Former England Lionesses football player Ellen Maggs was a surprise visitor at a football festival held today, Saturday, 14th September, in Regent’s Park hosted by Transport for London to mark the naming of the Lioness line.
The Lioness line has been chosen as the name for the London Overground line between Euston and Watford Junction, which appropriately runs through Wembley.
The line will be officially launched as the Lioness Line this autumn.
Young football players from Regent’s Park Youth League and Middlesex Football Association Pan-Disability League were present at the launch where they met surprise guest former Lioness Ellen Maggs.
Ellen spoke with the young players and awarded trophies to the winning teams who took part in a special match refereed by Transport for London’s Surekha Griffiths.
Surekha was recently crowned FA Grassroots Official of the Year for her role in refereeing disability and other youth football games.
Along with Lionesses Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly Surekha recently spoke about her journey on Transport for London’s Mind the Gap podcast.
The six London Overground lines are each to be given a new name and colour this autumn that celebrate London’s diverse culture and history, and to make it easier for customers to navigate the network.
“We’re pleased to be renaming the London Overground lines to make it easier for Londoners to navigate our network. The Lioness line commemorates the England women’s football team’s unforgettable Euros win in 2022, which sparked a step change in attitudes towards women’s football all around the country and changed the football landscape forever.
“It was fantastic to see today’s event bring together young aspiring footballers, to highlight the legacy of the Lionesses trophy, and to celebrate the new name of the London Overground line from Watford to Euston.”
Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport
Responses
When the word “Lioness” is spelt with a capital L, this normally means a Leyland Lioness, which is a 1920s/1930s coach with normal control llayout. There are several of these beauties still existing as preserved vehicles, both of the earlier PLC version and of the later LTB version. One or two of them should be on display on the launch day of the Lioness Line.