Transport for London wants to take control of the route between Moorgate and Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City, a move that could bring the line into the London Overground network. The agency said it is now dealing with a series of operational comments from the Department for Transport as it refines the full business case for assessment.
The timing matters because the route is tied to one of north London’s biggest current growth plans. Crews Hill, which sits on the line, is where a new town for 21,000 people is being built, and TfL argues that a change in control could help shape how those passengers move in and out of the area. Under one £239m option, off-peak services would rise from two an hour to four. A more expensive £310m option would push peak services to up to eight an hour and off-peak frequencies to up to six an hour.
TfL submitted its outline business case to the Department for Transport last December. Since then, the file has moved into a more detailed stage, with discussions still under way over the draft and no final timetable yet agreed. Once TfL submits the full business case, it will go to the Secretary of State for Transport, who has the power to approve or deny the handover.
The proposal is part of a wider push to shift more of the Great Northern line into London’s control. Highbury and Islington, Moorgate and Old Street would get new London Overground platforms if the change goes ahead, and those stations already sit within TfL’s network. TfL’s case also comes after Govia Thameslink Railway moved into public ownership, changing the backdrop to how the route is run.
Last December, Sir Sadiq Khan said he was lobbying the government for devolution of the Great Northern line, saying it would “really help in Crews Hill and Enfield.” Around the same time, Elly Baker wrote to the Transport Secretary backing further devolution of rail in London. Baker said the committee believed now was the time for further devolution, arguing that National Rail services were under-performing and under-delivering for Londoners. She said better reliability, fare integration and customer information could all deliver for London, and that handing Great Northern inner services to TfL could enable those improvements.
The Department for Transport said talks with TfL about the draft business case are ongoing and that the project’s timetable has yet to be finalised. That leaves the handover alive but unresolved, with the next real test resting on the full business case TfL is now preparing. If ministers approve it, the Northern Line route could be recast as part of London Overground at a moment when population growth, station upgrades and service frequency are all being weighed together.
