History
The North London Railways franchise was awarded to National Express on 7 February 1997. National Express commenced operating the franchise on 3 March 1997.
After initially trading as North London Railways, in September 1997 the franchise was rebranded as Silverlink. The name is taken from the first of the LNER Class A4 steam locomotives (a member of which holds the world speed record for steam traction) which was called Silver Link. Ironically, Silverlink trains operated on the route to the north of the old LMS, the LNER's greatest rival.
The franchise was due to finish on 15 October 2006, but on 11 August 2006 the Department for Transport granted an extension until 10 November 2007.
Read more about this topic: Silverlink
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