Wednesday, 10 December 2025

Transport for London Awards First Group Contract to Operate Overground Services


Transport for London (TfL) has announced that FirstGroup has won the concession to operate London Overground services, which form part of the United Kingdom’s National Rail network.

(Unofficial text)

Rail for London Limited intends to enter into new contracts for the following service with the operator listed below:

Service: London Overground
Current Operator: Arriva Rail London Limited
New Operator: First Rail London Limited
Peak Train Requirement: 18 (for the Windrush line)
Contract Start Date: 3 May 2026
Contract End Date: In 8 years with a potential 2 year extension.

Alright, this isn’t the London Bus Tender Awards, but here’s an excerpt from TfL’s press release:

• Customers and staff will benefit from major improvements, including extra capacity on the Mildmay and Windrush lines

• Strong focus on safety, reliability and accessibility, backed by investment in people and technology

• New contract begins May 2026 and will run for eight years

Transport for London (TfL) has today (Wednesday 10 December) announced its intention to award the new London Overground operator contract to First Rail London Limited (FRLL), a subsidiary of FirstGroup PLC.

FRLL will take over from the current operator, Arriva Rail London, on Sunday 3 May 2026 and work closely with TfL over the eight-year contract to deliver further enhancements for customers on this hugely popular network.

Under the new concession, FRLL will introduce a range of service and operational improvements designed to enhance customer experience and support staff, including:

• Extra peak-time trains on the Mildmay line from May 2026, with shuttle services between Clapham Junction and Shepherd’s Bush during peak hours, providing more capacity and quicker journeys for commuters

• More frequent trains on the Windrush line from December 2026, with services through the core section of the Windrush line increasing to 18 trains per hour, reducing waiting times and improving flexibility for customers

• A relentless focus on the safety of customers and staff with upgraded help points and CCTV

• Strong collaboration with partners such as Network Rail and Alstom, the manufacturer of the London Overground trains, to maintain high performance and customer satisfaction

• Investment in people and technology to improve reliability, manage disruption, and provide better customer information

• Targeted upgrades on the Mildmay line infrastructure to boost performance for customers

• Innovative customer information solutions, including expanding digital screens to display live travel updates for stations and nearby interchange services, such as buses across all operator-managed stations

• Continued work to improve accessibility in partnership with leading advocacy groups

These improvements will help meet growing demand and ensure London Overground continues to provide a safe, reliable, customer-focused service.

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Some of my followers on social media (links at the end of the article) may have noticed that I reported on the UK Department for Transport unveiling the new brand for Great British Railways. Here are some of my social media posts:

Excerpts from the Great British Railways (GBR) Media Kit on branding. Courtesy of the Department for Transport.

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 10:58 AM

In comparison with Irish Rail (Iarnrรณd ร‰ireann) ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช and ScotRail (Rรจile na h-Alba) ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ, the branding and logo are based on the nation’s flags.

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 12:28 PM


Despite the UK Government’s policy of returning railways to ‘public ownership’, TfL continues to use public procurement to allow private companies to provide services on its behalf. One example is when GTS Rail Operations (Go-Ahead Group 65%; Tokyo Metro 17.5%; Sumitomo Corporation 17.5%) was awarded the concession in November 2024 to operate the Elizabeth line, taking over from MTR Corporation on 25 May 2025.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, responded to a question from Assembly Member Bassam Mahfouz regarding the performance of the Elizabeth line.

Meeting: MQT on 19 December 2024
Reference: 2024/4170

Answer
Date: Wednesday 15 January 2025

Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): Thanks for your question. The Elizabeth line is the most significant addition to London’s transport network in a generation. I am proud that it has quickly become one of the most popular railways in the country, carrying more than 750,000 people a day. The line transforms life and travel in London and the southeast [of England] by reducing journey times, creating additional capacity and improving accessibility across London’s transport network. It is no surprise that a recent YouGov poll named the Elizabeth line as the most popular Tube or rail mode amongst Londoners.
Last month, TfL announced its intention to award the Elizabeth line operator contract to GTS Rail Operations Ltd, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group, Tokyo Metro and Sumitomo Corporation. The new contract will bring the best parts of Tokyo and London together to optimise the current operation and prepare for the increase in services to Old Oak Common that are planned for 2030. This will include maintaining the focus on the safety of customers and staff, as well as investment in people and technology to help improve operating performance and better manage disruption, while ensuring the highest standards in customer information.
I recognise there has been recent disruption on the west of the line where the infrastructure is owned and maintained by Network Rail. Network Rail is now investing £140 million into Thames Valley Improvement Works, which has already led to performance improvements. I know TfL will continue to work closely with Network Rail and the new Elizabeth line operator to deliver the most reliable service and to build on the line’s transformational success.

