Silverlink

Encyclopedia : S : SI : SIL : Silverlink

Silverlink Trains is a regional franchise in the British railway system with routes in suburban London and from London to Northampton. It is owned by National Express Group plc.

Contents

0.1 History

1 Silverlink Metro

1.1 North London Line
1.2 West London Line
1.3 Watford DC Line
1.4 Gospel Oak to Barking Line
1.5 Stock

2 Silverlink County

2.1 London to Northampton Line
2.2 Watford Junction to St. Albans Abbey Line
2.3 Bletchley to Bedford (Marston Vale) Line
2.4 Stock

3 Silverlink in the News
4 Station and Service Improvements
5 The future of Silverlink
6 External links

History

Silverlink was formed in early 1997 as North London Railways. It was responsible for the running and maintenance of the North London Line, a semi-circular route running from Richmond in West London through North London to North Woolwich in East London. As the company expanded, also becoming responsible for the West London Line, the Watford DC Line and London-Northampton services via the West Coast Main Line, the name was considered inappropriate and the company was renamed Silverlink.

The company is divided into two main branches: 'Silverlink Metro' for inner-suburban services, and 'Silverlink County' for longer distance commuter trains and outer-suburban services.

Silverlink Metro

North London Line

The stations on the North London Line are:

Richmond (change for District Line)
Kew Gardens (change for District Line)
Gunnersbury (change for District Line)
South Acton
Acton Central
Willesden Junction (change for Bakerloo Line, West London Line and Watford DC Line)
Kensal Rise
Brondesbury Park
Brondesbury
West Hampstead (change for Jubilee Line and First Capital Connect trains)
Finchley Road & Frognal
Hampstead Heath
Gospel Oak (change for Gospel Oak to Barking Line)
Kentish Town West
Camden Road
Caledonian Road & Barnsbury
Highbury & Islington (change for Victoria Line)
Canonbury
Dalston Kingsland
Hackney Central
Homerton
Hackney Wick
Stratford (change for Central Line, Jubilee Line, Docklands Light Railway and One trains)
West Ham (change for District Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Jubilee Line, and c2c Trains)
Canning Town (change for Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway)
Custom House (change for Docklands Light Railway)
Silvertown
North Woolwich

Timetables for the North London Line can be viewed here [link] for Eastbound services, and here [link] for Westbound services.

West London Line

The stations on the West London Line are:

Willesden Junction (change for North London Line, Watford DC Line and Bakerloo Line)
Shepherds Bush (under construction)
Kensington (Olympia) (change for District Line)
West Brompton (change for District Line and Southern trains)
Imperial Wharf (under construction)
Clapham Junction (change for South West trains)

Timetables for the West London Line can be viewed here [link].

Watford DC Line

The stations on the Watford DC Line are:

London Euston (change for Northern Line, Victoria Line and Virgin trains)
South Hampstead
Kilburn High Road
Queen's Park (change for Bakerloo Line)
Kensal Green (change for Bakerloo Line)
Willesden Junction (change for North London Line, West London Line and Bakerloo Line)
Harlesden (change for Bakerloo Line)
Stonebridge Park (change for Bakerloo Line)
Wembley Central (change for Bakerloo Line and London to Northampton Line)
North Wembley (change for Bakerloo Line)
South Kenton (change for Bakerloo Line)
Kenton (change for Bakerloo Line)
Harrow & Wealdstone (change for Bakerloo Line and London to Northampton Line)
Headstone Lane
Hatch End
Carpenders Park
Bushey
Watford High Street
Watford Junction (change for London to Northampton Line and Virgin trains)

Timetables for the Watford DC Line can be viewed here [link] for Northbound services, and here [link] for Southbound services.

Gospel Oak to Barking Line

The stations on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line are:

Gospel Oak (change for North London Line)
Upper Holloway
Crouch Hill
Harringay Green Lanes
South Tottenham
Blackhorse Road (change for Victoria Line)
Walthamstow Queens Road
Leyton Midland Road
Leytonstone High Road
Wanstead Park
Woodgrange Park
Barking (change for District Line, Hammersmith & City Line and c2c trains)

Timetables for the Gospel Oak to Barking Line can be viewed here [link].

