[3] The franchise was due to finish on 15 October 2006, but on 11 August 2006 the Department for Transport granted an extension until 10 November 2007.

(Central Trains, like Silverlink, was a subsidiary of National Express and the operations shared rolling stock.)

A London Assembly report said passengers found the service "shabby, unreliable, unsafe and overcrowded".

[12][full citation needed] Pending the Sprinters' arrival, Silverlink hired Class 31 locomotives from Fragonset to top and tail Mark 2 carriages on Bletchley - Bedford services in 1998/99.

On 16 July 2004, Virgin Trains announced that it was withdrawing most of its stops at Milton Keynes Central, which were used by up to 6,000 passengers a day.

[13] The Strategic Rail Authority decided to divert thirty four-carriage Siemens Desiro trains from an order placed by South West Trains to provide stock with faster acceleration for the West Coast Main Line operators.

Following Virgin Trains ceasing to operate electric locomotives, Silverlink's Metro fleet moved to Willesden Depot.

As part of a wider redrawing of the rail franchise map by the Department for Transport, the Silverlink network was to be broken up when it was renewed in November 2007.