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Here’s another recent response from the Mayor of London to a question from Assembly Member Bassam Mahfouz regarding the establishment of Great British Railways to improve services and station accessibility:

Meeting: MQT on 20 November 2025
Reference: 2025/4131

Answer
Date: Friday 28 November 2025

Sir Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): Can I thank the Member for his question? The establishment of Great British Railways is a welcome step towards a simpler, more reliable railway that puts the customer close to the centre of everything that it does. I look forward to continuing working with the Government to shape a statutory role for mayors under Great British Railways and building on the strong existing relationships between TfL, Network Rail, and rail operators. I am also pleased that the role of London TravelWatch will be unchanged. There is no doubt there is a disparity between the quality of services on the non-TfL suburban rail network - and we have heard from Assembly Member Turrell about some of the challenges - and the rest of London’s transport network.

TfL has consistently proven that it can improve rail services and rail stations following devolution. TfL currently delivers high quality rail services via London Overground, which has seen passenger growth of 200 per cent over the last 15 years, and through the Elizabeth line, already the busiest railway in the country. I have been clear about my ambitions to create a London suburban metro system and improve the service offered to customers. A key part of this will be developing improvements to Great Northern by devolving to TfL the services from Moorgate. Devolution of this service could be delivered relatively quickly and bring substantial customer and economic benefits, in addition to supporting significant housing delivery, most notably as a key enabler to the proposed new town at Crews Hill in Enfield. TfL is looking to engage with the Government making the case for devolution of rail services to London.

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To help speed up the devolution of railway services to Transport for London, I suggested in 2023 that a new regional transport authority should be established to take over railway services serving the Home Counties and the commuter belt. This would make it easier to manage railway operations and transport services outside Greater London, as well as to reform fares and ticketing schemes.

A slight change of topic: as the Mayor of London stated in his 2024 election manifesto regarding bringing London bus services in-house, I have so far found an update dating back to March 2025:

Meeting: MQT on 20 March 2025
Reference: 2025/1168
Question by: Krupesh Hirani

London Bus Company (1)

The Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] is currently making its way through Parliament. Clause 15 would enable local authorities to create new local authority bus companies. Given your commitment to “work with a Labour Government to explore the potential benefits and means of bringing bus operations into public ownership”, are you supporting this Bill and this clause?

Answer
Date: Tuesday 25 March 2025

The bus market in London has been subject to a different regime to the rest of the country, with a regulated market determined and specified by Transport for London (TfL) and competitively tendered contracts with bus operators to provide the services.
In London, our bus system is designed to enable the network to run efficiently with manageable costs. This process has driven customer growth and provided some of the highest bus service standards that the capital has ever experienced, and allowed TfL to set the metrics that operators must meet to ensure a high-quality service is delivered.

TfL is working closely with the Department for Transport to inform the Bill, to ensure bus passengers in London benefit from any further improvements to services made possible by this Bill.
Following the commitment I made in my manifesto, the Greater London Authority and TfL are exploring the case for having an in-house bus operating function in London. TfL already has an Operator’s Licence (O-Licence) as part of its risk mitigation strategy. Exploratory work on this is already underway.

I published an article last year on the proposed direct operation of London’s bus services, which included some supporting research.

Here are the highlights of my posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) and BlueSky. If you have an account on X and BlueSky, you are welcome to like and retweet my posts.

Transport for London Freedom of Information release: TfL says it holds no livery drawings for the Volvo BZL Electric buses on route 277 but adds that upcoming deliveries will follow the design standards shown in the attached drawings. tfl.gov.uk/corporate/tr...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 5, 2025 at 5:01 PM

Transport for London has published interim guidance on shared use bus boarders, outlining how these cycling-focused layouts should be assessed and designed. It reports mixed user views, highlights safety and accessibility concerns, and says further monitoring will inform future designs.

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM

TfL is promoting licensed London transport-themed gifts, from toys, art prints and puzzles to fashion accessories and homeware. Sold online and in shops worldwide, all products support the network, with revenue reinvested to help keep London moving. tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/looking...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 8, 2025 at 3:28 PM

Transport for London Freedom of Information release: Gallows Corner Flyover is set to reopen by spring 2026 after delays from poor ground and uncharted gas mains; some technical reports are withheld to protect public safety. tfl.gov.uk/corporate/tr...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM

Transport for London Freedom of Information release: TfL issued the London Underground Ticketing & Revenue Update 155, covering cyber attack impacts, delayed fares changes, Project Oval progress, ticket-scanning trials, gateline upgrades and updated travel notices. tfl.gov.uk/corporate/tr...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 4, 2025 at 1:43 PM

London Liverpool Street remains Britain’s busiest station with 98m entries and exits, driven by strong Elizabeth line demand. Elton and Orston was the quietest with 68. Birmingham New Street topped usage outside London, followed by Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds, which both saw steady growth.

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 4, 2025 at 12:03 PM

I would like to extend an invite for you to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) for transport-related updates. You can find me by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I am also present on BlueSky and Mastodon. I look forward to connecting with you on these platforms. Thank you for your support.

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