Last Tuesday, December 12, Transport for London (TfL) awarded the GTS Rail Operations Limited consortium, formed by Go-Ahead, Tokyo Metro, and Sumitomo Corporation, the new contract to operate the famous Elizabeth Line of the London Underground.

The Go-Ahead Group is the leading provider of bus services across the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Singapore and Australia. It also provides rail passenger journeys in UK and Norway. Globalvia acquired this platform in 2022 along with Kinetic, Australia and NZ’s largest bus network.This contract, which will begin in May 2025 and last seven years with the option to extend for two more, represents a great milestone for promoting Go-Ahead’s railway activities.

Claire Mann, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Elizabeth line has had a transformational impact since opening in 2022 and has quickly become one of the most popular and reliable railways in the country. The railway has provided new, more direct journey options which has led to huge numbers of customers using our safe and accessible trains and stations”.

Source: BBC News

According to TfL data, the Elizabeth Line is the fastest-growing railway in the United Kingdom, with more than 350 million journeys made on the line since its opening in May 2022 and with an average of 700,000 passenger journeys currently. This upward trend is expected to continue in the coming years.

Regarding this new contract, Miguel Ángel Parras, CEO of The  Go-Ahead Group states: “We’re proud to have been chosen to be TfL’s partner, together with Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Metro, for the operation of the iconic Elizabeth line. We look forward to bringing our collective expertise across UK and international rail operations to London”.