BOMBARDIER Transportation will build another 36 carriages for the London Overground network at its factory in Derby.

Transport for London has ordered the carriages in a £36 million deal that is on top of the 44 trains already being built by Bombardier for the Overground. Those trains are due to enter service in 2009 and 2010, and the extra carriages are due to follow them in early 2011.

The order for the extra rail carriages is made up of three, four-carriage units for services on the East London Railway, and 24 carriages to lengthen the three-carriage trains already in production for the North London Railway to four-carriages.

The 36 extra carriages will provide an extra 24 per cent capacity on London Overground during peak hours and 33 per cent on the North London Railway, said TfL.

The new trains are class 378 Electrostars, designed to carry the high numbers of passengers who will use London Overground services.

They will feature wider gangways to create more space and increase capacity, better security with onboard CCTV and clear sightlines for passenger, wider doors and aisles, better journey ambience, wider seats and more handrails, improved accessibility, and dedicated wheelchair bays;

TfL chief operating officer for London Rail, Howard Smith, said: "The extra rail carriages are designed to carry high numbers of passengers in comfort and safety and will bring a noticeable improvement to rail travel for passengers.

"By building extra rail carriages for London Overground we will also help meet the increasing demand for rail in the capital."

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "London Overground will set new standards of rail travel for passengers in London. This £36m investment in new carriages will help do this.”