The current Southern franchise expires in September 2009, and the DfT have just published the consultation document for its replacement.

Of note:

• The mooted handover of London area services to TfL/London Overground is off, though TfL are being consulted heavily both before and during the franchise.
• London Overground style frequency and operating hour increases are suggested, as is gating of stations (required to operate full time) and monitoring ticketless travel.
• East London Line phase 2 is still treated as not confirmed, but something about the language makes me think they're assuming it's likely to happen.
• Future Southern services on the West London Line are likely to be Milton Keynes-East Croydon augmented by Shepherd's Bush-East Croydon services, as well as the future 4 trains per hour run by London Overground. Full details are given in the document.
• They expect Oyster PAYG to have been implemented before the end of the current franchise.