Arriva Rail London (ARL) has been granted a two-year extension to its contract with Transport for London (TfL) to operate the London Overground network on its behalf.

ARL has managed the network since November 2016, after signing a seven-and-a-half-year contract with an option to extend for up to two additional years. Following the contract extension, ARL will manage the London Overground up until May 2026.

Paul Hutchings, Managing Director at Arriva Rail London, said: “I’m sure I speak for the entire ARL family in saying how thrilled we are to operate the London Overground for up to two years. Approaching the end of the original contract gave us a chance to reflect on our colleagues’ industryleading achievements over the past six and a half years, from the launch of the Night Overground in 2017 to opening Barking Riverside station in 2022. I have no doubt that the team will continue to excel during the extension and build even further upon the legacy we have already created for the London Overground.”

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.”

Over the past six and a half years ARL has been delivering improvements for London Overground customers through more frequent services, new trains and improved interchanges. Most recently ARL delivered new station entrances at Hackney Central and Imperial Wharf. Funded by Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in close partnership with TfL, these new entrances provide more capacity and make it quicker and easier for customers to access London Overground services. These improvements are just some of the initiatives taking place to encourage people back on the TfL network following the pandemic. With new travelling patterns and more leisure travel, these changes will ensure TfL can continue to meet increasing passenger demand as well as supporting new homes and jobs. With the network now operating a modern air-conditioned fleet of trains and with 30 per cent of Londoners less than a 15-minute walk away from a station, there has never been a better time for customers to make the most of fast, frequent and reliable London Overground services.

ARL has demonstrated its ability to adapt to disruption and fast-changing situations, having maintained some of the highest levels of performance in the country while also taking on growing numbers of passengers. Despite the complexity of operating nearly 1,600 services for over 430,000 passengers every day, London Overground was one of the first networks to restore services to 100% following the Covid-19 pandemic.

ARL has always put the customer at the heart of what it does. As well as receiving the lowest level of customer complaints of any train operating company over the past two years, ARL has run several initiatives to create strong relationships with the communities local to London Overground stations. These initiatives range from turning disused station spaces into community hubs for local residents, to hosting gardening clubs for school pupils who have little access to green spaces.