fleet | 67 |
| stations | 88 |
| abbr | SS |
| parent_company | National Express |
| website | Archived website |
| map | |
| map_state | collapsed |
| successors | |
| :: |
| name = Silverlink | logo = Silverlink.svg | image = 313101 at Kilburn High Road.jpg | caption = Class 313 at in 2007 | franchise = North London Railways 2 March 1997 – 10 November 2007 | regions = Greater London | secregions = Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire | fleet = 67 | stations = 88 | stationsop = | routekm = | abbr = SS | parent_company = National Express | website = Archived website | linelength = | tracklength = | notrack = | gauge = | oldgauge = | el = | speed = | elevation = | map = | map_state = collapsed |successors=}} Silverlink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the North London Railways franchise from March 1997 until November 2007. At the end of 2007, Silverlink Metro services were taken over by London Overground and Silverlink County services were taken over by London Midland.
History
The North London Railways franchise was awarded to National Express on 7 February 1997. National Express commenced operating the franchise on 3 March 1997.
After initially trading as North London Railways, in September 1997 the franchise was rebranded as Silverlink.
The franchise was due to finish on 15 October 2006, but on 11 August 2006 the Department for Transport granted an extension until 10 November 2007. Upon its closure, its London metro services were taken over by London Overground and the remainder were merged with Central Trains' western services to form London Midland.
Branding
Silverlink had two sub-brands:
Silverlink Metro was used for services primarily within Greater London:
- North Woolwich – Richmond (the North London Line)
- Willesden Junction – Clapham Junction (the West London Line)
- London Euston – Watford Junction via Willesden Junction (the Watford DC line)
- Gospel Oak – Barking (the Gospel Oak to Barking Line) Silverlink County was used for services beyond Greater London:
- – Northampton (Birmingham New Street until 2004)
- Watford Junction – St Albans Abbey (the St Albans Abbey Line)
- Bletchley – Bedford (the Marston Vale Line)
Silverlink Metro
Silverlink Metro operated these services.
Note: Changes during the franchise period are noted but changes to the lines before and after the franchise are not.
North London line
These services ran on the North London line: ::data[format=table]
| North Woolwich † | |
|---|---|
| :: |
† At the end of service on Saturday 9 December 2006 the line between Stratford and North Woolwich closed, as much of the route was duplicated by the Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee line, leaving Stratford as the eastern terminus of the North London Line.
West London line
These services ran via the West London line: ::data[format=table]
| Clapham Junction (interchange for South West Trains and Southern) | |
|---|---|
| :: |
Shepherd's Bush 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
These services ran on the Watford DC line:
::data[format=table]
| Watford Junction (interchange for Northampton Line, St Albans Abbey Line, Virgin (West Coast Main Line), Southern) | |
|---|---|
| :: |
† = also served by the Bakerloo line.
Gospel Oak to Barking line
These services ran on the Gospel Oak to Barking line: ::data[format=table]
| Barking (interchange for District line, Hammersmith & City line and c2c) | |
|---|---|
| :: |
Silverlink County
Birmingham/Northampton
Birmingham Line services ran on the slow lines of the West Coast Main Line. The service was cut back to Northampton in September 2004, with services north of Northampton being transferred to partner operator Central Trains, and some through services remained. (Central Trains, like Silverlink, was a subsidiary of National Express and the operations shared rolling stock.)
::data[format=table]
| Northampton | |
|---|---|
| :: |
Prior to 2004 the service also continued to Birmingham, calling at the following stations: ::data[format=table]
| :: |
Abbey Line
These services ran on the Abbey Line ::data[format=table]
| St Albans Abbey | |
|---|---|
| :: |
Marston Vale line
These services ran on the Marston Vale line between and : ::data[format=table]
| Bedford (interchange for First Capital Connect and Midland Mainline) | |
|---|---|
| :: |
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. Despite these 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 were due to arrive. A London Assembly report said passengers found the service "shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded".
Rolling stock
Silverlink inherited a fleet of Class 117 and Class 121 diesel multiple units, and Class 313 and Class 321 electric multiple units, from British Rail.
To replace the elderly Class 117s and 121s, which operated the Gospel Oak - Barking and Bletchley - Bedford services, seven Class 150 Sprinters were transferred from Central Trains in summer 1999; an eighth followed in 2006. Pending the Sprinters' arrival, Silverlink hired Class 31 locomotives from Fragonset to top and tail Mark 2 carriages on Bletchley - Bedford services in 1998/99.
The Class 313s operated Metro services on the electrified routes; they were joined on the Euston - Watford Junction service in 2003 by three Class 508s transferred from Merseyrail. The Class 321s operated County services to Northampton and Birmingham; they were joined in 2005 by new Class 350s. The Watford Junction - St Albans Abbey service was operated for many years by Class 313s, but latter was usually operated by Class 321s with Silverlink Metro drivers and Silverlink County guards.
On 16 July 2004, Virgin Trains announced that it was withdrawing most of its stops at Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6,000 passengers a day. Commuters became unhappy at the prospect of switching to older Silverlink trains, and a longer journey. Silverlink countered this with the temporary usage of ex-Virgin stock, still in Virgin colours.
