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Go-Ahead Group misses out to Arriva in £1.5bn London Overground contract

Arriva has won a £1.5bn contract to run London Overground train services, beating off competition from rival transport company Go-Ahead Group.

The deal will see the firm, who are the UK arm of German transport giants Deutsche Bahn, run all Overground services for up to nine and a half years, starting in November.

It currently runs the services in conjunction with Hong Kong transport company MTR, under the joint company London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL), but the companies decided to submit separate bids when the new contract came up for tender.

Rival bids included a joint effort between Go-Ahead Group and French transport company Keolis, Arriva’s former partners MTR, and Metroline.

As part of the successful bid, Arriva will support Transport for London (TfL) in delivering line improvements including modernised stations and more frequent services, along with new trains to be introduced in 2018.

Gareth Powell, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, London Rail, said: “We have worked hard to deliver major improvements for our customers, taking a neglected part of the transport network and transforming it to support new homes, jobs and economic growth across the Capital.

“Arriva will build on this by extending operating hours, improving frequencies and introducing new trains. I would also like to thank the existing operator LOROL for their work that has helped make London Overground the huge success story it is today.’

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