The new East London Line has begun running services, providing an improved route for the travelling public. Twelve trains an hour will run from Dalston Junction, north London, to West Croydon, New Cross and Crystal Palace in south and south-east London.

The project has already received an award from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for architectural excellence in the UK and Europe, however there have been reports of protests taking place on the first day of services.

Members of the RMT union held the demonstration outside Whitechapel Underground Station, in east London. The union said that the private firm London Overground (LOROL) prioritised shareholders over passengers, but Transport for London (TfL) said a funding condition for the upgrade was for the line to be run by a different firm to TfL.

The route, which is a part of London Overground network, is the first phase of a £1bn extension of the line. Trains will travel through Whitechapel station and Shoreditch High Street, a main Zone 1 station. Before the extension the line carried nine million passengers every year, but this is expected to rise to 33 million by 2011 and rising to 40 million by 2016, Transport for London said.

The line will form part of a planned wider London Overground orbital network, which will allow passengers to travel around London on the line without having to enter central areas of the city.