London Overground
London Overground has been adjudged Passenger Operator of the Year at RAIL’s National Rail Awards. RICHARD CLINNICK reveals why
London Overground claims the prize that all the UK TOCs covet… NRA Passenger Operator of the Year.
It’s the accolade that all the train operating companies want - and this year it has been claimed by London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL). The prestigious National Rail Awards Passenger Operator of the Year title has gone to LOROL for achieving a level of performance that meets the high standards of the highly respected panel of NRA judges who carry out mystery shopping visits, to check for themselves just how good an operator is. And when it comes to LOROL, it is very good indeed.
LOROL took over the London Overground concession in November 2007, and has set about transforming the railway. Underused railways serving rundown stations have been replaced by a busy railway serving refurbished and new facilities across 23 of the capital’s 33 boroughs.
Since it took over the concession, LOROL has focused on customer service, quality and innovation, investing in its staff and developing strong links with the communities it serves. It has also worked in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail in its efforts to improve and expand. LOROL simply does not rest on its laurels.
LOROL is now one of the country’s best performing railways, with a daily punctuality figure of around 97% and continually rising passenger satisfaction that currently stands at 88%. It also reports the lowest rate of customer complaints of any train operating company (TOC), receiving 2.8 complaints per 100,000 journeys.
It has recently completed a project to increase all its 57 Class 378 electric multiple units (EMUs) operating on the East London, North London, South London and West London Lines to five-car formations, as well as those on the DC Lines to Watford.
This project - the London Overground Capacity Improvement Programme (LOCIP) - has increased capacity by 25%, with an extra 170 passengers per train. This is needed to cope with the predicted rise in London’s population of 810,000 by 2021.
It has also involved a new stabling facility at Wembley and infrastructure improvements at Willesden and New Cross Gate, to create the additional capacity needed to maintain the longer trains. LOCIP presented a significant problem in that two trains at a time were out of traffic, constraining availability. However, forward planning meant that there was no impact on services.
When LOROL took over the franchise it inherited a mixed bag of diesel multiple units and EMUs dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The three-car Class 313s and ‘508’ EMUs were cascaded away or scrapped, and replaced by Class 378s - initially with three carriages, but which now have five vehicles. These were introduced from 2009 onwards.
The two-car Class 150/1s used on the Gospel Oak-Barking Line were replaced by two-car Class 172/ 0s built by Bombardier and delivered in 2010. These enabled an increase in reliability and punctuality, although there are still complaints regarding overcrowding on the
route. The ‘172/ 0s’ will now also be replaced in 2018, by EMUs on order from the same manufacturer. The new EMUs will be four-car trains, thereby doubling the capacity.
Another key aspect of LOCIP is that the Selective Door Operation (SDO) and Correct Side Door Enable (CSDE) software fitted enables the train management system (TMS) to carry the LO network geography. With subsequent knowledge of the train’s exact location, CDSE can be employed to prevent the driver from releasing doors when they shouldn’t be. This is a first for the UK.
On May 31 2015, LOROL added the West Anglia inner routes to its network. This had been a long and complicated process, but it was completed thanks to significant planning, management and preparation.
Performance of the West Anglia fleet, which dates from the early 1980s, has steadily improved by increasing the dedicated train care provision by 200% and refurbishing the 30 trains LOROL inherited. These trains were a mixture of Class 315s and ‘317s’. The latter included former Stansted Express ‘317/7s’ that had been out of use since 2012 and which were returned to traffic to meet capacity needs.
LOROL recruited 16 drivers and created more than 80 new roles. It took over 24 stations, 25 mess rooms and a depot. Now all stations are staffed (from the first train to the last), and 11 new gate lines and 59 new ticket machines are being installed, as are 74 passenger help points. LOROL says this investment will result in a 25% rise
in passenger numbers. Overall, LOROL’s pledge to keep ticketless travel below the 5% default score is on track, reducing from 13% in 2007 to 0.64% in the December 2015 Ticketless Travel Survey. The operator accepts Oyster at all stations and has introduced Apple Pay and Contactless Card payment. More than half its journeys are now ‘pay as you go’. Passenger satisfaction has also risen, from 74% to 83%.
To ensure that the service keeps improving, LOROL has carried out 29 fleet improvement modifications. One example is on the diesel trains used on the Gospel Oak-Barking Line - additional handrails were added, enabling a further 50 standing passengers to be accommodated.
LOROL has equipped staff with new web apps and forms that are available for the iPhones and iPads they carry. These are used to supply customer information. Some of these apps include Orinoco, a real-time app designed by LOROL staff that integrates Control data with that from Transport for London, National Rail and other real-time data into one accessible location. It also accesses London Bus, LOROL, Docklands Light Rail, River Boats and National
LO 378231 arrives at London Euston on August 30. The London Overground Capacity Improvement Programme (LOCIP) has recently finished, adding a fifth car to most LOROL services, and increasing capacity by 25% with an extra 170 passengers per train. PHIL METCALFE. Rail services on one map. The operator believes it could be the first in the world to introduce smartwatches for staff.
When LOROL took over in 2007, some of its routes were not viewed as the safest for passengers, but that perception has changed. Now every station, other than those on the West Anglia inners, has achieved secure station accreditation, and the WA stations will have achieved this by November.
And in the past year, crime on London Overground has dropped 8.3%, thanks to a close partnership with the British Transport Police and a zero-tolerance approach to crime.
There have also been a number of projects to improve passenger safety, including: the deep cleaning of stations to help reduce slips, trips and falls; the introduction of CCTV in high-risk accident areas at key stations; and a trial project to introduce defibrillators at six stations, with one already saving a life.
LOROL has also introduced its pioneering ‘Turn Up and Go’ service that is available at all 111 stations. It provides assistance to more than 150 people each week, the majority of them wheelchair users who require a manual boarding ramp to enable them to board and alight safely. Today LOROL has 44 accessible stations - when it took over in 2007 there were just ten.
The operator is also leading the way on sustainability. Steps to improve its carbon footprint include the provision of rainwater harvesting at Willesden depot, improved arrangements for dealing with waste from stations and trains (with nearly 70% of waste recycled), improved recycling facilities at its head office, and removal of individual waste bins and more efficient and effective lighting installed at Willesden.
In the January 2016 National Rail Passenger Survey, LOROL achieved 89% cleanliness of inside of trains and 88% cleanliness of outside of trains. It recorded an 88% score for the upkeep and repair of trains.
Overall, LOROL employs more than 1,400 staff. And in its latest annual employee engagement survey ( View Point), 97% of employees agree they support LOROL’s vision statement, 87% believe strongly in the goals and objectives of the company, and 87% would recommend LOROL as a good place to work.
LOROL has worked extremely hard to reach its status as the best operator in the UK. A period of change is on the horizon, as Arriva takes over from the MTR/Arriva joint venture and new trains start to enter traffic in two years’ time, the Gospel Oak-Barking route is finally being electrified, and capacity is increased on the same line (within four years, trains will be running to Barking Riverside).
It would not be a surprise to see LOROL continue its success, and for it to feature in this category again.