The name has been used since 2007, when TfL took over the majority of the 'Metro' sector from the Silverlinktrain operating company franchise. In 2010 it is planned that the Overground network will include the East London Line (formerly part of London Underground) which is being extended to connect with the North London Line. This section is currently closed.
The Overground is part of the National Rail network, run as a rail franchise by the train operating company London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL), but the contracting authority is TfL rather than central Government. This arrangement is similar to the model adopted for Merseyrail. The lines continue to be owned and maintained by Network Rail except for the Dalston-New Cross section of the East London Railway, which will remain TfL property when it becomes part of the Overground.
The Overground is a commuter rail system, as many of the lines share traffic with freight services, although there is an intention to introduce metro-style frequencies eventually on all routes.
Sir John Fowler (15 July 1817 – 20 November 1898) was a Britishcivil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. Fowler's was a long and eminent career, spanning most of the 19th century's railway expansion, and he was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments.
Fowler had a busy practice, working on many railway schemes across the country. In 1853, he became chief engineer of the Metropolitan Railway in London, the world's first underground railway. Constructed in shallow "cut-and-cover" trenches beneath city streets, the line opened between Paddington and Farringdon in 1863. Fowler was also engineer for the associated District Railway and the Hammersmith and City Railway.
...that at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound?
Image 9London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
Image 10Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 24Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
Image 45Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 46The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
Image 47Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
Image 49The newly constructed junction of the Westway (A40) and the West Cross Route (A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.