The Strategic Rail Authority decided to divert thirty four-carriage Siemens Desiro trains from an order placed by South West Trains to provide stock with faster acceleration for the West Coast Main Line operators. These trains, the Class 350s, were not allocated to a specific operator, but were instead used jointly by Silverlink and Central Trains, both owned by National Express.
Pending the arrival of these trains, from September 2004 Silverlink introduced two sets of Mark 3 carriages, formerly of Virgin Trains, hauled by Virgin Class 87 and EWS Class 90 electric locomotives on peak-hour Northampton services. Additionally, five Class 321s were hired from One, another National Express-owned operator.
Fleet
::data[format=table]
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | Period used | Notes | mph | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121 Bubble Car | [[File:19880827-Paddington-Class121.jpg | 118px]] | DMU | 70 | 112 | 4 | Gospel Oak to Barking Line | |||
| Marston Vale Line | 1960 | 1997–2001 | Replaced by Class 150s. | |||||||
| 150/1 Sprinter | [[File:Silverlink 150128 Barking.jpg | 118px]] | 75 | 120 | 8 | 1984–1987 | 1999–2007 | |||
| 313/1 | [[File:Silverlink 313122 at Kensington Olympia 03crop.jpg | 118px]] | EMU | 23 | Silverlink Metro: | |||||
| North London Line | ||||||||||
| West London Line | ||||||||||
| Watford DC Line | 1976–1977 | 1997–2007 | Refurbished between 1997 and 2001. | |||||||
| [[File:313 Silverlink Metro and London Overground.png | 600px]] | |||||||||
| 321/4 | [[File:321409 HarrowWealdstone.jpg | 118px]] | 100 | 160 | 37 | Silverlink County: | ||||
| Northampton Line | ||||||||||
| St Albans Abbey Line | 1989–1990 | 1997–2007 | ||||||||
| 350/1 Desiro | [[File:350115 at Euston 1.jpg | 118px]] | 30 | Silverlink County: | ||||||
| Northampton Line | 2004–2005 | 2004–2007 | Shared use by Central Trains and Silverlink on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line. | |||||||
| [[File:CT SL Class 350-1 w-pantograph.png | 600px]] | |||||||||
| 508/3 | [[File:508302 at South Hampstead.jpg | 118px]] | 75 | 120 | 3 | Silverlink Metro: | ||||
| Watford DC Line | 1979–1980 | 2003–2007 | Refurbished 2003. | |||||||
| [[File:508Silverlink.png | 600px]] | |||||||||
| :: |
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/North_Woolich_(closed)_station_Mk1.png" caption="North Woolwich]] in 2001, closed in 2006."] ::
Depots
Silverlink's fleet was maintained at Bletchley Depot. Following Virgin Trains ceasing to operate electric locomotives, Silverlink's Metro fleet moved to Willesden Depot.
In 2006 Alstom proposed closing Willesden. The depot's closure would have meant the Class 508s would have had to relocate to another depot, and the Class 313s having to return to Bletchley Depot (which was also due to close). On 12 May 2007, Silverlink took over direct running of the depot and its staff for the final six months of its franchise.
Demise
As part of a wider redrawing of the rail franchise map by the Department for Transport, the Silverlink network was to be broken up when it was renewed in November 2007.
The Silverlink Metro services were moved to the control of Transport for London under the banner of the London Overground. On 19 June 2007 Transport for London announced it had awarded the London Overground concession to a Laing Rail/MTR joint venture.
The Silverlink County services were merged with the Central Trains services around Birmingham to create a new West Midlands franchise. On 22 June 2007 the Department for Transport announced it had awarded the West Midlands franchise to Govia.
Silverlink's services transferred to London Overground Rail Operations and London Midland on 11 November 2007.
References
References
- [http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/03007935 Companies House extract company no 3007935] {{Webarchive. link. (15 April 2015 Silverlink Train Services Limited)
- (7 February 1997). "NX Awarded North London Railways Franchise". [[National Express]].
- (30 September 1997). "UK Activity Report - National Express".
- (11 August 2006). "Silverlink franchise extended to November 2007".
- (8 December 2006). "Stratford-North Woolwich service to be withdrawn". Silverlink.
- (8 September 2004). ""Slow" trains between cities cut". BBC News.
- "National Rail Trends 2006-2007 Q4".
- (18 September 2006). "Silverlink rises to second position in the national performance league".
- Sharp, Rachel. (24 October 2007). "TfL to take on rail network". Ealing Times.
- (26 October 2007). "Braced for rail strikes". Hackney Gazette.
- "London's Forgotten Railway". Greater London Authority.
- {{cite magazine. "". (March 2006)
- (16 July 2004). "Commuters angry over train switch". [[BBC News]].
- (August 2004). "Loco-hauled Cobblers to return from September".
- (September 2005). "The end for loco-hauled Cobbler services".
- {{usurped
- [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2810919/Govia-wins-franchise-for-West-Midlands-rail.html Govia wins franchise for West Midlands rail] {{Webarchive. link. (15 April 2016 ''The Telegraph'' 22 June 2007)
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