Stock

Metro services are operated by class 313 25kV AC/750 V DC electric multiple units on the electrified routes, and Class 150 Sprinter diesel multiple units on the non-electrified Gospel Oak-Barking route. Additionally, three class 508/3 750 V DC electric multiple units are used exclusively on the Euston-Watford Junction service. The Sprinters replaced the elderly class 117 and class 121 units in 2000.

Silverlink County

London to Northampton Line

London-Northampton services run on the slow tracks of the West Coast Main Line.

The stations on the London to Northampton Line are:

Timetables for the London to Northampton Line can be viewed here [link] for Northbound services, and here [link] for Southbound services.

Watford Junction to St. Albans Abbey Line

The stations on the St Albans Branch Line between Watford Junction and St Albans are:

Watford Junction
Watford North
Garston
Bricket Wood
How Wood
Park Street
St. Albans Abbey

Timetables for the Watford Junction to St. Albans Abbey Line can be viewed here [link].

Bletchley to Bedford (Marston Vale) Line

The stations on the Bletchley to Bedford Marston Vale Line are:

Timetables for the Bletchley to Bedford Line can be viewed here [link].

Stock

County services to Northampton are operated by class 321/4 electrical multiple units introduced in 1989. They were joined by new class 350/1 Desiro units built by Siemens AG in summer 2005.

Services on the St Albans Abbey line were operated for many years by class 313 electric multiple units, but are now usually operated by class 321 units with drivers from Bletchley and guards from Watford.

The non-electrified Marston Vale Line uses class 150 diesel units.

Silverlink in the News

On Tuesday 24 January 2006, London mayor Ken Livingstone called for all Silverlink stations to be manned after the murder of City lawyer Thomas Rhys Pryce at Kensal Green station. [link]
On Friday 16 July 2004, Virgin Trains announced that it was stopping most of its commuter trains from Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6000 passengers a day. Commuters became unhappy at the prospect of switching to older Silverlink trains, which would involve a longer journey. Silverlink countered this with the temporary usage of ex-Virgin stock, still in Virgin colours.[link]
On Monday 7 June 2004, a Silverlink train carrying about 50 passengers derailed as it entered Northampton. No-one was injured. [link]
On Thursday 8 August 1996, under its previous name North London Railway, a passenger train travelling Northbound collided with a stock train travelling southbound 700m south of Watford Junction. One person was killed and 69 injured. For more on this incident see Watford rail crash.

Station and Service Improvements

As of 2006, Silverlink has invested in a partnership with HSBC who have funded £13 million in a mid-life mechanical and electrical overhaul of the Silverlink County fleet. Other train refurbishment programmes are continuing on the Silverlink Metro trains. Silverlink is providing lifts, refurbished toilets and better customer service at Willesden Junction. A customer lounge and information point have opened at Northampton. A new station is emerging at Stonebridge Park and improvement work is being carried out at other stations. Other improvements being carried out by Silverlink include the continuing installation of CCTV and ticket gates.

The future of Silverlink

It has been announced [link] that the Silverlink franchise will finish in November 2007. From that time, Silverlink Metro services (the North London Line, the West London Line, the Watford DC Line and the Gospel Oak to Barking line) will come under the control of Transport for London Silverlink County services will be merged with services from Central Trains to form a new West Midlands franchise.

External links

Current scheduled passenger train operators in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Domestic:	Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - First TransPennine Express - Grand Central Railway¹ Great North Eastern Railway>GNER - Heathrow Connect - Hull Trains - Island Line - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline Northern Rail - Northern Ireland Railways² - one - Silverlink - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains - Virgin Trains
International:	Enterprise ² - Eurostar
Airport Link:	Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express³
Sleeper:	Caledonian Sleeper⁴ - Night Riviera⁵
1 Starts December 2006 – 2 Operated on the Irish railway network - 3 Operated by one 4 Operated by First ScotRail – 5 Operated by First Great Western

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