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Johnson hands Overground over to German state

BAHNSTORMING London Mayor Boris Johnson came under fire yesterday as he handed the keys of the Overground to the German state.

Rail unions that said awarding the operations contract to Arriva, which is wholly owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB), would mean British commuters would “subsidise the cost of rail fares” in Berlin.

The first Overground route was taken back into public control by Mr Johnson’s predecessor Ken Livingstone in 2007 — with the network absorbing a number of additional commuter lines in the years since.

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