TfL Rail

TfL Rail

Company type	Train operating company (franchise)
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31)
Defunct	May 2022 (2022-05)
Fate	Rebranded as Elizabeth line
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Area served	London and neighboring regions
Key people	MTR Corporation (operator), Transport for London (oversight)
Products	Commuter train services

TfL Rail was the franchise responsible for operating commuter train services on two distinct rail corridors in London and its neighboring regions during the Crossrail project development. Functioning from 2015 until May 2022, the service was rebranded as the Elizabeth line following the inauguration of the central section.

Commencing operations on 31 May 2015, TfL Rail assumed control from Abellio Greater Anglia of the "metro" route running between and in Essex, encompassing the initial 14 stops along the Great Eastern Main Line. The station at Shenfield served as a transfer point to longer-distance trains heading towards East Anglia. Additionally, TfL Rail managed services from to Heathrow Airport and Reading. The operating contract was held by MTR Corporation under the oversight of Transport for London (TfL). Between May 2016 and May 2017, TfL Rail transported more than 47 million passengers on the Shenfield route.

History

In June 2013, TfL shortlisted several contenders—Arriva, MTR Corporation, Keolis / Go-Ahead Group, and National Express—to compete for the Crossrail operating franchise.

By July 2014, TfL awarded the eight-year contract, with a possible two-year extension, to Hong Kong-based MTR.

The new train operating company, MTR Corporation (Crossrail), was formed to take over the metro service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield from Abellio Greater Anglia starting on 31 May 2015. Existing rolling stock was updated with TfL Rail branding, and full staffing was introduced across stations along the route. In June 2017, new modern Class 345 trains entered service on the Liverpool Street to Shenfield line.

In May 2018, TfL Rail extended its operations by taking over Heathrow Connect services running between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport, along with certain Great Western Railway (GWR) routes between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. By December 2019, TfL Rail had also taken over GWR stopping services from Paddington to Reading, with Class 345 trains having begun running since November as part of a phased introduction. In July 2020, Class 345 trains were introduced on the Paddington to Heathrow corridor.

These routes were incorporated into the Elizabeth line network upon the opening of its central section on 24 May 2022, effectively connecting existing branches through the core segment.

Route

The eastern segment of TfL Rail covered over 20 miles along the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. On the western side, branches operated partly along the Great Western Main Line and through the Heathrow tunnel connecting London Paddington with Heathrow Airport over approximately 16 miles, as well as entirely along the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington and Reading spanning about 36 miles.

Stations

... [table continues with remaining stations] ...

Stations served by TfL Rail

Station	Image	Dates			Location
		Opened	Managed from	Served from	Zone	Local authority
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange		30 March 1840	Managed by Network Rail	15 December 2019	N/A	Reading
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange		1 July 1839	Managed by Great Western Railway			Wokingham
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange		1 November 1871				Windsor and Maidenhead
Template:Rws		1 September 1872	May 2018			Buckinghamshire
Template:Rws		1 July 1899				Slough
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange		8 September 1884	Managed by Great Western Railway
Template:Rws		1845	May 2018
Template:Rws		1 December 1924				Buckinghamshire
Template:Rws		4 June 1838			6	Hillingdon
Template:Rws Template:Rint Template:Rail-interchange		27 March 2008	Managed by Heathrow Express	Diversions only
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange		23 June1998		May2018
Heathrow Terminals2 &3 Template:Rint Template:Rail-interchange
Template:Rws Template:Rail-interchange	1864 or1868	May2018	5
Template:Rws	1 May1839		4		Ealing
Template:Rws	1 December1838
Template:RwsTemplate:Rail-interchange	4 June1838		3
Template:RwsTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchange	1 December1838
Template:Rws	1 February1868
Template:RwsTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:RintTemplate:Rail-interchange	4 June1838	Managed by Network Rail	1		City of Westminster
Sections disconnected
Template:StnTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchange	2 October1874	Managed by Network Rail	31 May2015	1	City of London
Template:StnTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchangeTemplate:Rail-interchange	20 June1839	Managed by TfL	31 May2015	2/3	London Borough of Newham
Template:Rws	6 January1873	31 May2015	3
Template:Rws	1840	31 May2015	3
Template:Rws	6 January1873	31 May2015	3/4
Template:Rws	20 June1839	31 May2015	4	London Borough of Redbridge
Template:Rws	1 March1899	31 May2015
Template:Rws	8 February1901	31 May2015

Shenfield line

Operations were transferred to TfL Rail from Abellio Greater Anglia on 31 May 2015, accompanied by the introduction of a modern train fleet. Passenger services on the Shenfield line started using Class 345 trains on 22 June 2017, replacing the older Class 315 models. While the Class 315 trains continued to be serviced at Ilford depot, maintenance of the Class 345 fleet occurs at both Old Oak Common and Ilford depots.

Heathrow line

Upon assuming control on 20 May 2018, TfL Rail inherited five units from Heathrow Connect, running a service every thirty minutes to Heathrow. The Heathrow branch began operating Class 345 trains on 30 July 2020, with the final Class 360 units being phased out by September that year.

Reading line

TfL Rail declared on 26 September 2019 that it would assume responsibility for the stopping services between Paddington and Reading starting 15 December 2019. This transition involved replacing Great Western Railway’s Class 387 and Class 165 trains with Class 345 units. In preparation, beginning 25 November 2019, six daily GWR services operated by TfL using Class 345 trains helped familiarize drivers and position rolling stock ahead of the full takeover in December.

Service patterns before Elizabeth line launch

Prior to the Elizabeth line's inauguration on 24 May 2022, the off-peak weekday schedule was as follows:

Shenfield line
Route	tph	Stops	Rolling stock
London Liverpool Street to Shenfield	8	Stratford, Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood	345, 315
Reading and Heathrow lines
Route	tph	Stops	Rolling stock
London Paddington to Reading	2 (up to 4 during peak)	Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley, Slough, Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead, Twyford	345
London Paddington to Hayes & Harlington	2	Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall	345
London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4	2	Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 || align="center" | 345

Rolling stock retained for Elizabeth line

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Number of carriages	Quantity	Routes served	Manufacture period	Service years
			mph	km/h
Class 315		EMU	75	120	4	8Template:Fix/category	Template:Stn – Template:Rws	1980–1981	1980–2022
Class 345 Aventra		EMU	90	145	7 or 9	70	Liverpool Street – Shenfield Paddington – Reading Paddington – Heathrow Airport	2015–2019	June 2017–present

Previous fleet

The rolling stock previously utilized by TfL Rail consisted of the following:

Class	Image	Type	Maximum speed		Number of carriages	Quantity	Lines served	Year built	Year retired
			mph	km/h
Class 360 Desiro		EMU	100	160	5	5	London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4 (Heathrow Connect)	2004–2005	2020