It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Paul Corfield (PLCD), LR author (as Walthamstow Writer) and invaluable member of our Editorial Team. Paul will have been known to many of you …
Continue readingAuthor: John Bull
John Bull is the Editor of London Reconnections. A transport journalist and historian, his writing often focuses on the political or strategic challenges facing London's transport network and beyond.
Schrodinger’s Cab Firm: Uber’s Existential Crisis
London’s minicab regulator, TfL, has revoked Uber’s licence to operate in the British capital, one of its largest world markets. Getting that licence back may require the firm to finally confront a question it cannot …
Continue readingThe Rise and Fall of a Vision: Wrightbus Enters Administration
Northern Irish bus manufacturer Wrightbus, most commonly identified in London with the manufacture of the New Bus for London (NBfL), has entered Administration. Questions first began to surface about the firm’s long-term viability in July, …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Overground Class 710s Enter Service
After what can only be described as a painful gestation, the first of London Overground’s new Class 710s have now entered service.
Continue readingCrossrail: Breaking Down the Crisis
On Thursday 26th July 2018 a meeting took place at City Hall. The subject was Crossrail – the Elizabeth line – and whether it would open on time. Up front were Simon Wright, Crossrail’s then-CEO, and Sir Terry Morgan, its Chairman. To the assembled senior officials from TfL and City Hall, their presentation would have left little room for doubt: Crossrail would not be ready to open in December.
Continue readingThirty Centimetres of Safety: An Incident At Peckham Rye
In November 2017 a London Overground train came to a sudden halt just outside Peckham Rye station. It began a chain of events that would eventually lead to over eighty passengers standing at trackside while the electrical rail was still live.
Continue readingCrossrail: A Hole New World
At the beginning of August 2018, seven Crossrail core stations were due to be handed over to TfL. Instead, all remain in some state of construction. For Crossrail, this is a problem. For the Elizabeth line it is an even bigger one.
Continue readingA Good Spark is Getting Hard to Find: SWR and the December Timetable
In early July 2018, South Western Railway (SWR) released a statement on their website. In it, the Operator reiterated their desire to run additional services – something they had included in their franchise submission for …
Continue readingThe Timetable Change: Accepting the Blame
In April 2018 the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a report on Rail Franchising in the UK. In particular, they were concerned with the DfT’s handling of its (relatively) new “mega-franchise”: GTR. Much …
Continue readingThameslink The Musical Act 4, Scene 3: The Grayling Letter
The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, has written a letter to fellow MPs outlining where responsibility lies for the current issues with the GTR franchise. You can read the full letter here. By way of response, we present an extract from Thameslink: The Musical.
Continue readingAnd it Moves Us All: East Coast To Be Renationalised
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhm ingonyama! From the day it arrived at St Pancras, And blinking, step into the sun. There’s more to East Coast, Than, new a brand and cheap seats. More to …
Continue readingUpgrading the Piccadilly
We last looked in detail at the state of the Piccadilly line upgrades in January, when we revealed that TfL planned to leaseback the Crossrail fleet to pay for new rolling stock. This month sees …
Continue readingGarden Bridge Review: Garden Bridge Trust Transcript (Part 1)
In October 2016, Dame Margaret Hodge MP was appointed to lead an independent review of the Garden Bridge project. As part of this review, she conducted a number of interviews with key people and organisations. …
Continue readingTfL Confirm Elizabeth Line Fares
TfL have issued a press release confirming a number of fares for the Elizabeth line. It can be read in full here, but the key tables are reproduced below. Peak services Heathrow to/from: 2018 Heathrow …
Continue readingSoutheastern Detraining: Investigation over Assumption
On 2 March 2018, during a period of rail disruption caused by extreme weather conditions, an incident occurred just outside Lewisham station in London. That incident saw a number of passengers de-train from a Southeastern …
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