David Statham is leading the new FirstGroup TfL concession for London Overground, which started on 3 May. He was most recently commercial director for First Rail, and before that was managing director of Govia’s Southeastern until it was renationalised in 2021.

The Overground was launched in 2007, when it took over several suburban lines in and around London which had been part of the National Express Silverlink franchise.

Major investment followed in trains and infrastructure, and almost two decades later the network has expanded to include a virtually circular route through the suburbs of north and south London.

First Rail London’s contract with TfL is initially for eight years with an option to extend for up to two additional years at TfL’s discretion. Like other concessions, the contract does not involve revenue risk, while the fares structure and branding are specified by Transport for London.

David Statham’s colleagues include people director Lee Archer, finance director Mike Fortune, and concession and transformation director Oliver Owens, all of whom already work for First Rail.

Others have transferred from Arriva Rail London, which had been running the previous Overground concession. They are customer experience director Niall Rooney, operations director Charlotte Whitefield, engineering director Kate Majoribanks and Mark Hughes, who is head of safety, health & wellbeing and compliance.

David Statham said: ‘The London Overground has transformed the way people travel across the capital, now carrying around four million passengers each week. We’re really excited to be operating the network from this weekend on behalf of Transport for London. We will be focused on delivering a safe and reliable network for customers, colleagues and communities.’

First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery added: ‘As a long-standing and reliable partner in public transport, we value our strong relationship with TfL, where we already operate tram, cable car and some bus services. This weekend marks a significant milestone as we broaden and strengthen our portfolio in the capital.’

FirstGroup is also hoping to run more open access operations, as the renationalisation of former franchises continues.

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